Everything You Need To Know About Canada’s Road Gold Certification Program

Sep 9, 2015

Earlier this summer, The Canadian Independent Music Association proudly launched Road Gold: a certification program that celebrates and acknowledges Canada’s hard-working touring artists and bands!

With so many metrics to measure success these days, from album to streams to followers, we’re excited to launch a program that will certify ticket sales. Touring across this country tirelessly, filling venues and drawing crowds is an arduous task and an accomplishment worthy of praise.

Wondering about eligibility criteria? Not sure how to apply? Not to worry, they’ve put together a handy little infographic that will answer all your questions.

BC’s Pharis & Jason Romero lead Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees. See the complete list!

Sep 9, 2015

The first ever National Strum (#StrumTogether)was held at noon today at Edmonton’s City Hall to celebrate and honour this year’s nominees for the Canadian Folk Music Awards. With a choir comprised of fervent local songwriters coordinated by singer-songwriter and artist development expert Rhea March and Northern Lights Folk Club founder Bill Werthmann, the Edmonton folk community came together to perform Dave Gunning’s official song of celebration “These Hands” in front of a gathered crowd. Andy Frank, the Canadian Folk Music Awards’ Project Director welcomed the crowd and announced the nineteen categories of nominees for the 11th annual Canadian Folk Music Awards (CFMA). Overall, 73 artists and groups were announced as Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees in 19 categories who hail from 9 provinces and 3 territories in Canada.
Known for their vibrant duets and handmade banjos, Horsefly, BC’s Pharis and Jason Romero lead the pack with four nominations for their album A Wanderer I’ll Stay. Their nominations include Traditional Album of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Traditional Singer of the Year (Pharis Romero), and Producer of the Year (Pharis and Jason Romero with David Travers-Smith).

Amelia Curran (St John’s, NL), Fortunate Ones (St John’s, NL), Jenn Grant (Lake Echo, NS), Whitehorse (Toronto, ON) and Catherine MacLellan (Charlottetown, PEI) each bring home 3 nominations for their music.

This year’s youngest nominee is nine year old Vancouver Island artist Stella Swansonfor the album I’m Not A Bunny in the Children’s Album of the Year Category. Inspired by Stella’s pet bunny Romeo, the album was produced by Comox’s Helen Austin, a previous Canadian Folk Music Award and Juno Award recipient and a nominee this year with her group Big Little Lions.

CFMA’s host city of Edmonton has three local artists with nominations: Laura Vinson and Free Spirit, nominated for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year, Lizzy Hoyt nominated for Solo Artist of the Year and Rebecca Lappa who is nominated for Young Performer of the Year.

Download the nominees by province here: bit.ly/CFMA2015nomineebyprovince

Download all nominees by category here: bit.ly/CFMA2015nomineesbycategory
A quick look at the nominated artists by province and territory:

British Columbia: 16 nominations, 12 artists
Alberta: 4 nominations, 4 artists
Saskatchewan: 1 nomination, 1 artist
Manitoba: 4 nominations, 6 artists
Ontario: 33 nominations, 25 artists
Quebec: 14 nominations, 12 artists
Nova Scotia: 7 nominations, 4 artists
Newfoundland: 11 nominations, 5 artists
Prince Edward Island: 3 nominations, 1 artist
Yukon: 1 nomination, 1 artist
Northwest Territories: 1 nomination, 1 artist
Nunavut: 2 nominations, 1 artist

The 2015 CFMA weekend is being held in the vibrant city of Edmonton. It begins on November 6th and runs through to November 8th, culminating in the bilingual gala awards presentation at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. The gala event on November 8 is hosted by musicians Connie Kaldor and Benoit Bourque (La Bottine Souriante). Tickets for the gala are $48 (plus administrative fee of $2). Thursday and Friday evening showcase events are $25 per evening. Full purchase links are available at folkawards.ca.

The complete list of nominees and categories are below.

Shining the spotlight on up and coming talent (those eligible must be under 19 at the time of the recording), this year’s Young Performer of the Year nominees include:

Robbie Bankes – Through February Snow
Coastline – Coastline
Rebecca Lappa – Tattered Rose
Mira Meikle – MIRA
Benjamin Dakota Rogers – Strong Man’s Address to the Circus Crowd

The New/Emerging Artist of the Year nominees include:
Crooked Brothers – Thank You I’m Sorry
Fortunate Ones – The Bliss
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer – A Real Fine Mess
The River And The Road – Headlights
The Young Novelists – made us strangers

