Music News Digest, Nov. 28, 2018

By Kerry Doole

Folk Alliance International (FAI) has announced initial program details for the upcoming International Folk Music Awards (IFMAs) to be held at 6 pm, Feb. 13, in the main ballroom of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal. Award show performers will be announced in January. The CBC's Tom Power is the Emcee, and Canadians receiving awards include Buffy Sainte-Marie (People's Voice Award), the Hillside Festival (Clearwater Award), Joni Mitchell (Lifetime Achievement Award -Living), and Leonard Cohen (Lifetime Achievement Award -Legacy). Winners of Spirit of Folk Awards include Alfredo Caxaj, Ellen Hamilton, Gilles Garand, Michael Wrycraft, and ShoShona Kish. Prices increase on Dec. 1 for the 2019 FAI Conference that runs Feb. 13-17 in Montréal. Register here

–  Gordon Lightfoot recently turned 80, but he's not slowing down. This week he announced 11 additional  Ontario dates in his upcoming 2019 tour schedule. Tix on sale this Friday (Nov. 30).

– ECMA and BreakOut West are partnering to present the East Meets West collaborative initiative at the 31st annual celebration of the East Coast Music Awards: Festival and Conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island from May 1-5. East Meets West is designed to offer reciprocal business opportunities and provides access to new markets for Atlantic Canadian and Western Canadian exporting artists. Two Export-Ready BOW artists/groups will be selected for two showcase performances at the 2019 ECMAs. Deadline for submissions is Dec. 3. More info here

– Springsteen on Broadway is a massive commercial and critical hit, and, on Dec. 16, it launches on Netflix. Based on his worldwide best-selling autobiography Born to Run, Springsteen on Broadway is a unique evening with the man, his guitar, a piano, and his very personal stories.

–  Submissions are now open for Part 3 of the Sound Production Series for women and non-binary producers, sponsored by Slaight Music, and held at imaginit music studio in Toronto. Featuring VIP producer Karen Kosowski discussing the topic of Vocal Production, it will be held on Dec. 10. Submission deadline is Dec. 3.

–  2018 Polaris Prize winner Jeremy Dutcher continues to revel in glowing reviews for his album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa. He recently announced 2019 tour dates in continued support of the record, including upcoming performances in Alberta, Manitoba, B.C., and Ontario.

–  k.d. lang performs a 25th anniversary concert celebrating her critically acclaimed 1992 album Ingénue from the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Texas, in k.d. lang - Landmarks Live in Concert - A Great Performances Special, premiering in the US on Dec. 14 at 9 pm on PBS.

–  Anthem Legacy, an imprint of ole label group, continues the rich musical legacy of Stompin’ Tom Connors with the release of Unreleased Songs From The Vault Collection Volume 3 on Dec. 7. 14 new tracks from Connors' collection of unreleased songs (he termed it 'The Vault') will be available featuring special guest artists The Sheepdogs, The Washboard Union, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, The Good Lovelies, Royal Wood and Human Kabab.

– Toronto restaurant and live music venue Parts & Labour will close its doors on Jan. 1. The announcement came on the club's Instagram feed, one that mentioned there'll be a final New Years Eve party blowout. P&L has been around for 10 years.

– A reminder that Dec. 15 is the deadline for the Music Nova Scotia Investment Program. Applications for Export Ready and Developing Artists Level II for Tour, Marketing, and Showcase Support are now being accepted. For more info, contact Darryl Smith at darryl@musicnovascotia.ca

–  Move over Christmas and make way for Keithmas. A celebration of Keith Richards' birthday, this is an annual highlight of the holiday season on Vancouver's music scene. Since starting in 2010, it has raised over $50K for Vancouver's Foodbank, recipient of 100% of the show proceeds. The ninth edition is at the Rickshaw Theatre, on December 15, features Rich Hope, La Chinga, Little Destroyer, War Baby. and the Ford Pier Vengeance Trio.  Source: Georgia Straight

– On Thursday (Nov. 29), Music Canada Live presents a free webinar available only to members by Arthur J. Gallagher. The webinar will provide an overview of the insurance exposures for artists, venues and promoters, including property, general liability, crowd control, and pyrotechnics, among other topics surrounding risk management and common insurance contract language. 

– Via his role as founder of important Canadian independent label Duke Street Records (Jane Siberry, Chalk Circle, Manteca), Andrew Hermant has made a mark on the Canadian industry. He is also an accomplished bluegrass musician and songwriter in the group Rubberneck, alongside fellow songwriter and co-producer Jan-Paul Campeau. Rubberneck has just released a new album, Totally Plucked!, (on Duke Street), mixing strong originals with classics like "Mack The Knife" and "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly." Notable guests include Chris Bartos, Ivan Rosenberg, Eric Robertson, and Burke Carroll.

–  Music BC has announced its new Board of Directors. Details here

RIP

Ustad Imrat Khan, the famed sitar and surbahar player, died after a stroke and brief illness in his longtime home city of St. Louis Nov. 22, at age 83, his son reported

Khan is part of a lineage of musicians dating back more than 400 years, and the family is credited with developing the use of the surbahar, sometimes called the “bass sitar.” He toured the world extensively, performing at such events as the Cannes Film Festival and toured Europe, North and South America, and East and Southeast Asia. He spent a portion of each year teaching classical Indian music and instructing sitar students at Washington University in St. Louis, where he has lived for more than two decades. Source: Celebrity Access