Canadian Music Week
Adrienne Huen | Entertainment Reporter
Canadian Music Week 2007 officially kicked off festivities last week in Toronto, attracting some of the biggest names from the worldwide music industry to venues all across the city.
“It’s been a long, exciting trip,” said Neil Dixon, president of Canadian Music Week (CMW). “We’ve seen a lot of changes in the industry over the last quarter-of-a-century and we’ve been the one constant there to cover it all.”
The four-day event proudly celebrated its 25th anniversary this year which ran from March 7-10 with its headquarters at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto. More than 300 speakers appeared at the daily conference sessions during the weeklong event. Nearly 600 bands performed at over 44 live musical venues across the city and industry professionals had the chance to mingle with other movers and shakers.
With a mixture of headliners such as Public Enemy, DJ Champion, Wolfmother and the Montreal-based group The Stills, venues across the city were packed to capacity with eager music enthusiasts who paid $35 for a wristband that got them unlimited entry into each and every performance.
The annual event began in the 1960s to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the Canadian Federation of Music Teacher’s Associations. It was established to encourage and promote Canadian musicians and musical teachings to industry professionals around the world.
In recent years, the general public has paid more attention to the nightly performances by the bands and musical acts, this year the festival attracted more attention with big name appearances at the daily conference sessions.
Speakers like Public Enemy co-founder, Chuck D and Music World Entertainment, president and CEO Matthew Knowles (Beyonce’s father and manager), were brought in to entertain the crowds with anecdotes and to discuss the festival’s hot topic, how music should deal with the digital world.
In addition, Canadian hard-rock 70s group Triumph and legendary songwriter and producer David Foster were honoured by the Canadian Music Industry last week by being inducted into their Hall of Fame.
