National Music Centre and Canada's Music Incubator Team Up to Celebrate 10 Years of AE West

The National Music Centre (NMC) and Canada's Music Incubator (CMI) are coming together to help build business skills for rising artists.

The Canadian organizations have unveiled the list of artists who will participate in the 10th edition of the Artist Entrepreneur West program. Between Nov. 2 and Dec. 2, twelve Western Canadian musicians spanning country, folk, hip-hop, punk and electronic music will participate in the program, which aims to build sustainable careers for burgeoning artists by teaching them practical skills to use as entrepreneurs.

This year's lineup includes several Alberta artists including country singer Anna Lewis, folk singer Erika Mae, queer Filipinx singer-songwriter SallieMay, garage punk act Spencer Jo and electronic folk band Education Party, all from Calgary, as well as Edmonton country artist Keira Myer and Foothills singer-songwriter Leanne Lightfoot. The initiative has also brought on B.C. hip-hop artist Alick Mac, Winnipeg's Ila Barker, an Anishinaabe and settler folk-soul artist, Medicine Hat indie-rocker Jessikah Babe and Calgary-based folk artist Kearstin Pfeifer, who hails from Saskatchewan.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate 10 years of artist development alongside CMI and continue building on that legacy by empowering the next generation of Canadian artists,” says Stephanie Hutchinson, director of programs at NMC.

Developed as a regional extension to the CMI's Artist Entrepreneur program in Toronto for Western Canada, AE West has the goal of helping rising artists build their network and and long-term growth by providing them with mentorship, collaborative learning and business workshops, as well as connecting them with industry professionals while they're still in the early stages of their career.

“Reaching the 10-year milestone of AE West is a testament to the incredible talent coming out of Western and Northern Canada, and the importance of investing in artists during the start-up phase of their careers,” says Vel Omazic, CEO and co-founder of Canada’s Music Incubator.

The program will begin at Studio Bell in Calgary, home of the National Music Centre, on Nov. 2, before wrapping up in December with the Artist Extravaganza Showcase at the famed Calgary live music venue King Eddy on Dec. 2, during which all participants in the program will present two new songs.

The ten-year celebration of AE West runs parallel to the National Music Centre's own ten-year milestone, for which it has already announced a series of new initiatives and special events. In similar fashion, NMC handpicked ten Alberta-based musicians to participate in a series of mini-artist residences, where the musicians will have access to instruments, studios, technology and studio team provided by the NMC to create music within their home province. Earlier this year, the organization also received an important donation from BMO, which made a five-year commitment of $500,000 to NMC's Music Therapy Initiative, which connects hospital patients with healing through music.