Music News Digest, July 30, 2018
Kingston honours Gord Downie with a memorial pier (pictured), B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame inductees are announced, and Justin Bieber teams up again with DJ Khaled. Also in the news are Awkwafina, Northern Power Summit, Alan Doyle, CIMA, Manitoba Music, Jacob Hoggard, Kadooh, Kirk Hammett, and Alberta Music.
By Kerry Doole
Last Thursday, The Gord Edgar Downie Pier was officially unveiled during the re-opening ceremonies of Breakwater Park in Kingston. The Pier honours one of Kingston’s most cherished citizens as well as his father, Edgar. Having lived across the street from the pier, Gord Downie became an advocate for accessible water in Kingston and all of Canada. He was also a board member and mentor to the environmental advocacy charity Swim Drink Fish.
Dignitaries on hand included Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson, Mark Mattson, Waterkeeper and Swim Drink Fish President, and Gord Downie's brother Patrick. The renovations at the park were supported by $500K in funding by The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, through Swim Drink Fish’s Great Lakes Challenge initiative. Source: waterkeeper.ca
– TheB.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame has announced its 2018 inductees. New StarWalk inductees are tenor and broadcaster Ben Heppner; multiple Grammy and Juno--winning musician and producer Chin Injeti (Bass Is Base), publisher Dan McLeod (Georgia Straight; opera director Nancy Hermiston; and musicians David Sinclair and Todd Kerns (Age of Electric). They earn a featured star on the Walk of Fame on Granville Street.
The Pioneer inductees are musician Lloyd Arntzen; choreographer Susan Lehmann; and actor/vaudevillian Doug Cameron. These winners are acknowledged on the Honour Plaque in the Orpheum Theatre lobby. Source: Vancouver Sun
– Justin Bieber last collaborated with US hitmaker DJ Khaled on the the sextuple-platinum smash. “I’m The One." They collaborate again on DJ Khaled's new single, "No Brainer," with Chance The Rapper and Quavo joining the Biebs as guests on the cut. They all feature on the new video for the track.
– Crazy Rich Asians star and rapper/writer Awkwafina has been announced as host of the 2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs. "She is a breakout star of 2018 and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her as our host,” said Nanci MacLean, Vice-President, Bell Media Studios. Held in Toronto, the awards show will be simulcast on CTV, MTV, Much, and more on Aug. 26 at 9 pm ET.
– The third annual Northern Power Summit comes to the Rivoli in Toronto on Aug. 18. This one-day Urban Music conference is dedicated to providing education and tools and networking opportunities to help Canadian artists and industry professionals develop their careers internationally. Sponsored by Believe Distribution Services, it is produced by Northstarr Entertainment. Last year's event drew over 150 attendees. Register here
– Tomorrow (July 31), Newfoundland native Alan Doyle (Great Big Sea) will be on hand at the AC Hunter Public Library in St. John's NL to help announce that Sun Life Financial is expanding its Musical Instrument Lending Library program to the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries. This is the tenth musical instrument lending library set up by the Canada-wide program. Earlier this month Joel Plaskett helped launch one in Dartmouth, NS.
– CIMA and WorkInCulture are bringing back the Lunch & Learnseries for 2018-19. These casual two-hour info sessions will take place one Thursday each month at Array Space in Toronto, with topics TBC. The first session is set for Sept. 27. Free for CIMA/MusicOntario members; $15 per session for non-members.
– Manitoba Music presents a showcase in Winnipeg in partnership with the Big Fun Festival in conjunction with the January Music Meeting (Jan. 23-27, 2019). The showcase offers artists an opportunity to perform for influential music industry professionals. Submissions deadline is Aug. 31.
– The three sex-related criminal charges against Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard will be heard in a Toronto court on Aug. 15. The date was set last Thursday in a brief court hearing the singer did not attend.
– Canadian country artist Kadooh recently signed to 604 Records. His debut country single “24 Reasons” is now available digitally and goes to radio Aug. 8. Kadooh enjoyed over a decade in the spotlight as guitarist/backing vocalist of Juno-nominated, multi-platinum rock band State of Shock. “24 Reasons” was produced and co-written by Jeff Johnson (Meghan Patrick, George Canyon). A debut EP is expected later this year.
– CIMA is heading back to Germany for Reeperbahn 2018, held in Hamburg, Germany, Sept. 19-21. Companies can still sign up for the Business Package for this music market, with 15 spots available. More info here.
– Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is also known as owner of an extensive collection of classic horror and sci-fi movie posters. An exhibition of items from will be on display at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, from July 13, 2019. It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.
