Manitoba Music Launches Intensive Showcase Season, Events in Canada, U.S., and Europe

Manitoba Music is gearing up for an extremely busy fall season of market development events connecting homegrown talent to influential industry contacts in important music markets in Canada, the U.S., Germany, and Poland. The not-for-profit, member-driven music industry association will hit 10 cities in the next three months, presenting opportunities for several export-ready independent music entrepreneurs.

Kicking things off in Halifax on September 8, Manitoba Music heads to Canadian Country Music Week for a series of showcase events co-presented with other Canadian music industry associations featuring performances by sibling country duo Petric, singer/songwriters Quinton Blair and Kendra Kay, pop country acts Leanne Pearson and David James, and more.

The following week, Manitoba Music will host influential international delegates in Winnipeg as they make their way across the country for this year’s BreakOut West festival and conference, which takes over Victoria September 17-20. Singer/songwriter William Prince, roots raconteur Slow Leaves, indie pop songstress French Press, and indie rock act Adam Hanney & Co. will perform for the visiting industry from Belgium, the U.K. and Germany. The September 15 showcase at The Good Will is part of two days of networking, meetings, and individualized mentor opportunities.

Next up, Manitoba Music will team up once again with prairie counterparts SaskMusic and Alberta Music to strengthen our combined exporting power and present events in Nashville during the massive Americana Music Festival (AMA) under the BreakOut West banner. The September 17 showcase at East Nashville haunt, The Groove, will feature performances by a local act already making waves in the hot Americana market, powerhouse duo The Small Glories. JUNO Award-winning alt-country favourites The Bros. Landreth also have a coveted official AMA slot. The prairie triumvirate will also co-host a networking event with Nashville-based music publishers on September 14 featuring newcomer Kendra Kay and more.

Meanwhile, The Crooked Brothers, Federal Lights, and JP Hoe will head overseas with Manitoba Music for events in Germany, including a showcase at Berlin’s Auster Club on September 22 and a return to the Reeperbahn Festival at Hamburg’s Kukuun on September 25, where they’ll be joined by hip hop heroes The Lytics for Canadian Blast's annual event. The Lytics will continue on for Manitoba Music’s first trip to Poland to develop connections with key music industry companies in Warsaw. Already a known commodity across the U.S. and U.K., The Lytics will hit the showcase stage on September 28 and take on several networking opportunities.

On the horizon, Manitoba Music will present showcases at Folk Music Ontario in Toronto, October 15-18; a showcase for key Toronto industry players, October 20; a sophomore showcase in Minneapolis in November; a trip to M for Montreal, November 18; and more. Details and performer lineups will be announced prior to each event.

Bringing Manitoba music to new geographic areas and finding new markets to intensify trade activity in existing markets is a key component of Manitoba Music's trade and business development project, which is funded by Western Economic Diversification Canada. Manitoba Music's market development initiatives are also funded by FACTOR, Manitoba Film & Music, and Manitoba Trade & Investment. Through events like these, Manitoba Music is able to increase the connection between our province’s music industry and the broader national and international industry, which is vital to the career advancement of Manitoba artists and industry professionals.

Manitoba Music will also keep things busy this fall with the release of new performance videos by Aboriginal recording artists via AMP Sessions; the September launch of a new season of professional development series, MusicWorks; showcase and training events in Flin Flon during Manitoba Showcase 2015 in October; and several Francophone music development initiatives, including the second Montreal edition of Rame à la rencontre, the Francophone professional development camp at Falcon Trails, and networking events at this month's Contact Ouest.