Mississauga musician recalls the lack of Asian lead singers growing up and hopes to change that

Growing up in Mississauga, indie-folk rock musician Tennyson King didn’t often see lead singers who looked like him.

King, 36, came to Mississauga with his family from Hong Kong when he was six years old. His grandparents were already living in the city.

His first impression of the city was how much space there was back in the early 1990s. He remembers the neighbourhood around Mavis and Eglington was still under development — a stark contrast to the busy streets of Hong Kong.

“Coming from Hong Kong, I remember my neighbourhood was, we were one of the few houses on the block, and everything else was just construction,” he tells inSauga. “So I could take my little bicycle and ride around in the dirt fields.”

While he studied classical piano growing up, it wasn’t until high school that he got into rock and indie music. He attended St. Joseph’s Secondary School and started jamming with friends.

“I guess there wasn’t as much it to do in the city so we just made it our thing to find things to do and music was definitely one of those things.”

He entered battle of the band competitions and wrote some songs. Although he studied communications at university, he went back to music because it was something loved.

He has since toured around the world including Australia and China in 2018 and 2019.

King released his debut album, Good Company, in January 2022 and toured across Canada. Mississauga is his last stop on the tour.

The city asked him to put together a concert for music week and King saw it as an opportunity to promote other Asian musicians.

“I love discovering and listening to Asian artists…so for me, I was like OK, this would be really cool to share other Asian artists, especially ones who are based and grew up in Mississauga.”

The concert is on Thursday, Sept. 15 at Mississauga Celebration Square Amphitheatre, 300 City Centre Dr., and will feature local musicians Arlene Paculan and Sarah Catherine.

Join @Mississauga_M Week & @SaugaCulture‘s #LoveLocal concert!

Happening Thurs, Sept 15. Featuring talented locals @TennysonKing, @Official_Arlene, and Sarah Catharine live at Celebration Square Amphitheatre! Doors open at 6:30 PM.

Purchase tickets here: https://t.co/hMhPZLrK5P pic.twitter.com/RIxv3AhuHo

— Mississauga Arts Council (@MissArtsCouncil) September 11, 2022

Looking back to his youth in Mississauga, he remembers watching bands at the Masonic Lodge and recalls the lack of diversity.

“I never really saw too many Chinese or Asian artists, especially Asian front people, which is what I kind of always was doing, because I was always enjoying singing and playing guitar.”

While the music scene is become more diverse in Canada, there still needs to be more of a push.

“That’s why, specifically with the show on Thursday, I curated a pretty much an all Asian lineup,” he says. “I want to kind of start making that a bit more normal.”

King also looks forward to the concert in his hometown.

“I actually don’t I don’t get to play in Mississauga too often,” he says. “I’m very excited to be a part of the buzz of the Mississauga Music Week.”

King is also up for several Mississauga Music Awards, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year, on Friday, Sept. 16.

Tickets for the Mississauga Music Week concert featuring Tennyson King on Sept. 15 are $15 and are available here online.