MEET THE PANELISTS

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Adam Kreeft

Sun Feb 28 11am Creating Social Content Without Losing Your Mind

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Adele Slater

Sun Feb 28 2pm Export: International Showcasing

 

Amanda Kingsland

Sat Feb 27 12pm on The Hunt For Radio Play
Amanda Kingsland grew up in Ottawa & the Valley and has always been a passionate country music fan. After spending countless hours making mixtapes, reviewing albums and attending concerts, the 8-year-old decided that working in the Canadian country music industry was where she wanted to be. While in university studying audio engineering, she was asked about interest in interning at CKBY, her favourite radio station. One her first day Amanda was introduced to Doug Anderson and learned about the roles of Music Directors and Program Directors and instantly she knew what she was made to do. After 15 years working with Rogers Radio in Ottawa, Amanda has worked almost every job in the station on her journey to become the Program Director of CKBY. Amanda led the charge in making the Country brand the first Rogers Radio brand to use a national music network (that's 8 stations across 3 time zones on 1 music network!) Amanda is a past member of the CMA Ontario's Board of Directors and is a current member of the CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) Board of Directors. Amanda is currently the National Music Director for the Rogers Country Brand while also the Regional Content Director of Country 101.1, Country 107.3 & Country 104.3).

 

Amanda has been the CCMA Music Director of the Year (Large Market) for the last 5 years and in 2019 also won CCMA Radio Station of the Year (Large Market) and Country Program or Special of the Year for her industry leading program, Girl Power Hour.

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Charles Watson

Sun Feb 28 2pm Export: International Showcasing

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Colleen Krueger

Sun Feb 28 10am on How to Not Screw Up Your Album Release

“Working is music is one wild ride!! I've been on this ride for nearly 8 years and refuse to get off anytime soon - even through all the ups and downs we are going through these days. Throughout my work I have worn many hats including: talent buying, label rep, artist management, grant writer, marketing and program manager. Under all of these roles I find myself diving into uncharted waters and having to learn, and adapt quickly to many different aspects of the day to day work. After 8 years I still learn something new everyday and still very much enjoy the process of researching and building new skills. I currently work at Flemish Eye Records, and as the Managing Director of Music Calgary.”

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Crystal Shawanda

Sun Feb 28 10am on How to Not Screw Up Your Album Release

Crystal Shawanda is an Ojibway/Odawa/Potawatomi artist with True North Records, from the Wiikwemkoong First Nation, on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She began singing when she 3, and recorded her first album in Nashville when she was 13. A multiple JUNO Nominee and winner, CCMA winner, Canadian Radio Music Awards winner, and multiple winner of the APCMAs. Making the switch several years ago from country to blues, she has had multiple Maple Blues awards nominations, and her album "Churchhouse Blues" stayed on the Roots Music Report charts for 36 weeks. Crystal Shawanda is the highest charting Indigenous artist in the Billboard BDS Era, and is the highest charting Canadian female artist for a solo performance on American country radio to date. Crystal is also a producer and the CEO of New Sun Music, the only Indigenous-owned record label to chart a song on mainstream radio. She has also been a board member of Nike N7 since 2008, which has granted millions of dollars to Indigenous youth across Canada and America. 

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Dan Hand

Sat Feb 27 11am on Artist Teams: How to Build Yours

Dan Hand has been an active participant of the music business for over 12 years. Having managed artists since 2009, he has also had experience in marketing, tour managing and A&R at both independent and major record labels. Artists who've partnered with Dan have gone on to see worldwide album touring and album releases, gold records, music video awards, JUNO award nominations, among many other professional and personal accomplishments. After leaving the major to build 2 successful music companies, his most recent industry move was joining the staff at Gavin Brown-founded music company Inside Pocket in 2018, and now managing such artists as CARYS (Atlantic/Warner), League Of Wolves, Havelin, Sean Watson Graham and recording producer Dajaun Martineau. 

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Danny Keir

Sunday Feb 28 1pm on Export: UK Markets and 2pm Export: International Showcasing

Danny is an artist manager and international music consultant. Based in London UK, Danny has worked across hundreds of release campaigns for international artists building structure and opportunity and coordinating multi market representation and collaboration. Having independently managed artists for over 10 years, Danny is equipped with the experience and understanding of a global artist business.  

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Danny is the co-founder of Enki Collective, a music export and artist services company specialised in managing release campaigns and building value for artists in new markets. Enki operate as creative advisors and industry gatekeepers, providing network development and market knowledge to build value and consistency for each campaign.

