Author Archives: Sarit Agnihotri

BC Artists Represented in Nominee List for 2021 WCMA

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With the 2021 Western Canada Music Awards to take place later this winter in Winnipeg, it has gone without notice that there are many British Columbians being nominated for awards this year.

The “Classical composer of the year” award sees all five nominations being given out to our fellow BC artists.

Along with the “solid electronic dance” artist of the year nominees being heavily swayed towards artists that reside in British Columbia. In fact the only non BC native nominated is Alberta’s Groovy Talltale who ended up sneaking onto the list on nominees. Local BC artists nominated are; DJ Mat the Alien, So Sus, Takis, and Astrocolor.

In terms of the heavy metal or hard rock categories, British Columbia had no nominees in either of the two categories at the Western Canadian Music Awards.

In terms of the winners being announced, it has been said that both the Western Canadian Music Awards and the Industry awards will be selected in October, with the annual event being held in WCMA’s head office in Winnipeg between February 2-6, 2022. The events lasts three nights and is a wide open music festival and is held annually in different parts of Western Canada. The full expectation for Feb 22 2022 is a completely normal set up due to most Canadians having gotten their Covid-19 vaccinations.

As a fellow British Columbian it is always cool to see locals in the spotlight whether it would be in sports, tv shows and movies, or even music. Seeing so many artists from British Columbia has to make you feel proud to be apart of our great province that for the most part we take for granted.

If you are from BC tune into the WCMA’s to show support for your local artists and who knows maybe even attend the festival in February out in Winnipeg this winter.

Drive-By Truckers to Play In Vancouver This Winter

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It is no secret that there is a little bit of a hole in most people with the lack of concerts in the past 14 months due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

If you are a fan of the Drive-By Truckers, you should be pleased with the news provided by Timbre Concerts that the Truckers will play on February 22, 2022 at the Commodore Ball Room.

if you are attending this event some tracks you should expect to hear are; “A Ghost to Most”, “Birthday Boy”, “Carl Perkins’ Cadillac”, “The Righteous Path”, and “Primer Coat”. All these featuring from their most popular album releases throughout the years that will keep your smile glowing from underneath your mask.

The Truckers previously scheduled in March of 2020 at the Commodore was canceled of course in part to the start of an absolute whirlwind of a year to follow due to COVID-19.

It is great to see the shifting of the guard from the “new normal” slowly back to a regular everyday life. Although this process will still take time to see to come to fruition it is a great sign for many of us exhausted from this pandemic to hear about concert dates, rather than Covid cases.

Tickets for the February 22nd show go on sale this Friday, May 22nd at 10:00am pst on ticketmaster.ca. Although the concert is currently scheduled for 8:00pm Tuesday, it is important to remember that even with the light being at the end of the tunnel not everything is set in stone in this new reality, consumers are asked to purchase their tickets with knowing the possibility that these dates could change at a moments notice.

As with most Ballroom concerts, this is a General Admission style event which means get there early to ensure that you have the best possible view for your favorite rock band.

How Artists in BC are Creating Despite Pandemic

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The Covid-19 Pandemic has thrown us all into a whirlwind for the past 14 months dating back to March, 2020. We have had to adjust our lives and how we attack every day activities to cope with the “new normal”.

An industry that with an argument that can be described as being hit hardest by the pandemic is the entertainment industry. Live shows and events such as concerts and festivals have been rendered obsolete over the course of the pandemic. This has caused some artists to take an abstract approach to sharing their art.

A BC based singer and guitarist Ryan Guldemond hasn’t played live since the pandemic began in 2020, but has found a way to express his music through Tik Tok.

Ryan’s bad started to noticing growth in notoriety through the popular app, as their songs started to go viral due to them being used in other people’s videos. Their posts on Tik Tok have now surpassed over 24 million likes through the platform.

Most artists have used the pandemic as a motivation and inspiration to create new music. Guldemond says that his song ” I Got Love” was inspired by the pandemic. He described the pandemic as an opportunity to find the softer side  of himself that he did not know he had access to.

We have all been through a lot in these past 14 months of trying times. Many of us have used in to better ourselves in terms of maybe getting the rest one may not have been able to obtain in the normal times before this. The pandemic has made most, if not all people realize things about themselves that they once had not known before. Many have used it as a way to become more creative in trying new things, and expanding our knowledge and skills and have achieved things that maybe wouldn’t be possible without having to think a little bit outside the box.

Canadian Music Week

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The 38 year long tradition known as “Canadian Music Week” continues its run as it takes place again on May 18th and runs until the 21st.

Speakers at the online conference will include; Bif Naked, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Chris Blackwell, Desmond Child, Nile Rodgers, and Timbaland.

Events that will transpire over the week will include a Music Directors Panel: the Minds Behind The Show. This will transpire of a roundtable discussion which will be moderated by Joel Baskin. Rise of the Independent Artist, this will consist of a panel moderated by Oscar Furtado. And also Dream Teams: Songwriting Partnerships that make the hits, will be hosted by Merck Mercuriadis.

Canadian Music Week is considered Canada’s biggest musical event of the year as it is often described as being dedicated to the expression of Canada’s entertainment, median, and music industries.

The conference also includes award shows, trade exposition, and a music festival that will include virtual performances from hundreds of bands across the country.

Canadian Music week is coveted now more than ever. With the pandemic over staying its welcome, we have both seen and experienced how music can uplift us and help us through some dark times and especially even more so in the past 14 months dating back to the start of the pandemic. Everyone’s taste in music is completely different, but the great thing about Canadian Music Week is the fact that it caters to so many different types and genres of music that will connect with everyone that participates in the week long event.

You can register right now for Canadian Music Week and partake in all of these amazing activities listed along with even more throughout the week. If you are a fan of music this event is a no brainer for you to partake in and you can help support some Canadian artists that might not get the recognition that they deserve.

 

TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival

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If you are a Jazz fan and located in the lower mainland things are looking up for you this summer.

Since canceling last years festival due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society has prepared more than 100 events that will be held virtually, with more than 50 that will be able to be streamed without any additional cost.

The event runs from June 25th up until July 4th. It will include artists that range from the lower mainland to cities such as; Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, and even Paris.

Along with the virtual events that will take place throughout the event, the festival will also include two daily performances from Ocean Art Works located on Granville Island that will take place at 12:00pm and 1:30pm. The other will take place on Ironworks in Railtown at 4:30pm.

In terms of the free program the artists that are involved are; Dawn Pemberton, Alvaro Rojas, DJ Kookum with Sierra Baker, Jillian Lebeck, Lydia Hol, Mary Ancheta, Anita Eccleston, Amanda Sum, The Krystle Dos Santos Band, Eli Davidovici, the Peggy Lee Cole Schmidt trio, and Jasmine Jazz.

In terms of the international performances of the festival it will include two multi artist concert streams that will take place on June 26th and will include Trio Vatcher, Stadhouders, Petrucelli, Michael Moore’s Dice Cup, and OMAWI. The second will take place on June 26th and will include artists such as; Roberto Negro, Duo Les Metanuits, and Papier Ciseau.

If you are a Jazz fan all this content and different artists has to get you excited about the up coming summer in 2021. With things started to feel a little bit like normal and vaccines continuing to be rolled out daily, it is a deep breath of fresh air and everyone cannot wait to see what else is in store for British Columbia in the near future.