Ottawa Midsummer Night's Fundraising Party Turns Up the Heat at the Avant-Garde Bar
- temporarylodgingsc
- Aug 4
- 2 min read
4 August 2025
For immediate release
HOT, HOT, HOT!! BIRDSONG FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER
SATURDAY 2 AUGUST AT THE AVANT-GARDE BAR, OTTAWA
FEATURING BIRDSONG ARTISTS ALLAN KINNEY AND ARIF JINHA
As part of their awareness campaign, Birdsong New Music Foundation produced two live indie shows this summer. With the first one in July at The Duke in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood, the second occurred in Ottawa at The Avant-Garde Bar, just steps from Parliament Hill and the Byward Market.
Two Ottawa Birdsong artists, ALLAN KINNEY and ARIF JINHA, represented Birdsong at the Avant-Garde midsummer night’s fundraising party hosted by local band The Everything Bagel. The evening show began with 45 minutes of Jinha's original sitar songs, a perfect set-up for the night's first slam dunk, a one-hour neo-psychedelic rock set by Montreal's Les Ismore.
Fronted by semi-legendary calypso and reggae master James Carre, recurring Avant-Garde act The Everything Bagel then welcomed Jinha on stage as their newest member for the slam-dunk pre-release of Bucolica, the band’s second on-line album of Kinney originals, intermingled with good-vibes reggae and soca classics.
In memory of David Martin, the son of founder and director Margaret Konopacki, Birdsong Foundation helps songwriters struggling with mental illness or substance use disorder to produce their music and get it out to the world. For seven years, Birdsong’s belief that music can catalyze healing and change has proven the demographic’s music to be uniquely spellbinding.
All the music on the double CD FIRST FLIGHT 101 is created by Birdsong artists with the help of grants from the foundation. We hope you can support this important endeavour through Canada Helps via https://www.birdsongnewmusicfoundation.ca. Find tickets on the site later in August to the Foundation’s second annual Lula Lounge fundraiser in Toronto on 14 December with returning host Mae Martin.
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For more information please call or email
Margaret Konopacki - birdsongnewmusic@gmail.com
623-341-0726 - @birdsongfund
or Allan Kinney - temporarylodgingscollective@outlook.com
613-805-6500 (text only)
Event links:
https://www.facebook.com/events/676139265179825/ https://open.spotify.com/album/4Of4iecRZE0OLgOD7vY2o5 https://blasttoronto.com/birdsong-soars-at-lula-lounge/ https://evendo.com/locations/canada/ottawa/rideau-canal/bar/avant-garde-bar-gift-shop Arif Jinha plays I am Free Part II, Avant-Garde Bar, Ottawa, Saturday 2 August 2025
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