Where It's At! |
TBS News
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TBS Town Hall on Zoom with moderator Vivian Barclay
Friday, August 7 | 2pm
Matchedash Parish MBA Performance on TBS Youtube channel
Wednesday, August 12 | 6pm
TBS Pioneer Profile Series: Bobby Dean Blackburn interviewed by Nick Jennings featuring special guest Brooke Blackburn
Thursday, August 27 | 5pm
TBS Harmonica Workshop hosted by Sugar Brown with Bharath Rajakumar,
Dave Mowatt, Ken Yoshioka
Saturday, August 29
TBS Pioneer Profile Series: An interview on Salome Bay featuring guests SATE, and tUkU
September, Date TBD
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Also, watch for upcoming new events from TBS including:
- Celebrating Rez Blues 25th Anniversary with a live stream from different cities featuring Murray Porter, Digging Roots and more every Tuesday in September and October!
- Talent Search results!
- Never-seen-before Jodie Drake videos!
- Virtual 24th Maple Blues Awards in 2021 going live from 4 different cities! A bundle of awards will be announced next to some exciting performances from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver each Monday of February! We are launching with a livestream from Toronto on Monday, Feb 1st. Mark your calendar now for Mon, Feb 8, 15, and 22 as well.
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Next Friday, August 7th
Join Us At The TBS Town Hall
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Toronto Blues Society is honoured to announce the date of the community Town Hall involving issues related to the accelerating racial justice movement as the organization adapts to changing awareness and approaches. The Town Hall will take place next Friday, August 7th at 2pm on Zoom. Town Hall will be open to TBS members and will be moderated by Vivian Barclay (pictured). TBS will be in touch with further details including the schedule and the link to the session.
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Vivian Barclay is the General Manager of
Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd
. She is a classically-trained musician with a degree in Radio & Television from Ryerson University. Experienced in radio, artist management, publicity, and promotion, she has composed music for television commercials and won awards for her film sound production and digital audio editing talents. She has worked as a radio programmer and on-air host, in artist management, publicity/promotion and as a programmer for conferences/festivals.
Vivian sits on the Boards of: Music Publishers Canada (MPC), SOCAN, the Toronto Music Advisory Committee, ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective, as well as Phemphat Entertainment Group, producers of the all-female Honey Jam Showcase, a non-profit organization which provides mentoring opportunities for artists. Vivian is also active in community development projects Habitat for Humanity and Food for the poor.
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Maple Blues Awards Are Going Online in 2021
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Toronto Blues Society's annual national awards show
Maple Blues Awards
is going virtual on its next edition which will take place in
February 1, 2021
. The Board of TBS has been faced with the difficult decision considering the ongoing pandemic. The public voting will still take place during the month of November 2020 and the winners will be announced during the online awards show in February.
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Musicians! Promote Your New Albums!
Please make sure to mail and promote your new albums to the
MBA Nominating Panel
until the end of September. While our Panel
is consisted of 62 members who are required to be familiar with Canadian blues artist activity and CD releases, artists are encouraged to service new releases to increase their national profile.
The list
of the Panel members can be found on our website with a link to their organizations. Please note, albums should be released during the eligibility period:
September 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020
.
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Support Live Music Venues Today!
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You can support one of Toronto's remaining blues-friendly venues,
Grossman's Tavern
by purchasing one of their masks for $10 ($18 for 2 masks)! Masks available for pick up or sent via mail (please note $1 postage fee per mask). You can send the venue a
Facebook message
or call them at 416-977-7000 with your order. These unique masks come with a slot for a filter insert and a straw hole for beverages at the front as well. The venue has a long history supporting Toronto Blues, including emerging talent with their
Amy Louie Grossmans Scholarship
every year.
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Can You Imagine a World #WithoutMusic?
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Unison Fund
has just announced a new collaborative social media campaign,
#WithoutMusic
, designed with both the music industry and fans in mind. To reduce the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian music industry, the campaign encourages participants to detail the positive and lasting impact of music on both their own lives and the world, and why supporting organizations like Unison is vital to the continuation of that. You can join by sharing photos, videos, stories on social media using the #WithoutMusic hashtag, and tagging @unisonfund.
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Musicians:
Grant for Music Creation & Audio Recording
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Toronto Arts Council’s Music Creation & Audio Recording program offers grants to practicing professional artists to assist them in the writing and production of their new original music in any/all genre. Artists may apply to one of three categories .for funding including Creation (max $5,000), (Recording - Demo/EP (max. $4,000), Recording - Full-Length (max. $10,000). Deadline for applications is September 8th. Click
here
for more info.
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Bandcamp Fridays Extended
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Bandcamp started Bandcamp Fridays back in March
to support artists impacted by the pandemic
, and in the past few months fans put more than $20 million directly into the pockets of artists and labels in just four days. Because the pandemic is far from over, Bandcamp is continuing to hold Bandcamp Fridays on the first Friday of every month until the end of the year. Click
here
for a more detailed calendar. All from midnight to midnight Pacific time. For time zone demystification, click
here
.
