“Canadian Blast” is put on by Music Export Canada on Monday September 8 at Ding Dong Lounge in Market Lane in Chinatown.
Open free to the public are showcases from 7 m by folk-reggae troubadour Buckman Coe, singer/songwriter Jordan Klassen, and rock pop duo Mise En Scene with a headline set by Australian band Horace Bones.
From 6pm to 7pm, invited members of the Melbourne music industry can catch up with Stuart Johnston, president of the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA); Neill Dixon and John Kastner of Canadian Music Week, and Nikki Chee, the Australian and Asian representative of the CIMA.
Also in attendance will be Nick Bernal and Carly O’Donnell of Nevado Records & Management, Sara Stasiuk and Sean McManus of Manitoba Music, Tim Jones of label and artist development firm Pipe & Hat, Joshua Warburton of Sleepless Records and Emily Alvis of Tonic Records.
Any band or music exec wanting to meet up with the Canadians should contact Jo Corbett at [email protected].
One talking point would be that next May, Canadian Music Week is featuring Australia as the spotlight country. The event is a strong supporter of Aussie acts, in the past showcasing The Jezabels, The Falls, Jordi Lane, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Blue King Brown, The Beards, Kate Miller Heidke, DZ Deathrays, The Lazys, Busby Marou, Emma Louise and You Am I.
The Melbourne visitors are part of a larger Canadian delegation attending the BIGSOUND conference in Brisbane a few days after. Aside from showcases by the three acts that play Melbourne (Brisbane also gets Toronto buzz band Just Talk) and networking sessions, the Canadians are hosting a panel Hooray for Canada.
The panel will stress Canada as an important touring stop for Australian acts. In addition to those at the Melbourne event, the panel will have Sari Delmar (artist and brand service Audio Blood Inc), Grant Paley (Paquin Artists Agency) and Adam Sylvester (The Agency Group). Also included is Alastair Burns of Melbourne management and booking firm Heartstop which books Canadian acts Lindi Ortega and Amelia Curran and manages Jordie Lane.
Australia and Canada have long had a close musical relationship. Men At Work, The Cat Empire, Split Enz, Mental As Anything, The Dingoes, Goanna, Weddings Parties Anything and Xavier Rudd broke in Canada before the US.
In the last few years, the Consulate General in Sydney has been working with Australian promoters to tour emerging acts as Two Hours Traffic Carmen Townsend, Zeus, The Trews, Bedouin Soundclash, Colin Moore, Elliott Brood, Final Flash, JP Hoe, Matthew Barber, The Respectables, The Tom Fun Orchestra, Jason Collett, and Dan Mangan. Some have done return tours.
This is the second year that the Canadians have showcased at BIGSOUND.
