Manitoba Music Export Puts Local Artists On the Map

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Micah Erenberg hits the showcase stage at Reeperbahn, BreakOut West, and the Manitoba Music show in Toronto
Efflo
Jérémie & The Delicious Hounds
JayWood
Living Hour
Manitoba Music
Mariachi Ghost
Marisolle Negash
Rayannah
SHEA
The Middle Coast
The Secret Beach
The Small Glories
viisi
Warming
William Prince
Yes We Mystic

Artist Entrepreneurs to Make Music Business Connections at Showcase Events Across Canada, the U.S., and Germany This Fall

Manitoba Music is hitting the road with a stellar roster of homegrown talent for a packed season of Manitoba Music Export events this fall. The not-for-profit, member-driven music industry association will be presenting opportunities for several export-ready music entrepreneurs and connecting them to influential industry contacts in key music markets.

Bringing local music to new markets and intensifying trade activity in existing markets is critical to the growth and sustainability of the music industry. Artists will hit showcase stages in over a dozen cities over the next three months, including coveted spots at prestigious festivals in Canada, the U.S., and Germany.

Things will kick off south of the border with a return to music mecca Nashville for the AmericanaFest. Manitoba Music will combine its exporting power with prairie counterparts SaskMusic and Alberta Music to present events during the massive fest under the BreakOut West banner. The September 13 showcase at East Nashville haunt, The Groove, will feature powerhouse roots duo The Small Glories. The Small Glories and more will also join the prairie triumvirate’s networking event with Nashville-based music publishers on September 11. JUNO-winning singer/songwriter William Prince will also be in Nashville for an official AmericanaFest showcase on September 15.

Bilingual electro-soul act Rayannah and indie singer/songwriter Micah Erenberg will head overseas with Manitoba Music for a return to the Reeperbahn Festival at Hamburg’s Kukuun on September 20. The delegation will also stop in Berlin for meetings with German music companies.

Manitoba Music’s Indigenous Music Development Program will lead showcase and networking events at the famed Mondo.NYC on October 3 and 4 featuring four acclaimed artists from across Canada. Manitoba-based Anishinaabe MC and singer/songwriter Leonard Sumner, Winnipeg-born and Hamilton-based electronic pop artist iskwé, Montréal-based “Polar pop” act Elisapie, and JUNO-nominated DJ/producer DJ Shub. The October 4 showcase at the MET is presented by MET Live, Mondo.NYC, and the Canadian Consulate in New York.

The road to BreakOut West will be paved with export showcases and networking opportunities across the western Provinces, including a pre-BreakOut West stop in Winnipeg. Manitoba Music will take over The Handsome Daughter on October 9 for a showcase featuring emerging locals building a buzz, R&B singer/songwriter Marisolle Negash, hip hop artist Shea, and indie pop act Warming. International industry reps will be in town to take in the showcase, speak about export-readiness, and meet with local industry and artists.

Some of the best in the west—including Western Canadian Music Award nominees Jérémie & The Delicious Hounds, Lanikai, and Yes We Mystic, plus Malcolm-Jay, Micah Erenberg, Sc Mira, The Mariachi Ghost, The Middle Coast, viisi, and Warming—will then converge in Kelowna for the 16th edition of BreakOut West Festival and Conference.

Team BreakOut West will make its way east for a showcase stop at Halifax Pop Explosion in mid-October featuring Rayannah and jangle pop act JayWood. Indie pop outfit Living Hour will also be hitting the showcase stage as part of its eastern North American tour. 

Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern will play host to Rayannah, Micah Erenberg, Yes We Mystic, and Malcolm-Jay, who’ll perform for and network with important industry players on October 23, including labels, agents, publishers, supervisors, publicists, and more.

On the horizon, the fourth Montreal edition of Francophone music development project, Rame à la rencontre, will offer showcases and professional development, November 5-6. Details and performer lineups will be announced prior to each event.

Manitoba Music Export is funded by the Province of Manitoba, FACTOR and the Government of Canada, and Manitoba Film & Music. 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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