Originally presented as part of the Stratford Festival, Dixon’s Freedom Cabaret will be traveling to Peterborough. The all-Black cast is slated to deliver a heart pumping musical history of black culture at the Peterborough Square Courtyard located on the corner of Charlotte and Water Streets from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 2. Audience members will be able to experience the show free of charge.
Dixon’s Freedom Cabaret will offer audience goers an emotional exploration of Black music from the moment Black people landed on North American soil, to present day- in celebration of Black culture from church hymnals to the blues, from jazz to rock ’n’ roll, R&B and rap. The Freedom Cabaret: Spirit and Legacy of Black Music will open with local artist Niambi Tree who will deliver a deeply moving spoken word performance before the headlining cabaret show.
The Freedom Cabaret performance in Peterborough is part of a larger music project that spans across Canada and the US, funded by Music Performance Trust Fund. The music fund (MPTF) evolved from a landmark collective bargaining agreement between the American Federation of Musicians and the major recording companies as of 1948. MPTF has special funding this year for Juneteenth and Emancipation Day which will employ hundreds of Black performance artists to commemorate and recognize the abolition of slavery.
“What a privilege to be performing Freedom in my hometown. This is a deeply personal project for me. It's going to be an intense 90-minute show that will educate, entertain, and inform audience members. Our cabaret show celebrates the unsung heroes who paved the way for Black music today. I can’t wait to see the Peterborough community come out in solidarity for Emancipation Day as we collectively reflect on our shared history together,” said Dixon, award-winning actor, musician, playwright, director of Freedom Cabaret: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music.
Last year, the Canadian government unanimously voted to mark August 1 as a civic holiday for Emancipation Day to honour people of African descent for their courage, their determination, and their resilience in the face of the transatlantic slave trade’s devastating effects on their individual freedoms, families, and cultures.
Concert goers are asked to bring their own chair or blanket for the performance. The Freedom Cabaret: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music is sponsored by The Downtown Business Improvement Area, Peterborough Square, Union of Professional Musicians L518, Holiday Inn, and Black Honey.
