Canadian Blast BBQ & Showcase at SXSW
Wednesday, March 18 at the Big Top in Brush Square
TORONTO, January 29, 2014 – It’s that time again! SXSW is just around the corner and that means that music fans and bands are getting ready to make their annual pilgrimage to Austin, TX! This year, the highly anticipated and most beloved BBQ at the fest, the Canadian Blast BBQ is turning 10! To celebrate, the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) is gearing up for their best celebration of Canadian talent yet. As in years past, The Canadian Blast BBQ will be an epic blowout party and showcase on the Wednesday, March 18th at SXSW Music and will take place at the Big Top in Brush Square. This will be the perfect start to an unforgettable week, come grab a bite, mingle with some of Canada’s best and brightest and listen to your future-favorite artists while taking in the sun.
The Canadian Blast BBQ is the official kick off of performances, networking and business development activities led by CIMA, For 10 years, the Canadian Blast showcase and B2B initiative has travelled the globe to bring the best and brightest emerging talent and industry from Canada to vibrant international export markets through festivals, conferences, trade shows and independent missions in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. The stellar lineup at SXSW features: Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers, July Talk, The Bros. Landreth, The Franklin Electric, The Wet Secrets and Yukon Blonde.
Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers
Ben Caplan is an eclectic folk/roots artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has played over 1000 shows in over 15 countries. Winner of numerous awards, including Nova Scotia’s 2012 Entertainer of the Year, and the East Coast Music Award for Rising Star Recording of the Year for 2013, Ben has also a rolodex of major festivals, including a prominent performance at the UK’s Glastonbury in 2013. His highly anticipated second album is prospected to be released internationally in late spring/early summer of 2015, and will be accompanied by a world tour, including the US.
July Talk
“With their sleek yet gritty brand of alt-bluesy garage rock, Toronto-based quintet, July Talk create rock & roll that’s both boldly intimate and wildly confrontational. Each track in the band’s repertoire is a conversation in song form, with the gravelly-growl of Peter Dreimanis contrast with the sweet and dulcet coo of Leah Fay trading lines in a lyrical face-off that’s at turns hot-tempered and tender, reckless and poetic. Onstage that conversation warps into beautiful chaos, thanks to the band’s joyfully unhinged, spontaneity-fueled live performance.”
The Bros. Landreth
Anchored by the bluesy wail of electric guitars, the swell of B3 organ, and the harmonized swoon of two voices that were born to mesh. At first listen, you might call it Americana. Dig deeper, though, and you’ll hear the nuances that separate The Bros. Landreth — whose members didn’t grow up in the American south, but rather the isolated prairie city of Winnipeg, Manitoba — from their folksy friends in the Lower 48.
The Franklin Electric
The Franklin Electric’s alternative folk-pop is intimate at heart and orchestral in form. This Montreal band spices up melancholy ballads with uplifting dynamics and subtle hints of brass and turned heads in 2012, claiming first prize in a Nashville song writing competition with the infectious song, “Old Piano”. The group then banded together to lay down their debut album “This is How I Let You Down” released in May 2014 followed by an extensive 5 months of touring Canada and Europe.
The Wet Secrets
The Wet Secrets are a six-piece rock’n’roll dance band that plays the kind of music you could expect to hear if The Stranglers piggybacked Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass through the Rose Parade. Swampy basslines, primal drumming, dancing ladies with brassy hornstacks, keys, congas, & vocal harmonies galore.
Yukon Blonde
Yukon Blonde (Vancouver, BC) recently finished recording their highly anticipated third album to be released in Summer 2015. This next album is the follow up to the JUNO Award Nominated “Tiger Talk” (released 2012) and expands on their trademark alternative pop sound. For fans of: My Morning Jacket, Tame Impala.
About CIMA
Celebrating its 40th year in 2015, CIMA is the not-for-profit national trade association representing the English-language, Canadian-owned sector of the music industry, and is the first organization of its kind in the world. CIMA represents a diverse membership consisting of Canadian-owned companies and their ambassadors, all of whom are involved in every aspect of the music, sound recording and music-related industries. They are exclusively small businesses which include: record producers, record labels, recording studios, managers, agents, licensors, music video producers and directors, creative content owners, artists and others professionally involved in the sound recording industry. CIMA’s mandate is to develop and advocate policies and services that serve to support a strong and economically stable Canadian independent music and sound recording industry, ensuring the long-term development of the sector and to raise the profile of Canadian independent music both in Canada and around the world.
About Canadian Blast:
For 10 years, the Canadian Blast showcase and B2B initiative has travelled the globe to bring the best and brightest emerging talent and industry from Canada to vibrant international export markets through festivals, conferences, trade shows and independent missions in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia
About Music Export Canada:
Music Export Canada is the newly established alliance between some of Canada’s most active national and provincial talent exporters, importers and stakeholders. With a common goal of showcasing bright up-and-coming talent and developing emerging industry professionals, Music Export Canada will service many of the nation’s export needs and will grow to be an internationally trusted resource for the all things related to the independent Canadian music community.
CIMA gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our Canadian partners and sponsors: Canadian Music Week (CMW), the City of Toronto, Corus Entertainment, the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), the Government of Canada (through MEC/Canadian Heritage), Harvard Broadcasting, Music Managers Forum Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), the Radio Starmaker Fund, and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN).