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FYI

Debra Rathwell Named To Keynote At CMW

Rathwell has become one of the highest-ranking female executives working on the live side of the business today. She was inducted into the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame in 2020 and named Executive of the Week by Billboard in February 2023.

Debra Rathwell Named To Keynote At CMW

By FYI Staff

Canadian Music Week organizers have announced AEG executive vice president Debra Rathwell is presenting a keynote address this year.


The NY-based Canadian EVP of Global Touring and Talent will cover her extraordinarily successful career that includes her work with megastars Carrie Underwood, John Mellencamp, and her role in the Elton John farewell tour that has become the highest-grossing tour of all time.

Rathwell has become one of the highest-ranking female executives working on the live side of the business today. She was inducted into the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame in 2020 and named Executive of the Week by Billboard in February 2023.

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She began her career in Ottawa as executive assistant to Harvey Glatt at his full-service music companies, Treble Clef and Bass Clef.  In 1982, she moved to Montreal to join Donald K Donald Productions, that city's leading concert promoter, as the company's first Vice President. Soon after she was promoted to Sr. VP and helped, DKD promote shows by Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie, Madonna, Rush, and Celine Dion. Under her direction, DKD produced five musicals that have been brought to Broadway, including Tango Argentino, Flamenco Puro and the Tony Award-winning Black and Blue. Other signature projects under her auspices were The Moscow Circus, Torvill and Dean, and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The Live Touring Summit will also include a roundtable discussion with Canadian Live Music Association CEO Erin Benjamin; Stephen Parker, Executive Director of NIVA, the National Independent Venue Association; and Jon Collins, CEO of the UK’s LIVE (Live Music Industry Venues & Entertainment.

Canadian Music Week and Canadian Live Music Association will hold the 10th annual Canadian Live Music Industry Awards on June 9th to celebrate the live music sector in Canada with award presentations and performances.

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The CMW Conference will also include the CMW Music Summit Conference June 8-10, and Radiodays North America June 8-9, at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

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Kneecap including Mo Chara and Moglai Bap perform onstage during Day 1 of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 18, 2025 in Indio, Calif.
Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella

Kneecap including Mo Chara and Moglai Bap perform onstage during Day 1 of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 18, 2025 in Indio, Calif.

Rb Hip Hop

Kneecap Respond to Sharon Osbourne Calling For Visa Revocation Over Coachella Anti-Israel Messaging: ‘That Happens At All of Our Gigs’

After blowback for their "F--k Israel" graphics, the Northern Irish group said they've spoke about Palestine at every gig since their formation.

Northern Irish hip-hop group Kneecap have responded to calls from Sharon Osbourne to have their U.S. work visas revoked following their airing of anti-Israel messages during the trio’s second Coachella weekend appearance. In an email to Rolling Stone, group member Mo Chara (born Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) said that the messaging was in keeping with their career-long views on Palestine.

He said the group have talked about Palestine “at every single gig since the band’s formation, long before [the deadly Hamas attack on Israeli civilians] October 2023 as the oppression and brutal occupation of Palestine has been ongoing for 77 years.”

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