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TORONTO TO ENTER STAGE 3 THIS FRIDAY!
BLUES WONDERLAND:
WHAT'S AVAILABLE ONLINE &
AT VENUES WITH REDUCED CAPACITY?
[Updates Added to the Top of Each List]
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Musicians & Venues! In lieu of the weekly Live Music Listings, TBS is eagerly compiling live streaming/online concerts which would be of interest to our home-bound readers. Send us your scheduled live stream, social media handle/any online fundraising campaign/past performances on your Youtube. For those organizing any live concerts, TBS would love to know so we can help spread the great news!
[email protected]
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*Updates roll on top of each list and/or marked in red every week
Upcoming Live Performances:
- Adam Ndaro Solomon is doing a live stream blending blues and world music from his apartment nearly every day. Check out his Facebook account to catch one of the videos and keep in touch.
- Music By The Bay presents live blues from its patio (Slabtown Cidery) featuring Marriner O'Brien Caddell today, Wednesday, July 29th at 8pm in Uxbridge. Advance sales only. (Please note the date change as this event was previously scheduled for July 23rd).
- Paul Reddick is releasing a live performance video every Wednesday until August 5th, including tonight (July 29th), on Folk Roots & Blues Youtube Channel. Tune in at 8pm! Videos have been freshly recorded at Sauce on the Danforth where they will also be holding a Weekly Wednesday Back Patio Watch Party to celebrate the release of the online video series. Contact Mitzy at 416 666 3415 to reserve a spot.
- Jack de Keyzer will be playing tomorrow, Thursday, July 30 as part of Whitby Live series at 7pm. Tune into Town of Whitby Facebook page to watch.
- Sean Pinchin will be playing the Patio of THE COVE INN in Westport , tomorrow, Thursday, July 30th between 5-8pm. $45 for dinner & show. RSVP in advance via calling 613-273-3636.
- Play The Parks is back virtually this summer and Julian Taylor will be playing from the lobby of Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre Centre tomorrow, Thursday, July 30th at 12:30pm. Performance will be live streamed at Downtown Yonge BIA's Facebook page. Click here for RSVP.
- Cruise in Concerts: Presented by Target Event Marketing is a health unit approved drive-in concert that will happen on Purple Hill Road (5 miles east of London-ON). They are hosting a "Blues Night" on Friday, July 31st (please note the recent date change) at 7pm with Bill Durst, Tim Woodcock Band & Cheryl Lescom, and special guest Chris Trowell Band. FM Frequency will be available for the event and it's online advance sales only. Click here for prices and more info.
- Newport Folk Revival Weekend is happening from this Friday, July 31st until Sunday, August 2nd between 11am-7:30pm featuring live and pre-recorded music by artists like Roger Waters, Mavis Staples, and more.
- Gavin McLeod will be playing the Sauble Sandfest on Saturday, August 8th at 7pm.
- Music By The Bay will launch a new series called "The Porch Sessions" featuring Steve Marriner & Jimmy Bowskill on Thursday, August 20th.
- Music By The Bay's new series "LIVE BLUES from the Pines" is happening on Saturday, August 22nd in Uxbridge with Bill Durst and the opener VOODOO Pawn Shop at 4pm. Advance sales only.
- Matt Weidinger Band will be playing Peter's Players on Saturday, August 22nd at 8pm. This is a 28 seat, socially distanced, outdoor theatre show with one set (no intermission). Cash bar is available.
- Hot Docs is now streaming 2019 documentary "Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things" online until August 27th for $9.99. Click here for more info.
- The 22nd Annual Port Credit Blues & Jazz Festival, Southside Shuffle will take place virtually this year on September 10,11, 12 & 13. Stay tuned on their website for more info.
- Joe Banamassa will livestream on September 22 from the legendary Ryman Auditorium to present his new studio album Royal Tea. Event is ticketed with $1 going to the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation for Joe’s Fueling Musicians Program with each purchase.
Ongoing Performances:
- Glenn Marais live streams every night at 8pm on his Facebook page.
- Colin James is giving the backstory of one of his guitars every Tuesday on his Youtube channel as part of the new "On the Couch with Colin James" #guitartuesday series.
- Victor Wainwright is live streaming on Tuesdays (once a month for now) from his Facebook page including performances, guest interviews, news and more. Please check artist's Facebook page for upcoming live streams.
- Jesse Whiteley goes live with Clayton Yates on Tuesdays and for his requests weekend here (dates may change/vary).
- Suzie Vinnick live streams on StreetJelly every Wednesday at 7pm.
- Tedeschi Trucks Band is free streaming their full concerts as part of their Swamp TV event every Thursday at 8pm.
- Steve Hill live streams every Friday at 8pm (dates may change/vary).
- Whitehorse is live-streaming every Friday at 5pm on Bands in Town.
- Brian Blain streams his weekly Backyard Blaincast every Sunday at 2pm on Facebook.
