BKonthescene

The acclaimed audiovisual tour of Eglinton West’s storied cultural district expands with more dates, new locations, and private bookings

The Canada Black Music Archives’ Little Jamaica Music History Walking Tour is back and better than ever, returning to Toronto for a new season that celebrates one of the most culturally significant neighbourhoods in the country. Following a sold-out run last year that drew residents and visitors alike, the immersive 1.5-to-2-hour audiovisual tour invites participants to walk through the living history of a community that became the second largest hub for reggae music in the world, after Kingston, Jamaica.

The return arrives at a fitting moment. The City of Toronto, following a request from the Canada Black Music Archives, has proclaimed June 2026 as Black Music Month, recognizing the lasting impact of Black Canadian artists on the city’s culture and celebrating both the legacy and the emerging voices shaping the nation’s music scene. The proclamation honours a lineage that runs from pioneering artists such as Michie Mee, Maestro Fresh Wes, and Jully Black through global stars like Drake and The Weeknd to newer voices including Haviah Mighty and Daniel Caesar, all of whom have helped carry “The Toronto Sound” around the world.

This year the tour grows in every direction. The Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) has added more tour dates, introduced new locations along the route, and created the option to book private tours for groups who want a tailored experience. Tours run weekly on Sundays from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., beginning at Fairbank subway station at 1815 Eglinton Avenue West, with the season running from May 17 through October 18. Admission is $25 per person, and children under 11 are free.

What sets the experience apart is its storytelling. Each tour is led by two guides, with one focusing entirely on the musical history of the strip, weaving the sounds of local artists into a walk past the landmarks where that music was made. The route brings to life the record stores, recording studios, barbershops, beauty salons, and restaurants that turned Eglinton West into a creative engine for Caribbean culture in Canada, the place where community greats such as Leroy Sibbles, Jackie Mittoo, Jay Douglas, Nana McLean, and King Culture shaped a sound that travelled far beyond the neighbourhood.

The history runs deep. Caribbean immigrants began settling along Eglinton West in the late 1950s, and through the 1970s and 1980s the area flourished into one of the largest Jamaican expatriate communities anywhere in the world. They opened music shops, labels, studios, nightclubs, grocers, and tailors, and the strip became home not only to reggae but to calypso, dub, ska, and rocksteady. That legacy is marked today by Reggae Lane and Adrian Hayles’ celebrated mural near Eglinton and Oakwood, a cultural landmark that honours the musicians who paved the way for a new generation.

This is exactly why the tour matters now. Little Jamaica has weathered tremendous change in recent years, and preserving and sharing its stories has become an act of cultural stewardship as well as celebration. With the Eglinton Crosstown LRT now running, the neighbourhood is easier to reach than ever, and the tour offers residents and tourists a meaningful way to connect with a history that remains vital to Toronto’s identity. For anyone visiting the city for sporting and cultural events this summer, it is a rich and memorable way to understand the place at the heart of Canadian Black music.

The momentum extends well beyond the route. The CBMA’s acclaimed exhibit “BLACK THEN: Muted Melodies” has been extended through August 28, 2026, giving audiences a generous new window to experience it. Originally scheduled to run from May 2025 to February 2026, the exhibit presents the untold stories of iconic Black musicians from across Ontario, spanning more than a century and bringing the full breadth of the province’s musical heritage vividly to life.

“BLACK THEN: Muted Melodies” delves into the lives of 23 artists across 10 music genres, from Jazz and Blues to Hip Hop, Opera to Reggae, telling their stories through photographs, albums, newspaper clippings, film screenings, and more. The exhibit is displayed on the York University Keele campus at the Archives of Ontario in the Reading Room, 134 Ian Macdonald Boulevard, Toronto, ON, M7A 2C5. Hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and admission is free.

To mark Black Music Month in June, the CBMA is offering a buy-one-get-one-free special on bookings, with a promo code to be announced soon. It is a fitting invitation to experience a tour that has quickly become a cherished Toronto tradition, one that keeps the music, the memory, and the spirit of Little Jamaica alive for everyone who walks the route.

Tickets are available now, and more information about the Canada Black Music Archives is available at thecbma.com.