Blues Summit 5 Archive

About Delegates Schedule Conference Highlights Sponsors

Toronto Blues Society hosts a music conference called The Blues Summit, which is a not-to-be-missed forum for all blues music industry members, artists, presenters, agents, and the like. It is an opportunity for the blues community to network as well as for artists to showcase in front of blues industry members. It is held every two years in conjunction with the annual Maple Blues Awards. In 2009, Blues Summit Four was a very successful conference. (Click here to see last year’s info).

The Blues Summit Five will take place January 15-17, 2011 at The Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto.

Delegates

The following list of delegates attended Blues Summit Five.

Schedule

Saturday January 15, 2011

Sunday January 16, 2011

Monday January 17, 2011

Conference Schedule Highlights

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17^th, 2009

3-4:30pm – Campfire, Monarchs (Delta Chelsea Hotel – main floor)

5-7pm – Welcome Reception, Monarchs (Delta Chelsea Hotel – main floor)
The Toronto Blues Society cordially invite you to the Blues Summit IV Welcome Reception. Come meet your fellow Blues Summit IV delegates. Performance by Fathead.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18^th, 2009

11-2:00 – Keynote Brunch with BEN MANILLA: Radio producer Ben Manilla has been invited to give the Keynote Address at Blues Summit IV, being held at the Delta Chelsea in Toronto on January 17-19. Ben has been a pioneer in promoting blues music to the mainstream radio audience through his collaboration with “Blues Brother” Dan Aykroyd on The House of Blues Radio Hour syndicated around the world but regretfully no longer in the Toronto market. His company Ben Manilla Productions, Inc. is a recognized leader in programming for commercial and public radio stations and also produces Drew Carey’s Hi Fi Club and has developed several public radio series including “The Blues hosted by Keb’ Mo'”, “Philosophy Talk” with Stanford University, and the award winning “The Sounds of American Culture” with the Library of Congress. Ben teaches radio journalism and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. His clients have included all the major radio networks in the U.S. (ABC, CBS, Westwood One, etc.) and a host of international broadcasters (BBC, CBC, Radio Tokyo, etc.).

2:15-3:30 – Media Roundtable: Publicist Richard Flohil (Flohil & Associates) hosts Chip Eagle (Blues Revue), Ben Manilla (Ben Manilla Productions, Inc.), Danny Marks (Bluz.FM), Errol Nazareth (Toronto Sun / CBC Radio), Eric Thom (Blues Revue), and Ed Torres (DAWG.FM) discuss the State of Blues media and how mass or niche media reflect blues music. Does the blues have an identity problem? Is there anything more credible than blues music? Can Richard Flohil herd these cats? Seymour Room, 2^nd Floor

3:45-5:00 – Digital Blues, Selling Songs. What is the Download on Downloads? How significant are digital and MP3 sales in the blues market, and how much is changing? Hear about Amazon, iTunes, Puretracks, Rhapsody, CDBaby, ioda (independent online distribution alliance) and the new sales tools. Your pay pals are Brian Blain (Musician) Mark Stafford (Musician), Trevor Mills (Top Quark Productions), James Pew (Euphonic Sound), and Rodney Muphy (SOCAN). Seymour Room, 2^nd Floor

3:45-5:00 – Throwing the Sink at Sync Rights: How do you place your songs in film, television, commercials and ringtones? Get some tips from Velma Barkwell (East End Music), David Baxter (Musician), Andrea Higgins (Arpix Media Inc.), and Suzie Vinnick (Musician). Stevenson Room, 2^nd Floor

5:30-7:00 – SOCAN Songs & Stories: SOCAN Education and Outreach Manager Rodney Murphy introduces a high pedigree song swap featuring Matt Andersen (New Brunswick), Ray Bonneville (Montreal / Austin), Amos Garrett (Edmonton), and host Suzie Vinnick (Toronto). Monarchs Pub, Main Floor

