#HotSquareSummer in support of MusiCounts
MusiCounts is excited to join Sankofa Square’s #HotSquareSummer as part of Music in the Square on June 4.
Taking place in the heart of downtown Toronto, Music in the Square is a free live concert series celebrating emerging artists and beloved homegrown talent. For this special evening, MusiCounts will present a curated lineup featuring Jennarie, JSAL, and Lowkita, while also spotlighting the importance of music education across Canada. Learn more about the featured artists below.
Presented as part of Sankofa Square’s first fully curated summer season, #HotSquareSummer brings together free music, film, wellness, culture, and community experiences all summer long!
Join us on June 4 at 6 p.m. ET for a night of incredible live music and community celebration at Sankofa Square.
Support Music Education Across Canada
Meet the Artists
Montréal-born, Toronto-based independent artist Jennarie is carving out a singular space at the intersection of pop, R&B, and jazz, pairing soulful vocals with songwriting rooted in emotional precision and lived experience. Proudly queer, plus-size, and neurodivergent, her music celebrates underrepresented voices while foregrounding themes of self-love, body liberation, and personal agency.
A few months ago, Jennarie broke through with Never Been Small, a song written in response to online body-shaming that quickly went viral, catching the attention of artists including SZA and Meghan Trainor who both reposted on their platforms, generating millions of views across the web. Since its release, Never Been Small has surpassed 3M streams and accumulated more than 60M views. The track was recently featured in comedian Rosebud Baker’s 2025 Netflix special The Motherlode, further expanding Jennarie’s reach beyond the music space.
Jennarie has since performed at major events such as the TD Toronto Jazz Festival and Pride Toronto, and was selected for the RBC x MusiCounts First Up program. In 2025, she placed second in Canada’s Walk of Fame Emerging Musician Program, introducing her work to a broader national audience.
With a new body of work slated for release this summer, Jennarie is entering a defining new chapter. The upcoming project signals a shift from viral breakthrough to sustained artistic growth, expanding her sonic palette while deepening the emotional clarity and perspective that have become central to her work.
JSAL is an award-winning Jordanian-Canadian singer-songwriter, breast cancer survivor, and emerging pop artist whose self-defined genre, Phoenix Pop, blends cinematic, anthemic English pop with subtle Middle Eastern melodic influences and emotionally driven storytelling. Inspired by her experience navigating breast cancer after moving to Canada, her music explores resilience, healing, and transformation through a powerful journey from darkness to light. Her debut album, Rising Phoenix (released May 2), introduces The Phoenix Saga, a creative world designed to remind listeners they are not alone and can rise through their own unseen battles.
Since launching her career in 2024, JSAL has quickly emerged as a standout new voice in Canadian music, earning a nomination for “Emerging Talent of the Year 2024” by Mississauga Music, winning the “Emerging Solo Vocalist Marty Award 2025” from the Mississauga Arts Council, and being named “Emerging Talent of the Year 2025” by Mississauga Music. Known for immersive live performances that combine storytelling, live band arrangements, choreography, and cinematic staging, JSAL creates emotionally charged experiences rooted in truth, vulnerability, and empowerment.
Lowkita is a Caribbean-Canadian recording artist, producer, DJ, and multidisciplinary creative known for blending raw emotion with underground soundscapes, alternative rap, dancehall influence, and experimental energy. With a fearless approach to music and visuals, she has built a world that feels both intimate and unpredictable — balancing vulnerability, attitude, and internet-era chaos with cinematic storytelling and distinct personal style.
Beyond music, Lowkita is recognized for her DIY creative direction, fashion-forward aesthetic, and ability to move between multiple artistic lanes, from producing and DJing to visual concepts and performance art. Her work often reflects themes of identity, trust, ambition, detachment, and self-reinvention, pulling inspiration from Caribbean culture, underground nightlife, and digital culture.
Lowkita has brought her performances to stages across Western Canada, including appearances connected to festivals, while continuing to build a reputation for immersive live shows and high-energy performances. Whether performing original music, curating sounds as a DJ, or creating visual experiences around her releases, she approaches every project as part of a larger evolving world.
Her newest single, “Visions,” captures the mindset of seeing beyond limitations while navigating pressure, intuition, obsession, and ambition. Atmospheric yet direct, the record reflects the next chapter of Lowkita’s artistic evolution — sharper, darker, and more self-aware than ever.