Stacey Kaniuk comes home

August 13, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Chris McGowan

The Newmarket Jazz Festival kicked off on August 1, running through August 4 at Newmarket’s Riverwalk Commons, boasting many amazing artists.

However, one artist stood out amongst the others – Aurora native Stacey Kaniuk.

Kaniuk was raised in Aurora, graduated from Aurora High School in 2002 and has a degree in film studies from Ryerson University, but admits music is her first love.

“I’ve always been singing, I come from a musical family,” she says.

Her performance at the Newmarket Jazz Festival was full of energy as she happily belted out songs such as “Walkin’ on Sunshine” and “Last Night” with a smile on her face and a powerhouse voice.

She was accompanied by a band from Niagara called XPrime who thoroughly enjoyed being with her.

Kaniuk moved around the stage as far as her mic would take her and she jumped to the music in her red spiked shoes, never missing
a beat.

The audience was captivated with the music. Children were dancing as close to the stage as they could and Kaniuk encouraged audience participation. She boldly sang a coveted James Brown song “It’s a Man’s World” and she did it without a hitch, even James Brown would’ve been proud.

Kaniuk is not just about covering others songs, she has written and recorded her own and shared some at the jazz festival, such as “Milk and Honey.”
She has recorded her own album called Hot Air Balloon and played at the Beaches Jazz Festival this summer along with other shows at the Rivoli, located on Queen Street in Toronto.

Kaniuk was gracious and happy to be on stage while she played the piano, sang or introduced the band.
“It’s nice to come home, ” she said.

She will be performing at the Newmarket Jazz Festival again next year, but you can likely catch her in the meantime singing her heart out across the Greater Toronto Area.