Library’s resident musician wants to connect Edmonton’s music scene
Biboye Onanuga, the full-time drummer sitting behind many different kits, is trying to use his role as the Edmonton Public Library’s musician in residence to connect musicians to the city’s growing scene.
“A lot of the work I do, it’s almost like the music is on the side,” Onanuga told Taproot. “It’s a vehicle to connect with people and support them in their lives outside of music.”
Onanuga has in the past worked for The Mustard Seed, Hope Mission, and other social agencies. He considers himself a “global citizen,” having lived in England, Nigeria, and other places before moving to Edmonton at age 9, so he said he knows firsthand how music can help people make new connections.
“I’ve always had this weird relationship (to music) where, when I don’t have a day job that is social-programming oriented, I honestly feel gross about just playing music. A lot of those jobs weren’t explicitly music-related, but I’d bring music into them.”
He became EPL’s second musician in residence in September, following in the footsteps of Mallory Chipman, and will serve through the end of June. The residency program was funded by the 2023 Edmonton JUNOs Host Committee. Though EPL has enough left in the pot for one more resident after Onanuga, it told Taproot in an email that it’s looking for ways to keep the program alive beyond that.
The EPL residency entails programming public events and working one-on-one with musicians to help them meet their artistic goals, including in studios at the Stanley A. Milner Library. Onanuga said many Edmontonians who have used his services are immigrants to Canada, who can struggle to see a place for themselves in music. “I get to be the person that says, ‘Your music is beautiful and you should keep doing it, and here are some environments that are safe and supportive where you can play music in Edmonton.’”
Onanuga said he aims to connect clients to the city’s music scene. It’s a scene he’s deeply woven into. He runs the weekly New Standards jam session at The Common. Outside of EPL and New Standards, he’s in Good Information, a band that combines elements of hip hop and jazz — two genres he’s especially passionate about (Good Information has an album that will probably be released next year, Onanuga said, and will next perform on May 9 and 10 at 9910). Onanuga also plays live scores for Citadel Theatre shows, for people such as the artist and CBC Radio host Odario, and for a new jazz (and more) night called Daze Days on Sundays at Mimi, one of Daniel Costa’s many restaurants. He also recently led a sold-out tribute to hip-hop legend J Dilla at Yardbird Suite, and hopes to make it an annual event.
In much of this work, Onanuga helped build connections before becoming EPL’s musician in residence. One example is the rapper and singer, J Scope, who moved to Edmonton from Ukraine in 2023 after Russia invaded the country. J Scope found his backing band members at the New Standards event.
Onanuga said he hopes to cap off his EPL residency with an event that will feature musicians who have worked in isolation and haven’t been able to connect with collaborators on stage before. It’s still at the idea stage, he said, but he hopes to pull it off before the end of June.
“A big snag artists are facing is that, these days, we can all make music from our own homes and just be bedroom producers,” he said. “I’m hoping the capstone of my time (with EPL) will be to secure some funding to hire some musicians to play one or two songs with some of the artists that I’ve met over the past year who are ready to do that.”
