Canadian Musician - January/February 2019 | Page 14

CHANGES MARK YOUR CALENDAR... CD Baby Taking Its DIY Musician Conference to Austin Conference Details Revealed for Folk Alliance International 2019 in Montreal Folk Alliance International has released the conference schedule for its 31 st annual event, which is taking place from Feb. 13- 17, 2019, at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal. This marks the first time the event – the largest annual gathering of the roots music industry – has been held in Canada since 2013. This year’s conference theme, “The Spir- it of Creativity,” is an exploration of the artis- tic process from inspiration to vocation and a collective conversation about innovation, collaboration, and spirituality in art. As part of the conference, two “global summits” will be held. The Ethnomusicology Summit is facilitated by the Society for Ethnomusicol- ogy and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The focus of discussion will be the critique of the idea of “world music.” The other sum- mit is the International Indigenous Music Summit on Feb. 14 th , hosted by ShoShona Kish. A first-of-its-kind summit, the one-day event will gather Indigenous artists, knowl- edge keepers, and community builders, as well as invited allies, to discuss the most important issues facing the Indigenous music community. Additionally, dozens of panels and peer sessions will be held over the three days of the conference. The discussions will cover a wide range of artist-centric topics, including marketing and album release strategies, sync licensing, practice strategies, songwriting tricks, health and wellness, and a lot more. For more information and a complete conference and showcase schedule, go to www.folkconference.org. 14 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N LISA LEBLANC AT FAI 2018 CD Baby is bringing its annual DIY Musician Conference to Austin, TX from Aug. 16-18, 2019. Organizers expect around 1,500 mu- sicians of all ages, career stages, and back- grounds to fill Austin’s downtown Hilton. The conference spans three days of in- tensive workshops, mentoring sessions, and jam rooms designed “not to give a platform to industry talking heads, but to give artists the tools they need to change their creative lives and careers,” according to organizers. “CD Baby pays close attention to what our artists need,” says Kevin Breuner of CD Baby. “We know they are often hungry for a real plan of action, for helpful advice, and encouragement, not for another panel on abstract business issues facing major labels.” The focus is on accessible, actionable ideas and tips that work for musicians at a variety of career crossroads and meaningful take- aways that energize and transform. For more information as it becomes available, go to www.diymusiciancon.com. 15 More Canadian Artists Added to SXSW 2019 Lineup South by Southwest (SXSW) has an- nounced an additional 240-plus show- casing artists who will perform at the 2019 festival in Austin, TX from March 11-17, 2019. In its initial list of showcasing artists, six Canadian acts were included. In the sec- ond round of announced SXSW showcases, 15 Canadian acts were added to the lineup. They are: Chastity (Whitby, ON); Construc- tion & Destruction (Port Greville, NS); Dead Soft (Vancouver); DJ Rosegold (Toronto); Goodbye Honolulu (Toronto); Graham Van Pelt (Toronto); In Mirrors (Vancouver); Joel Eel (Toronto); Living Hour (Winnipeg, MB); MUNYA (Saguenay, QC); Murray A. Light- burn (Montreal); Royal Canoe (Winnipeg, MB); The Sick Things (Montreal); Tallies (To- ronto); and Taylor Janzen (Winnipeg, MB). SXSW organizers also announced additional conference details, including keynote conversations with Shirley Manson (Garbage) and Lauren Mayberry (CHVRCH- ES), featured speakers Amanda Palmer and Ross Golan, and more than 600 conference sessions. In the conference’s Music Track, other featured speakers include Lance Bass, Laura Jane Grace, SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor, and Chris Lee, head of A&R at K-pop behemoth SM Entertainment. For more information, go to www.sxsw.com. Guitar Workshop Plus Announces 2019 Dates Guitar Workshop Plus has announced its 2019 schedule. There will be one Canadian session this year, running in Toronto from July 28-Aug. 2. The other dates and loca- tions are: San Diego, CA from June 16-21; Nashville, TN from July 21-26; and Seattle, WA from July 14-19. Early bird discounts and gear giveaways are available until Feb. 15, 2019. Designed for aspiring musicians of all ages, including teenagers, adult hobby- ists, students pursuing music careers, and semi-professional and professional musi- cians, the program offers students a setting for intense musical and personal growth. As well, this program allows for group development and courses are offered for all levels (beginner to advanced), ages (12 through adult), and styles including blues, jazz, rock, acoustic, and classical. There are also intensive bass, drum, keyboard, vocal, and songwriting courses. For more information, contact Guitar Workshop Plus: 905-567-8000, [email protected], www.guitarworkshopplus.com.