- Jenie Thai live streams on her Patreon page regularly.
- US based Can't Stop the Blues Facebook group is featuring 1-2 blues shows each night, 9pm-11pm eastern, with fresh pre-recorded content direct from the artists’ homes.
Education:
- Carlos del Junco continues to offer lessons on his educational site which focuses on “How to practice the 10 hole diatonic blues harp”. His latest and third webinar is available to purchase and download on his website emphasizing “Rhythm in your soloing.”
- Interested in learning slide guitar? Bottleneck or Lap Style? Open Tunings? Finger picking? Sean Pinchin is now booking online lessons on his website.
- Dubbed as Blues prodigy from Niagara, Spencer MacKenzie is offering lessons on his website with his band mates Miles Evans-Branagh, and Matt Burns. Click here to get started with your customized learning experience.
- Take a virtual Muddy Waters tour at the Delta Blues Museum. You can also participate on an interactive journey about John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite or more on the website.
- Rebecca Hennessy is currently taking new online students for all levels of trumpet, music theory and songwriting. Courses available over FaceTime, Facebook messenger video or Zoom. Email to: [email protected]
- Jesse Whiteley is currently offering video lessons from home via Skype/FaceTime/Zoom and you can reach him on his Lessons page.
- Canadian Music Incubator is offering online mentorship sessions available to purchase at $150+HST for a bundle of three 60-minute meetings.
New Initiatives, Online Ar
chives
:
- Ontario Live is a new portal by Destination Ontario, a virtual marketplace that brings Ontario together to help support local artists, operators, attractions and businesses throughout the province. Coming soon, you’ll be able to buy, donate to, or experience the best Ontario has to offer all in one place.
- “An Air B&B for shows”, Vancouver-based Side Door is now featuring ticketed shows on Zoom during the pandemic. Click here for the upcoming shows and more info.
- "Almost Live" live blues music series by Canal Bank Shuffle is on Youtube and donations to the music series are accepted through here.
- MusicTogether upcoming live stream schedule is here. Thanks to music funders including Arts & Crafts, Slaight Music, and the Ministry of Heritage.
- You can stream select past performances including the latest Maple Blues Awards on Koerner Hall's online archive.
- Montreux Jazz Festival released over 50 full sets for free including Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, and more.
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PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS FOR DAILY LIVE STREAM ANNOUNCEMENTS
->
Click here for our
FB
,
TW
, or
IG
<-
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WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR MUSICIANS
PLUS RESOURCES
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External Emergency Funding Initiatives Announced To Date:
- SOCAN's new program Encore! is paying musicians for live online concerts on Facebook and Instagram.
- CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit).
- MusicTogether is open to Ontario musicians only. Apply here for a paid performance opportunity.
- The AFC - Emergency financial aid for entertainment pros
Resources & News:
- Bandcamp Fridays will continue happening on the first Friday of every month until the end of the year. Next date is August 7th. Click here for a more detailed calendar.
- Artists can submit their upcoming gigs to Ontario Live, a new portal by Destination Ontario.
- The City of Toronto's ShopHERE helps Toronto businesses and artists build and promote their own Shopify online stores.
- Spotify launched a feature that will enable artists to fundraise directly.
- TuneCore is offering all of their subscribers a 50% discount that you can use for your next single or album release. A one-time discount offer available at checkout.
- ACTRA has extended the date for paying dues.
- City of Toronto's Music Office's thorough document to help musicians and venues/organizations survive.
- Canada Council for the Arts: Information about CCA's cancellation policy can be found here.
- Toronto Musicians Association's resources for financial assistance and bill payment relief here.
- Music Managers Forum Canada's constantly updated resource page is here.
- Nightly 60-second clip of tips by music publicist Eric Alper during pandemic will be available here.
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We Are Closed:
Live Blues Listings
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We are hoping to get back on to our Live Blues Listings when further info is available. See you outside post-pandemic! Until then stay safe & healthy!
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STAY INFORMED ABOUT COVID-19
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World Health Organization
Canadian Resources
Province of Ontario COVID-19
updates
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BECOME A CHARTER MEMBER TODAY
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With a Toronto Blues Society membership, not only do you help support TBS and all the events we produce, you also receive these great benefits:
- 1st Class home delivery of our monthly Maple Blues Newsletter
- 25% discount on Maple Blues Awards tickets & exclusive early bird ticket access
- 20% discount on Women’s Blues Revue tickets & exclusive early bird ticket access
- Savings on Advance Tickets to shows at Music by the Bay Live (Ajax and Whitby venues)
- 10% off every purchase from the Dead Dog Records, Toronto (1209 Bloor St. West & 1696 Queen St. West)
- 10% off every purchase from the Kops Records, Toronto (229 Queen St. West)
- TBS voting rights
- Discount tickets to all TBS events (including TBS Workshops)
- Discounts on TBS merchandise purchases at TBS events
- Exclusive access to industry discounts, ticket giveaways, and more!
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Toronto Blues Society | torontobluessociety.com
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