Recording: Lido Pimienta

Artist: Lido Pimienta

Song: Fornicarte Es Un Arte

Recorded at Artscape Daniels Spectrum (Venus Fest), September 30, 2017.

Lido Pimienta - Fornicarte Es Un Arte

The idea of a "feminist music festival" might bring to mind an earnest folkie gathering, maybe off in a forest somewhere, but this first annual event was nothing like that, using inclusive and intersectional ideals as guideposts to programming a day of wide-ranging musics. The brainchild of local musician Aerin Fogel, Venus Fest was an ambitious undertaking, presenting a dozen performances in Daniels Spectrum's spacious multi-purpose Regent Park digs. And it all came together quite wonderfully, highlighting a diverse slate of mostly local musicians and incorporating flourishes like Vanessa Rieger's live-mixed visuals. With this first festival completed, there's a new "sessions" series starting up, and lots of energy to build on the positive vibes this day released.

Playing her first big show after claiming the Polaris Prize, the crowd seemed to be evenly split between well-wishers and curiosity-seekers. There were clearly many in the audience who had never seen Pimienta performing before, and it wasn't long before it looked like a paparazzi event, with growing clumps of people moving to the front to grab an action shot. For Pimienta, meanwhile, it was both a celebration (with her son and mother in the crowd) and business as usual, mixing humour and empathy with her innate sense of righteous justice, taking no shit and making sure her voice is heard.

[Lido Pimienta will be performing alongside the likes of Weaves and Feist as part of the New Constellations Tour, which closes out in Toronto on Wednesday, December 20th at The Opera House.]