Celebrating innovation in creating new folk sounds, The Oliver Schroer Pushing The Boundaries Award category puts a spotlight on:
Kevin Breit – Ernesto and Delilah
The Jerry Cans– Aakuluk
The Shoeless – The Shoeless
Dana Sipos – Roll Up the Night Sky
Whitehorse – Leave No Bridge Unburned

Songwriting is a key component of folk music. This year’s English Songwriter of the Year nominees are:
Catherine Allan and Andrew James O’Brien for The Bliss (Fortunate Ones)
Jon Brooks for The Smiling And Beautiful Countryside (Jon Brooks)
Amelia Curran for They Promised You Mercy (Amelia Curran)
Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland for Leave No Bridge Unburned (Whitehorse)
Jenn Grant for Compostela (Jenn Grant)

The French Songwriter of the Year nominees are:
Jocelyne Baribeau for Entre toi et moi (Jocelyne Baribeau)
Louis-Jean Cormier for Les grandes artères (Louis-Jean Cormier)
Benoit Pinette for Panorama (Tire le Coyote)
Dany Placard for Santa Maria (Dany Placard)
Geneviève Toupin for Willows (Willows)

The Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year nominees are:
Miranda Currie for Up In The Air (Miranda Currie)
The Jerry Cans for Aakuluk (The Jerry Cans)
Raven Kanatakta and ShoShona Kish for For The Light (Digging Roots)
Buffy Sainte-Marie for Power In The Blood (Buffy Sainte-Marie)
Laura Vinson and Free Spirit for Warrior (Laura Vinson and Free Spirit)

World Group of the Year:
Ayrad – Ayrad
Alex Cuba – Healer
Lemon Bucket Orkestra – Moorka
Monsoon – Mandala
Ventanas– Arrelumbre

World Solo Artist of the Year:
Kiran Ahluwalia – Sanata: Stillness
Jean-François Bélanger – Les vents orfèvres
Elage – Diame
Emmanuel Jal – The Key
Wagner Petrilli – Confissão

Traditional Album of the Year:
Matthew Byrne – Hearts & Heroes
Le Vent du Nord – Têtu
Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy – ONE
Pharis & Jason Romero – A Wanderer I’ll Stay
Jayme Stone – Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project

Traditional Singer of the Year:
Michael Jerome Browne – Sliding Delta
Matthew Byrne – Hearts & Heroes
Tamar Ilana for Arrelumbre by Ventanas
Annie Lou – Tried and True
Pharis Romero for A Wanderer I’ll Stay by Pharis and Jason Romero

Contemporary Album of the Year:
Jon Brooks – The Smiling And Beautiful Countryside
Jenn Grant – Compostela
Catherine MacLellan – The Raven’s Sun
The Once – Departures
Gabrielle Papillon – The Tempest of Old

Contemporary Singer of the Year:
Amelia Curran – They Promised You Mercy
Peter Katz – We Are The Reckoning
Sarah MacDougall – Grand Canyon
Catherine MacLellan – The Raven’s Sun
Jory Nash – The Many Hats of Jory Nash

Instrumental Group of the Year:
Coastline – Coastline
Shane Cook and Jake Charron – Head to Head
Lemon Bucket Orkestra – Moorka
Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy – ONE
Monsoon – Mandala

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year:
Jean-François Bélanger – Les vents orfèvres
Adrianna Ciccone – The Back of Winter
Nick Hornbuckle – 12×2(+/-1)
Patti Kusturok – Milestone
Wendy MacIsaac – Off The Floor

Vocal Group of the Year:
Fortunate Ones – The Bliss
Good Lovelies – Burn The Plan
The Lucky Sisters – So Lucky
Pharis & Jason Romero – A Wanderer I’ll Stay
The Young Novelists – made us strangers

Ensemble of the Year:
Big Little Lions – A Little Frayed, A Little Torn
The Once – Departures
Jayme Stone – Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project
The Sweet Lowdown – Chasing The Sun
Whitehorse – Leave No Bridge Unburned

Solo Artist of the Year:
Michael Jerome Browne – Sliding Delta
Amelia Curran – They Promised You Mercy
Lizzy Hoyt – New Lady on the Prairie
Catherine MacLellan – The Raven’s Sun
Oh Susanna – Namedropper

Children’s Album of the Year:
Ginalina – Forest Friends’ Nature Club Album
Henri Godon – La vie rêvée!
Hilary Grist – Tomorrow is a Chance to Start Over
Stella Swanson – I’m Not a Bunny
The Swinging Belles – More Sheep, Less Sleep

Producer of the Year:
Daniel Ledwell for Compostela (Jenn Grant)
Jory Nash, Chris Stringer for The Many Hats of Jory Nash (Jory Nash)
Les Cooper for Burn The Plan (Good Lovelies)
Murray Pulver, Dave Zeglinski, Steve Bell for Pilgrimage (Steve Bell)
Pharis & Jason Romero, David Travers-Smith for A Wanderer I’ll Stay (Pharis & Jason Romero)

This year’s Unsung Hero award recipient is Ottawa’s Arthur McGregor. Arthur’s tireless efforts in the Ottawa music scene ensured the support for the appreciation of folk music in his community for many years. This special category award will also be handed out on November 8, 2015 at the CFMA gala event at the Citadel Theatre.