MONDAY JANUARY 19^th, 2009

10:00-11:15 – Rob Bowman, Blues Booster of the Year in Interview with Richard Flohil: The professor of rock and roll has a long history and deep knowledge of blues. A pioneer of popular music teaching, now tenured at York University, Rob cut his teeth giving eager customers of Records on Wheels (Yonge Street) solid blues selection info. A renowned writer in print media, but prolific in the liner notes department, Rob won the Grammy award in 1996 for one of his many Stax Record projects. His book Soulsville USA – The Story of Stax Records is the definitive history of the Memphis based label, the times, and a point of view that comes with all the enthusiasm that has become his trademark. Seymour Room, 2^nd Floor

10:00-11:15 – International Touring, Getting Your Blues Out of Canada: Derek Andrews (Global Café) hosts booking agent Darcy Gregoire (The Agency Group), Jean Guillermo (Blues sur Seine, Paris France), Jostein Forsberg (Nottoden Bluesfest, Norway), and Carlos Del Junco (Musician) discuss the challenges, rewards, and tactics of touring into Europe and the United States. Stevenson Room, 2^nd Floor

11:30-12:45 – Digital Blues, Promotion: Is The Press Kit Dead? How do artists get gigs and build audience with digital tools such as Websites, Sonicbids, YouTube, Facebook and Myspace as marketing tools. With Sarah French (Publicist), ShoShona Kish (Musician), James Pew (Euphonic Sound), and Lily Sazz (Musician). Seymour Room, 2^nd Floor

11:30-12:45 – Blues Societies Roundtable: A gathering of organizations and blues societies from across Canada hosted by Gord MacAulay (Saskatoon Blues Society). Stevenson Room, 2^nd Floor

2:00-3:15 – Festival Roundtable: Blues Festivals are showing up all over. Small towns, big cities, blended with jazz and folk, pure as the driven snow and all over the musical map. This is a gathering of music and blues festivals from across the country, continent, and world who will discuss the state of festivals and their importance to the future of blues performance. Hosted by Brian Slack (Tremblant International Blues Festival) and Mark Monahan (Ottawa Bluesfest) with Jeff Davis (Playing With Fire – Omaha), Jostein Forsberg (Nottoden Bluesfest – Norway), Bruce Forth (Southside Shuffle – Port Credit), Jean Guillermo (Blues sur Seine – France), Chuck Jackson (Southside Shuffle – Port Credit), Larry Kurtz (Orangeville Jazz & Blues Fest), Chris Murphy (Red, White, and Blues Fest – London), Jacques Noel (FestiBlues International de Montreal), Paul Northcott (Twisted Pines Music and Arts – Penetanguishene), and Garret Zack (Cowpie Blues Festival). Seymour Room, 2^nd Floor

2:00-3:15 – Recording for Blues. Five master producers assembled in one room. Recording veterans David Baxter (Treasa Levasseur), Michael Jerome Browne, Alec Fraser (Jeff Healey), David Travers-Smith (Harry Manx & Kevin Breit), and Ken Whiteley (Lonnie Johnson) share studio advice and techniques of recording and producing. Stevenson Room, 2^nd Floor

3:30-4:45 – Blues In The Schools: Carrying on the blues tradition by reaching out to the young and impressionable has become an essential ingredient in today’s blues scene. Join Deb Brown (Stellula Music in Schools), Ken Whiteley and Mark Stafford (moderator) as they share their experiences developing programs with young blues fans. Seymour Room, 2^nd Floor

3:30-4:45 – Grants – Art of the Grant: What Funds are Available for Your Career Development? How do you translate the sometimes intimidating language of grant applications? How are the blues doing in the arts funding landscape? Catharine Bird (Cat Bird Grant Writing Service), Karen Doyle (Department of Canadian Heritage, Arts Presentation Canada), Krista Culp (FACTOR), and Michael Murray (Music Officer, Ontario Arts Council). Stevenson Room, 2^nd Floor

Maple Blues Awards

Phoenix Concert Theatre
Monday, January 19, 2009 (doors at 7pm, show at 8pm)
Garvia Bailey, host, with musical performances from Ray Bonneville, J-W Jones, Harrison Kennedy, The Sojourners, Treasa Levasseur, Shakura S’Aida and the Maple Blues Band

Sponsors