Manitoba X Minnesota Music Exchange

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3PEAT
Bruise Violet
Fathom Lane
VIKINGS

Manitoba Music Teams Up with MPR's The Current for Music Exchange Project, Showcases in Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and Fargo Sep 27-29

Minnesota and Manitoba have a lot more in common than water, winter, and walleye. Both have a reputation for incredible artistic talent and a long history of nurturing and supporting their respective scenes. And this month, they’re joining forces for the Manitoba X Minnesota Music Exchange.

Manitoba Music is teaming up with Minnesota Public Radio's The Current for the third edition of its music exchange aiming to continue deepening connections with Minnesota-based industry and media. Minnesota is one of Manitoba’s closest and largest music markets. Just over the border, the Twin Cities alone is home to over 3.2 million people. Manitoba X Minnesota Music Exchange offers the chance for four export-ready acts to expand their audience base and network with key industry players.

Manitoba’s own hip hop triumvirate 3PEAT and electronic pop outfit VIKINGS will trek south for some Midwestern fun at Minneapolis’ Icehouse on September 27 along with Minnesota’s grunge punk trio Bruise Violet and indie folk rock act Fathom Lane. The four bands will hit Fargo’s Red Raven Espresso Parlor on September 28 and then head across the border for a night of music and fun at The Good Will Social Club in Winnipeg on September 29. Between shows, each act will have the opportunity to network with key industry players, offering a chance to share and develop their audiences.

Leading up to the shows, The Current and UMFM 101.5 will also be spinning tunes from a cross section of Manitoba and Minnesota acts. The Current's Jim McGuinn, David Safar, Jesse Wiza, and Jade will join Vitriol Independent Promotion’s Jesse Stensby and Modern Radio Record Label’s Tom Loftus at a MusicWorks roundtable lunch on September 30 at Manitoba Music exploring strategies artists can use to make Minneapolis and St. Paul a launch pad to tour this thriving market and open other regions in the U.S.

Fresh from showcases at BreakOut West where they were up for Rap/Hip Hop Artist of the Year, 3PEAT's Steve, E.GG and Dill The Giant form a triangle offence of rap styles and influences. Their high energy set features has won them fans and their self-titled debut EP has turned the heads of and media and industry alike.

VIKINGS has been crafting big melodies and headlining festivals without leaving the walls of their prairie ice palace. The quartet’s music is equal parts dance-worthy and expansive synth trip, heard on its latest EP, Animal Kingdom released via Winnipeg label Head In The Sand (Apparat Organ Quartet, Les Jupes, Rococode).

Getting their sound from the roots of the Riot Grrrl movement, Bruise Violet add its own twist with three-part harmonies on top of loud riffs. It's like Broadway meets Bikini Kill. The trio has been building a following in Minnesota, hitting the stage at Twin Cities venues like 7th Street Entry, Memory Lanes, and many others.

Over the span of three critically-acclaimed full lengths, Fathom Lane has been getting international attention for its indefinable sound. Front man Michael Michael Ferrier cites classic touchstones like The Velvet Underground, Tom Petty, and the Laurel Canyon songwriters as influences for the band’s contemporary sound.

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is one of the U.S.’s premier public radio stations producing programming for radio, online and live audiences and operates a 45-station radio network serving nearly all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states. Reaching 900,000 listeners each week, MPR and its three regional services – MPR News, Classical MPR, and The Current – produce programming for radio, online, and face-to-face audiences. The Minnesota bands participating in next month’s Manitoba X Minnesota project were chosen by fans in The Current's music exchange contest.

The showcases are part of a busy season for the Manitoba Music Export project, which just wrapped up market development initiatives in Berlin, Hamburg, Nashville, and Edmonton. Bringing Manitoba music to new markets and intensifying trade activity in existing markets is a key component of Manitoba Music Export initiatives. Manitoba Music Export is funded by the Province of Manitoba, FACTOR and the Government of Canada, 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, and contributes to the growth and development of Manitoba’s economy.

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