Music News Digest: National Muisc Centre and Artscan Circle Get Big Boosts for Music Therapy and Northern Indigenous Youth Workshop Initiatives

The National Music Centre (NMC) is expanding its Music Therapy Initiative.

The announcement comes after a $500,000 five-year commitment from BMO. The program aims to bring the healing power of music therapy to more patients, families and communities across Canada thorugh evidence-based music therapy programs in hospitals and community health settings. Through a partnership with The Jim Pattison Foundation, BMO’s contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar, amplifying the initiative’s reach and impact.

Andrew Mosker, National Music Centre’s president and CEO, states that ''we are that much closer to our goal of having music therapy programs in every province and territory.”

Since 2018, NMC has partnered with JB Music Therapy and the Calgary Health Foundation to deliver music therapy programs throughout Calgary’s five acute care hospitals. NMC has also offered on-site music therapy programs at Studio Bell to bring the power of music therapy out of a clinical setting and into the community. Following its success in Alberta, NMC’s Music Therapy Initiative was officially launched in 2023, with the intention of expanding to new regions across Western Canada. It has now introduced music therapy programs in Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Victoria.

Info and donations link here.

Festivals News

MusicNL recently revealed the lineup of more than 40 artists and four days of live music at MusicNL Week 2026. The action takes place at five downtown venues.in St. John's, from Oct. 1-4. Representing the next wave of Newfoundland and Labrador music, this year’s lineup ranges from from folk and country to rock, pop, hip-hop and more. Featured artists (in alphabetical order) include Adrian House, Albert Dalton, Ana & Eric, Baraka, Becca Bartlett, Carolina East, Claire Porter, Colleen Power, Darcy Scott, Duane Andrews, Feminotica, Hannah Green, Ian Foster, The Irish Descendants, Jordan Coaker, Justin Fancy, Kelly McMichael, KitchinParti, Liz Fagan Band, Mackenzie Critch, MADELINE, Mary Barry, Matthew Byrne, Midnight Watch, Nick Earle & The Reckless Hearts, Nico Paulo, The Order of the Precious Blood, Paige Penney, Port aux Poutines, Rachel Cousins, Rev Dave Trio, Rosemary Lawton, Rube & Rake, Salt Beef Junkies, Sherman Downey, Sherry Ryan, Summer Bennett, Topanga, WEKU, With Violet, Youngtree & Carole Bee and Zaynab Wilson.

Registration and wristbands for all four days of music are available now for $55 here. MusicNL Week also attracts music industry professionals and export delegates for business development.

– The first wave of artists for the eclectic Toronto festival Project Nowhere has been announced. Those appearing in the fest's fourth year, from Oct. 1-3, include pioneering Detroit proto-punk band DEATH, Black Moth Super Rainbow frontman’s alter ego Tobacco, Meg Remy’s experimental pop outfit U.S. Girls, NYC noise gaze faves A Place To Bury Strangers, techno-punk rapper/producer LustSickPuppy, Atlanta punks Upchuck, kraut-punk rhythm-blenders Horse Lords, dancefloor reinventor Container, gothic folk multi-instrumentalist Ora Cogan, jangle pop-rockers Ducks Ltd, Vancouver post-punks Still Depths, orchestral dub pop artist Scarlett Rose, Montreal hardcore act Mulch, Toronto alt-pop songwriter Jay Feelbender and many more.

Project Nowhere’s multi-venue format will span eight spaces in 2026, adding The Mod Club and Houndstooth to returning venues St. Anne's Parish, The Garrison, The Baby G, BSMT254, Bambi's and Hank’s Liquor. Early Bird passes are sold out. More info here.

– The Kitchener Blues Festival, one of Canada's most renowned blues fests, has announced the lineup for its 2026 edition. It begins on Aug. 6 with a ticketed fundraising concert featuring Texan blues-rock legends The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Sass Jordan and Bill Durst. The next three days (Aug. 7-9) features a stellar grouping of predominantly blues artists alongside classic rock (Goddo, Nick Gilder and Sweeney Todd and tributes to The Band and Steely Dan). Notable names include Steve Hill, Shakura S'Aida, Kevin Breit, Mike McKenna, Harrison Kennedy, Miss Angel and The Homewreckers, Madison Galloway and Turbo Street Funk. Check the full lineup here.

– Canadian rocker Rose Cora Perry (The Truth Untold) has announced the launch of Warrior Women, an ambitious six-city Ontario concert and empowerment series that brings together music, community building, and social impact. Through this initiative, local music venues are transformed into environments of solidarity, support and empowerment.

The series will visit Niagara Falls, Windsor, London, Toronto, Hamilton and Sarnia, showcasing 24 female-fronted bands, five inspirational female guest speakers and 21 female-owned and operated business partners. In addition to celebrating female talent, Warrior Women is raising funds for Yellow Brick House, one of Ontario’s largest providers of services for women and children escaping domestic violence and abuse. The concerts will take place late Sept. through early Oct. More info here.

Industry News

Music-based charity Artscan Circle has announced that TD Bank Group (TD) has donated $150,000 over three years to support Creative Art Workshops for Northern Indigenous Youth.The funding will support arts and music programming in Pikangikum First Nation, a remote Ojibwe community in Northwestern Ontario, approximately 100 KMS northwest of Red Lake. Home to a population of 3,500, Pikangikum is accessible only by plane, boat, or winter road, making access to music programming a challenge and profoundly impactful.

Artscan Circle's mandate is to partner with remote Indigenous communities across the north, shipping instruments and flying artists to these communities where they run workshops and introduce new generations to the healing power of music, art, acting, poetry and dance.

– Come Together is an annual industry showcase in Toronto that is an opportunity for artists from across Canada to meet with, build business relationships and showcase for key music industry professionals from Toronto and surrounding areas including labels, agents, managers, publishers, music supervisors, publicists and more. Funded in part by FACTOR, this year's edition runs Nov. 24 and 25 and the deadline to apply here is July 16. Artists must be available to attend both days of programming and showcasing.

– Mundial Montréal’s Mentorship Program is back this year, supporting emerging artists and music industry professionals. From Aug. 28 to Oct. 16, 2026, free online sessions will be offered: 6 designed for music industry professionals and 2 reserved for artists selected in the official showcase program. To participate in the Mentorship Program, simply register now here with a 2026 PRO or PRO Essential pass before Aug. 15. The first 20 people to express their interest will be selected. More info here.

– The Saskatchewan Indigenous Music Awards are accepting applications until July 22. The Awards are open to all Saskatchewan resident Indigenous artists, regardless of their level of experience. Nomination criteria and applications here.

Artists News

Montreal-based singer-songwriter Basia Bulat has just announced the upcoming release of a new five-song EP, Bouquet, featuring reimagined acoustic recordings that offer a fresh perspective on material from her Basia’s Palace album. The EP is released on Secret City on Aug. 28, followed by an extensive North American tour in the fall. That trek begins in Bolton-Est, Quebec, on Sept. 5, then heads West, then back to Quebec for shows at POP Montreal and other cities, then four shows on the U.S. east coast and Ontario concerts. See the full itinerary here. Bulat also performs at Quebec City's FEQ fest on July 18. Stream the record's first single, ''Here Now,'' here.