100 Mile Musical Diet Challenge

The West End Cultural Centre, Balanced Records, Uptown Magazine, Head in the Sand, and Manitoba Music want you to get more local music in your diet. June marks the first annual 100 Mile Musical Diet Challenge, which hopes to capture the imagination of all Winnipeg music fans and get people interacting with more local music. 

The idea, inspired by the popular food movement, originated with former Liptonians drummer, Terrell Froese. According to Mike Petkau, artistic director at the WECC and the man behind Head in the Sand, Froese listened to nothing but local music for a month last year, as "a response to the globalization of music as a commodity. ...[Froese] found a lot of personal value in both the challenge and the daily musical discovery."

"Winnipeg is a small city, but has a lot of fascinating music being made in its nooks and crannies," says Petkau. "Sure, there are the big names who get press and exposure, but the real innovators and the really exciting stuff is often a little deeper under the surface. We want to encourage Winnipeg music fans to dig a little deeper, explore a little further, celebrate, and support the many great artists across all genres that call Winnipeg home."

To get involved, all you have to do is challenge yourself to listen local for 30 days. It's easier than you might think; there is a lot of great local content readily available on stage, on radio, in stories, and, of course, online.

Several local music stores, including Music Trader and Into the Music, have sections dedicated to local music. You can find the latest releases and new discoveries, many of which were produced and recorded here.

Head in the Sand is offering a 10-song sampler for download, featuring songs by Royal Canoe, The Liptonians, Les Jupes, Tom Keenan, Todd Hunter, Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers, Courier News, and Record Of The Week Club, which you can download for free.

Right here on manitobamusic.com, you can find hours of streaming radio, free weekly downloads, hundreds of artist profiles, and a comprehensive calendar of concerts around the city and province. 

There are also two official 100 Mile live events coming up this month. You can catch the 100 Mile rock tribute at the WECC on June 10 featuring hip-hop outfit Magnum K.I. covering The Weakerthans' Reconstruction Site and indie posters Paper Moon covering War Wagon by punk legends Red Fisher. June 17-20, audiences can catch the inaugural MEME: Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition, which kicks off at Old Market Square.

Beyond the official 100 Mile events, there are numerous opportunities to see and hear live local music this and every month, including live album recordings, CD releases, open mics, jam sessions, and concerts. The summer festivals, from The Back 40 Festival to the Jazz Winnipeg Festival to the Winnipeg Folk Festival, will offer plenty of chances to see homegrown talent. Later this summer, the Manitoba Museum will host a special two-month exhibit highlighting the history of music in Manitoba, called Shakin' All Over: The Manitoba Music Experience.

Petkau hopes that 100 Mile will catch on.

"We took his idea and used it as a template for building a larger 'movement'."