Canadian Music Week Welcomes Rick Fenton as Vice President of Business Development

Sep 9, 2015

Canadian Music Week is pleased to welcome the appointment of Rick Fenton as the Vice President of Business Development.

“With over 30 years of experience in varying capacities across the country, I have no doubt in my mind that Rick’s extensive background will be an incredible asset to our team,” says CMW President Neill Dixon. “We couldn’t be more happy to have him on board.”

Rick will assume his new position on October 1st, 2015. For six years Rick served as the Executive Director of the Western Canadian Music Alliance and the BreakOut West Festival, Conference and the Western Canadian Music Awards. Most recently, he has served as the Executive Director of MusicOntario (Ontario’s music industry association) in Toronto and looks forward to his new role.

“I’m excited to be working with the CMW team and all of our partners that help to make this organization truly the best event of its kind anywhere!”

For over 30 years Rick Fenton has made his living in the Music Industry. Starting out as a musician in the late 70’s, he landed at the CBC in 1981 where he was a network music producer in Calgary, Toronto, and Edmonton. In 2001 he took on the position of Artistic Director of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. After four seasons at the festival he started his own company and produced television shows and live events for the Olympics, JunoFest, the Queen’s visit, Premier’s Conference, NAB, and more. Rick was also a consultant for CanWest, helping develop events and television programs as well as creating and fulfilling partnerships to support a wide range of national initiatives.

Now in its 34th year, Canadian Music Week is recognized as one of the premier entertainment events in North America focusing on the business of music. The Canadian Music Week festival spans 10 nights of performances, with 1,000 showcasing bands at more than 60 live music venues in downtown Toronto. All convention functions take place at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, 123 Queen Street W. Toronto.

Insomnia, anxiety, break-ups … musicians on the dark side of touring

Sep 9, 2015

While many may envisage the life of a touring musician to be that of a glorified jetsetter, the reality is far from idyllic. A recent study by charity Help Musicians UK found that over 60% of musicians have suffered from depression or other psychological issues, with touring an issue for 71% of respondents.

Singer Alanna McArdle recently announced her departure from Cardiff punk band Joanna Gruesome for mental health reasons, her statement hinting that the strain of touring may have been a factor in her decision to quit.And when Zayn Malik broke the hearts of millions by pulling out of One Direction’s tour of Asia – leaving the boy band shortly after – a source close to the band told the tabloid press: “Zayn went because he’d had enough. Have you ever been on the road for four years? ”

“The classic image of a touring musician would seem counterintuitive to all we know about well-being,” says Isabella Goldie of the Mental Health Foundation. “Drinking in moderation, avoiding drugs, getting sufficient amounts of sleep, and having a support base of close friends and family nearby. These are the bonds that help keep you grounded … It’s no surprise that some musicians struggle.”

Via The Guardian

John Oates On Writing Hall & Oates’s “She’s Gone”

Sep 8, 2015

What do you remember about writing it?

John Oates: I remember everything about writing it! I had met this girl at three in the morning in a soul food restaurant in the Village called the Pink Teacup. It was one of the few places in the Village in the early ’70s that actually stayed open all night, believe it or not. I was in there, God knows why, at three in the morning, and in comes this gal, she had a pink tutu and cowboy boots on and it was December and I thought that was pretty cool. So we started dating, we kind of hooked up. It was the ’70s, so things happened kinda fast. We saw each other a few times, and then I asked her if she wanted to hang out on New Year’s Eve, and she said yes. She was supposed to come to my apartment and meet me and she never showed up. As it was getting toward midnight, I finally realized that she wasn’t coming and I just sat down with my guitar and started writing this almost, like, folk song. All it said was “She’s gone, oh oh oh, she’s gone” and “What went wrong?” It was really very simple.

