A new songcamp is creating space for trans and non-binary artists in the Canadian music industry.
On July 7, Pride at Warner Music Canada hosted Track4Track, in collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter T. Thomason, a songwriting camp and mentorship program designed for trans and non-binary musicians. The initiative aims to bridge the gap between emerging and established creatives, providing a space where everyone can create freely in community and safety.
For its inaugural edition, the initiative (also known as T4T) hosted 12 trans and non-binary artists. The songcamp was an idea that blossomed between Erin Carroll, a Warner Music Canada publicist and the Pride at Warner Music Canada co-chair, alongside co-organizer and participant T. Thomason.
Now a well-established artist on Six Shooter Records, Thomason’s idea goes back to shortly after he was a contestant on CTV's singing competition show The Launch. Every time he was writing songs with outside songwriters or producers, he felt like he was being made to share variations of his “journey” as a trans person, whether or not it was relevant to the songs they were making.
“I started thinking about an all trans writing camp back in 2019, when I found myself in more and more pop writing sessions where I was consistently the only trans person,” he tells Billboard Canada. “It is so rare for a room to be made up entirely of trans people in a mainstream music setting, but this camp showed that it is possible, and it is powerful.”
When the Pride at WMC team brought the idea forward, Carroll knew Thomason was the right fit to co-organize the songcamp.
“Building a space and atmosphere for these artists in which they could be themselves brought forward the beginnings of some incredible music,” shares Carroll. “There are so many amazing trans and non-binary Canadian musicians, and I'm glad we were able to foster an environment for this community to continue to thrive.”
This year’s participants include artists like Nefe, R.Flex, Melody McKiver, producer Truss, Juno-winning engineer Beau Cassidy, club-pop artist Ceréna, rapper Kimmortal, DIANA’s Carmen Elle and multi-hyphenate creative Wild Black. Find a full list at the end of this story.
In the music industry, Thomason says it’s rare for a recording session to include more than one trans person, let alone 12. That’s what made it such a “healing and transformative” experience, he says, and represents what the music industry could look like in the future. “I want as many people to experience that feeling as possible.”
Among the mentors was Atlantic-signed artist corook, known for viral hits like “THEY!” and “If I Were a Fish,”
“Writing rooms are always a vulnerable place, so there was something really powerful about having all the artists, writers and producers in those rooms be gender queer,” they say. “This writing camp showed me how powerful it would be to get to experience that kind of comfort, and it’s now something I want to seek out for myself.”
While there are no concrete plans to host a second songcamp, this type of programming is a step forward for supporting trans, non-binary and two-spirit artists. “We’re happy there was intentional space created for the community, and hope the future brings bigger and longer songcamps,” says Carroll.
For Thomason, the impact of the T4T songcamp is just the beginning of boundary-pushing in the music industry.
“The artists who attended brought their absolute A-game and the songs that came out of it are reflections of what happens when creatives are given a space to focus on expression, connection [and] joy.”
Here were all the artists who participated in the first edition of Track4Track:
Nefe
Ceréna
R. Flex
Truss
Kimmortal
Carmen Elle
Beau Cassidy
Wild Black
Melody McKiver
Arden Van Fleet
Pothound
T. Thomason
