advertisement
FYI

Open Road Founder Rallies Artists And Staff For 15 Acts of Kindness In 15 Days For 15th Anniversary

Ron Kitchener began his RGK Entertainment Group a quarter century ago to help manage the careers of up-and-coming Canadian acts, primarily in the country genre.

Open Road Founder Rallies Artists And Staff For 15 Acts of Kindness In 15 Days For 15th Anniversary

By External Source

Ron Kitchener began his RGK Entertainment Group a quarter century ago to help manage the careers of up-and-coming Canadian acts, primarily in the country genre. One of his first, a client to this day, is award-winning singer/songwriter Jason McCoy. The roster has also included Johnny Reid, Dean Brody, Madeline Merlo and Tim Hicks. A decade into RGK’s run, Kitchener diversified the company by adding a record label, which for a significant spell distributed Big Machine Label Group, and their artist, Taylor Swift, as well Reba McEntire and Brantley Gilbert.

The year 2018 marks the 15th anniversary of that venture, Open Road Recordings. To celebrate, Kitchener and his staff decided to do 15 acts of kindness In 15 days, leading up to the 2018 Canadian Country Music Association Awards (CCMAs) Sept. 9 in Hamilton, Ontario.

A total of $18,500 was donated to 15 different organizations or events across the country, but as Kitchener tells Samaritanmag, many of the activities and donations were made in the moment, supporting causes near and dear to the hearts of Open Road and RGK talent. There was no set amount for each donation, and sometimes time and talent were also donated as well as cash.


advertisement

Charities included the Royal Victoria Hospital Foundation (Radio 4 Cardiology), a #MusicRescues event supporting Team Dog Rescue, Ladybird Animal Sanctuary and Danes in Distress.
 
Fifty care packages were donated to the Red Door Family Shelter in the GTA, money was donated to the Special Olympics Canada, Covenant Children’s Homes in India, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Unison Benevolent Fund, the London Girls Rock Camp, local mental health organizations during Madeline Merlo tour stops, the Massey Hall Forever Campaign, the National Music Centre in Calgary, Paul Brandt’s #NotInMyCity anti-sex trafficking program.
 
As well, RGK and Open Road purchased a block of 26  tickets for family members and first responders affected by the Aug. 10 shootings in Fredericton that killed four people, including two police officers, to attend the upcoming Fredericton Strong Benefit Concert on Oct. 6.


 What was the impetus behind doing 15 acts of kindness in 15 weeks?

Continue reading the interview conducted by Jim Barber on the SamaritanMag website.

advertisement
Gracie Abrams
Abby Waisler
Gracie Abrams
Concerts

Chart-Topper Gracie Abrams Hits Toronto’s Budweiser Stage: Canadian Concerts of the Week

Plus, The Weeknd continues his Canadian trek on his After Hours ‘Til Dawn tour, while Punjabi artist Karan Aujla brings his chart-worthy discography to Montreal.

This week, there are many events to keep music fans busy nationwide — from a Gen Z darling artist performing a singular Canadian date in Toronto to an award-winning Punjabi artist at Montreal's Bell Centre.

Concert of the Week

Gracie Abrams, Budweiser Stage, Toronto — July 26

Since the release of her sophomore record, 2024’s The Secret of Us — which peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums chart — Gracie Abrams has reached mega pop stardom. The Gen-Z singer-songwriter is bringing The Secret of Us Deluxe tour to Toronto’s Budweiser Stage for one night. In the past year, Abrams has amassed viral hits like “I Love You I’m Sorry” and “That’s So True” — with the latter hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Canada Hot 100 for two weeks.

keep readingShow less
advertisement