The next day Daryl came back to the apartment and we sat down, and I said, “Hey man, you know I got stood up last night, but I wrote this chorus, this hook that’s kind of cool.” And I played it for him, and he sat down at the piano and he immediately started getting into it and he played the piano part that you hear in the beginning of the song. We began to write the verse together. I bet it didn’t take more than an hour to write the whole song. We just used very mundane, everyday images to kind of symbolize loneliness and loss, even in the opening line, “Everybody’s high on consolation / everybody’s trying to tell me what’s right for me,” “I’m worn as a toothbrush hanging in the stand,” these very simple, lonely images, they’re very kind of everyday things that people can relate to but somehow speak on more universal terms. I think that’s really why the song has connected over the years, because everyone can relate to the idea of loss. We just captured this spirit in some way that has just stood the test of time.

Via Grantland

Free Cision Report: 12 Must-Have PR Apps

Sep 8, 2015

Today’s PR reps and marketers have amazing tools available to them to work smarter and get more done. Cision spoke with Canadian PR leaders like Martin Waxman, Joe Thornley and Nikki Tudico to find out what apps help them achieve results.

Review our 12 Must-Have PR Apps and find out how to use new tools to research and find great content, stay organized and keep projects on track, increase conversion rates and make business impact.

Go to Cision to check out their findings, it’s a must-read.

John Oliver Gives Students Back to School Advice

Sep 8, 2015

John Oliver gives students a crash course in everything they will learn — or not learn — in school this year.

Famous Comedians Dealing With Hecklers, Part 2

Sep 8, 2015

You asked for it, so here it is. And although it need not be stated — don’t go to a comedy show just to be a jerk. Be prepared for some NSFW language.

You can watch Part 1 here:

Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien & More Give Hosting Advice for Stephen Colbert

Sep 8, 2015

Dear Stephen Colbert,
Don’t screw it up.
Love, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, and James Corden

50 Years of EXILE: The Story of a Band in Transition Book Is Out Now

Sep 8, 2015

The story of one of the most successful bands in Country Music history has been documented with the recent release of the book 50 Years of Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition. Written by Randy Westbrook, an Eastern Kentucky University musicologist, the book details the group’s rise to prominence over the past five decades.

Founded in Richmond, Kentucky by Jimmy Stokley, Ronnie ‘Mack’ Davenport, Paul Smith, Mike Howard, Billy Luxon, Buzz Cornelison, and J.P. Pennington – while all were still in high school – the band found a following in the Lexington area. But, the Exile story doesn’t end there. A stint on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars in the mid 1960s broadened their audience even more. During that stint, they opened for such Pop acts as the legendary B.J. Thomas.

Continuing to record and tour throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Exile’s star began to shine bright with the 1978 release of the single “Kiss You All Over.” After fifteen years in the business, the band was suddenly an “Overnight Success,” with the song hitting number one in the fall of 1978, and selling over 5 million singles. The single’s massive commercial success introduced Exile as the new opening act on the Aerosmith tour and then the Heart tour, respectively. The group followed up that hit with another Top 40 on the Hot 100, “You Thrill Me.”

In the 1980s, Pennington – along with members Sonny LeMaire and Les Taylor – began to have success a songwriter in Nashville with cuts by Alabama (“Take Me Down”), Kenny Rogers (“Take This Heart”), Janie Fricke (“It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Easy”). That, combined with the fact that their roots had always been steeped in Country (Pennington’s mother, Lily Mae Ledford, was one of the stars of the iconic Renfro Valley Barn Dance), led them to sign with Epic Records in 1983.

Their first single, “High Cost Of Leavin,” found success at radio, and set the stage for hit after hit throughout the decade. “Woke Up In Love” became their first chart-topper, and it was followed by songs such as “She’s Too Good To Be True,” “Hang On To Your Heart,” and “She’s A Miracle.”

50 Years In Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition is an honest look at one of America’s most enduring success stories, with anecdotes from many of the band’s former and current members, including Paul Martin, who later went on to fame as one of Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives.

Praise for the book has come from a variety of critics and fans, with Randy pinpoints individual performances, instruments as well as the members themselves. Steve Goetzman, longtime drummer of the band, stated “Randy pinpoints individual performances, instruments played and recording techniques used, all in fine detail, yet in a language music fans will enjoy reading. This musicologist’s analysis of song after Exile song intertwined with an accurate history of a 50-year-old band might set a new standard for music reviewers. Colorful personalities, career-shaping decisions and solutions for longevity are talked about here.”

Keyboardist Marlon Hargis says the book was educational – even for him, “I learned things about the band that I never knew before! An interesting history of Exile from a musician’s viewpoint. I recommend it to any Exile fan, or any budding musician wanting a realistic depiction of a band’s life!”

Published by Acclaim Press, 50 Years of Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition is available in select bookstores and Amazon. The band continues to tour in 2015, with dates already being added to their itinerary for 2016.