Thank you Folk Music Ontario & Arts NB!
I’ve got some exciting news! In mid October 2015, I drove straight from Saint John, New Brunswick to Toronto, Ontario for the Folk Music Ontario Conference. I wanted to share the news plus some of the great moments & photos! And so the story begins…
When I met Greenbank Trio in New Brunswick at my first Music Festival – Collaborate and Listen at Shakedown Ranch (pictured below), they suggested I look into being a part of the Folk Music Ontario Conference.
They talked about how much fun it was and the amazing connections that were made as a result. The deal breaker for me, was when they explained how there were private showcases Friday and Saturday night on a hotel floor (which is rented out exclusively for the conference). What could be better?
I really wanted to make this happen so I did some research and what do you know. I came across a great organization that enabled me to travel and participate! Thank you so much to Arts NB for providing the opportunity for me to travel to Toronto to build these musical bridges. Receiving their Career Development Grant really helped me make this trip feasible.
Here are some great shots from the 2015 Folk Music Ontario Conference. Below is a selfie with Luke & Craig of Greenbank Trio!
While jamming in the Music Ontario penthouse room, I met Murder Murder – ironically the fiddle player, Geoff McCausland is from my hometown, Saint John, NB!
I got to hear an old friend perform – who is also a CBC Radio sensation, Lindy Vopnfjord.
The circle was again connected when I got to see the guys from Thunder Bay perform for their showcase.
The closing night, many musicians gathered in a room to jam out and share their incredible talents. If there is such thing as music and community – this is it, in the smallest form (because honestly how many people can you fit in a hotel room?). Setup got creative with beds being piled on top of each other in the form of bleachers – I had never seen anything like it.
There was so much incredible talent – I’d love to name each and every one of you, but I would never expect you to read that much. One of my favourite performers was Jadea Kelly. Her breathy lyrics resonated well with my own singing style and her wild wavy hair, reminded me of a woman’s free inner spirit.
I was really lucky to be able to be a part of the private showcases, thanks to ArtsCan Circle Showcase room (#345). It was great to help raise funds for such a great organization.
The night of my showcase, I headed down to the Hotel Lobby bar to send out emails to everyone I had met and remind them of my showcase time – Saturday night at 2:30am. While working away, I met this amazing drummer from Ottawa, named Darcy. He’s a part of Bottle Hearts – a pretty cool band! The lead singer is from New Brunswick!
He later joined me to play the cajon during my showcase – how cool is that? That is the power of music – it brings complete strangers together.
Let’s backup to day one of the Folk Music Ontario. I was exhausted beyond means as I had just driven straight from Saint John, NB to Toronto, Ontario to partake in the conference. I somehow had this incredible energy and an excitement to meet people and share stories. In the first few hours, I bumped into Peter Woods, who actually used to be a Minister in a town I spent most of my childhood in – St. Martins, New Brunswick. He remembered my family!
After meeting and hearing his son, Campbell Woods, Campbell would later open up for me at my show in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Carleton Music Bar & Grill.
Later that day, I met Avi Federgreen, of Indiecan Records who was one of the Producers for the feature film “Still” – a heartfelt true love story about an 89 year old man who faces off against the government when he decides to build a final home for himself and his wife. This childhood St. Martins connection was so cool! I will talk more about that connection with other bodies of my work on future posts so make sure you subscribe to the mailing list below.
Last but not least, one great artist I saw was Laura Tremblay – her voice drew me into the hotel room right away and made me sit down and stay. I loved her vibe and I definitely feel there will be more to come from our connection!
To finish the conference off, I bumped into Julian Taylor and laid on his acupuncture mat. It felt really good – ironically I laid there and hours prior, across the street, two people had been shot, one injured and one killed.
We can’t predict the future but we can choose to live each moment in love instead of fear. We can genuinely be interested in the wellbeing of others if we seek to understand, instead of seek to be understood.
Traveling and meeting new people inspires me to create meaningful content. My true wish for this content, is that in turn, it inspires you to be the person you really want to be. Full of integrity, growth, respect, perseverance & compassion. One thing we can likely agree on, is that we all want to be better…
I kindly and humbly ask that you support my preorder album campaign by visiting www.musicalgypsy.ca and checking to see if there are any options that work for your budget. If you aren’t in a place to support financially right now, then worry pas – sharing this with your network would mean the world.
A big thank you once again to Artslink NB & the Folk Music Ontario Conference!
