Monday, October 1, 2007

The Festival's Almost Here!

We are in the final countdown for our Oct 13/14 Toronto Songwriters' Festival! And it is definitely bigger and better than last year. We've expanded to two days, we have phenomenal artists and on Sunday we have an all-ages event featuring talented young performers!

Web-Radio
Last night Thanou and I did a web-radio interview with Joe Chisholm at IndieCan that also featured one of our artists for the event--Joshua Bartholomew. It was a real gift to be able to listen to Joshua in the studio. At only 22, he has the range of Jeff Buckley, and a heart the size of Canada. After listening to him last night I'm quite certain he's destined for stardom.

Our Amazing Musicians (Saturday's Event)
But Joshua's not the only one headed for stardom. All of our artists have uncommon talent. There's Kat Goldman (whose unforgettable voice will break your heart), Andy Carey (whose Brit pop tunes will linger with you for days), Tucker Finn (who is guaranteed to make you laugh and cry at the same time), MEAStars (whose singer-cello revolution will get into your bones), and Peter Verity (whose soulful folk will make you feel right at home). And that's just Saturday!

Talented Young Musicians (Sunday's Event)
On Sunday we have partnered with the School Alliance of Student Songwriters (SASS), run by Dale Russell (former lead guitarist for The Guess Who) and Artemis Chartier (musician and teacher). SASS nurtures talented young songwriters--teaching them how to write and compose their own music through mentorships with working musicians. We have five of their best young musicians playing on Sunday: Lindsay Broughton, Joey and Cierra MacDonald, Lindsay Regan, Justin Bridgemohan and Tafar-I Davis. A guest appearance will be made by Dale Russell and Artemis Chartier. The event will close with a performance by The Bungalows.

Behind the Scenes--A Big Thank You
It has been a bit crazy this year with the expanded format, and we wouldn't be here at all without all the incredible help and support we received from others. First, we are grateful to our dedicated volunteers, who have helped us put this all together. We are also extremely grateful to Intelliware Dev. for sponsoring our event for the second year in a row. Finally, we are grateful to Songwriters' Unite! and SASS, who help provide artists for this event, and to our promotional partners IndieCan and MegaMusic. Thanks to you all!

Look forward to seeing you all at the festival!

Best,
Shawn and Thanou

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