A Fresh (Up) approach to R&B in Hamilton

Sonic Unyon’s showcases have expanded to include hip hop, soul, electronic and roots performers. The dream is to eventually blossom into a full-fledged summer festival. 

Hamilton has a longstanding reputation as a punk and metal city, with a hardcore scene that has been supported for decades by local venues with similar tastes, grunge-y bars, and house shows that overlap social circles. For artists trying to break through from outside genres, there have been few opportunities to discover and connect with like-minded audiences.

But in recent years, the landscape has been broadening, thanks to the influence of folks like the Sonic Unyon team.

Lisa La Rocca, the director of operations at the Hamilton record label, created Fresh Up – a series of R&B showcases with a dream to expand into a full-blown summer festival. After three years of Fresh Up events, the series has expanded to include both hip hop and soul performers.

“I really wanted to see a festival around the kind of music that I personally like, but also around some genres that I feel like aren’t fully represented in Hamilton,” La Rocca told HAMILTON CITY Magazine. “When I’m looking for these artists, I usually have to go to Toronto or other cities, I really wanted to bring those shows to Hamilton so that all of my friends don’t have to travel far to see them.”

The first two-day festival was in November of 2022.

“They’ve been very, very well received,” said La Rocca. “The local community is very excited about them. We’ve been able to give a lot of local artists opportunities with bigger artists that they normally wouldn’t get in Hamilton. The brand has done very well. We’re pretty well known in Toronto as well. I know just from talking to people that they’ve heard of the brand, which was exactly what I wanted, and will let us to continue to grow it to my ultimate dream of having an actual outdoor festival in the summer.”

Hamilton hip hop artist and sound engineer Buddah Abusah first performed as a part of a Fresh Up lineup in August. He says Hamilton has a lot of local talent, but few avenues to effectively promote the art of those creatives.

“We need more series like these because we are losing locations and creativity when it comes to artists’ performances,” said Abusah. “Fresh Up, I feel, gives artists that place to shine in the community. It also helps other artists get eyes on them and potentially more inclusion in the Hamilton music scene to help build it up to a better state.”

The rapper hopes that local musicians rally behind the opportunity, instead of taking it for granted.

“The future can be bright for Fresh Up, but the community needs to take it seriously, as well as the artists," said Abusah.

Jaye Woods, a Hamilton hip hop artist crafting rap to “heal the sensitive soul,” attended his first Fresh Up festival after winning tickets on Instagram in 2023.

“That night, I met the talented brother Jason “JC” Chung in the crowd,” said Woods. “Two years later, we’ve shared studio sessions, and just rocked a set together on that same stage.”

In February, Woods took to the Fresh Up stage as a performer.

“Nothing fills my soul like seeing a room full of strangers let their guard down, laughing, hollering, and singing together,” said Woods. “The synergy was real, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”

As for the legacy of the festival, the rapper sees an opportunity for events like Fresh Up to platform underexposed artists from the city.

“I hope Fresh Up cements Hamilton’s reputation for a high-quality, creatively rich music scene that stays inclusive and community-driven,” said Woods. “One that champions emerging artists, not just those already established.”

One of the upcoming Fresh Up showcases, on April 26 at Mills Hardware, features a lineup organized by Hamilton rapper Smoothie Lou, including performances by Rare Candyz, Pink Daytona, 3-R, Hoss Bowman, LTtheMonk, and Lou himself.

“Fresh Up is important to me because they book acts that make me feel represented,” said Lou. “Hamilton is such a multicultural city, and isn’t just guitars and bands. Fresh Up presenting my Smoothapalooza event feels like a big hug from the city I work so hard to make proud.”

La Rocca hopes to continue the work of building these spaces within Hamilton, a need that the label representative says has been referenced by performers time and time again during the events themselves.

“A lot of them said they don’t usually see this opportunity in a festival style. There is nothing like this in the area, or even in Canada,” said La Rocca. “Pretty much every show, the artists are remarking directly from the stage to the audience how important the brand is and how important a festival and a focus on these genres is in Hamilton, but also in Canada. There really is still a gap.”

The next Fresh Up event is on April 17 at Mills Hardware. Universal Heartbeat is a showcase of, “danceable hits and oddities from the 60s, 70s and 80s,” curated by Hamiltonian rapper Cadence Weapon.  

Keep up with Fresh Up and other Sonic Unyon events here.