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The name Enki derives from the Sumerian era; the first literate civilisation that founded its divinities on matters pertaining to natural and social orders. Enki was the god of life, creativity, and mischief. Enki represents the characteristics of progress and disruption and is the embodiment of contemporary cultural complexities, from the dynamic live, work, play environments to the health and wellness agendas. These influences inform the vision for ENKI music and provide the core principles of their work.

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David “Click” Cox

Sun Feb 28 10am on How to Not Screw Up Your Album Release

David "Click" Cox started his career as a member of the MMVA winning and JUNO nominated group, The Maximum Definitive. Created reputation for his promotional and marketing efforts working closely with concert promotions company REMG. Soon after, he started his career working with BMG Music Canada and then worked at Universal Music Canada as A&R. During his time with Universal, David founded the Stylus Awards to celebrate the Canadian Hip-Hop and R&B music talents and recognition of DJs. After 8 years with Universal, he created his own entertainment company, CLK Creative Works. Today, CLK is responsible for managing an eclectic roster of highly skilled and experienced artists. Along with management, David teaches music business at Metalworks and The Remix Project.

 

Eliza Doyle

Sat Feb 27 10am on Fostering Community in Music

Eliza Doyle is a professional musician, songwriter, banjo player, recording artist, teacher, community advocate, leader and recently the force behind Saskatchewan's newest arts organization, C.A.M.P. The Community Arts Mentorship Program brings a focus to fostering the arts while supporting local community capacity to deliver arts programming. Offering services to remote and under-served communities presents new challenges, and CAMP works to meet the needs of community participants, mentees and facilitating artists wishing to expand their practices. Familiar with the arts and music industry in Saskatchewan, she also aims to provide mentorship opportunities to people experiencing challenges due to location and lack of resources. Having been a part of the music industry for nearly 20 years, Doyle is excited to use her experience to strengthen communities through the arts, and to foster relationships between communities in Saskatchewan.

 

Elsa Gebremichael

Sun Feb 28 11am on Creating Social Content Without Losing Your Mind

Having fronted bands since she was fifteen years old, Elsa Gebremichael has many years of experience in the Saskatchewan and Canadian music scene and continues to grow as a self-managed musician, singer, songwriter, producer and performer. She's currently developing and releasing music from her solo project, WILD BLACK, but in her previous projects such as We Were Lovers, From Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z, and The Radiation Flowers, Elsa has toured throughout Europe and North America, showcased at festivals such as SXSW, NXNE, HPX, CMJ, SaskTel Jazz Festival and BIME in Spain, and has opened for notable acts such as Tegan and Sara, Metric, Janelle Monae, Mother Mother, New York Dolls and more. Elsa has secured music license syncs to TV, film and radio (the CBC Radio One Saskatoon Morning theme song is a WWL song!), was nominated for a WCMA for Pop Recording of the Year and performed at the first Afropunk festival in NYC.

 

Elsa is an experienced grant-writer and has successfully secured funding from organizations such as the Sask Arts Board (SAB), Creative Sask, FACTOR, SOCAN Foundation, and the Canada Council for the Arts, as well been a jury member for SAB and FACTOR. She's done everything from co-recording / producing / mixing albums, to tour booking and publicity, poster and website design, social media management, and directing and producing music videos and photo shoots for herself and others. She also volunteers as an organizer, mentor and instructor with Girls Rock Camp Saskatoon - a camp that empowers girls, non-binary, trans and gender non-conforming youth through the creation and performance of music as well as through social justice, confidence enhancing and skill developing workshops. Fostering inclusiveness and increasing representation of women, people of color, queer, non-binary and trans folks in the Canadian music scene is super important to Elsa and she strives to make growth and change happen where this representation is lacking.

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Feedy Frizzi

Sun Feb 28 1pm on Export: UK Markets

Italian native Feedy Frizzi has resided in London for the past 14 years. After being awarded a First Class degree in Music Business in 2010 she was hired as an A&R and Lizzie Francis’ assistant at Spilt Milk Music management, giving her insight into the world of songwriting by overseeing relationships with writer clients such as Eg White (Adele, Florence, Will Young, Sam Smith, Pink etc), Justin Parker (Lana Del Rey, Rihanna, Bat For Lashes) and Jim Duguid (Alex Clare, Paolo Nutini). Meanwhile she was promoting shows in east London under moniker Paint It Black. 

 

In 2013 Feedy moved into Moshi Moshi’s office in east London and with them started co-managing Boxed In (aka Oli Bayston) as an artist and also producer/co-writer for the likes of: Petite Noir, George Fitzgerald, The Bohicas, The Two Bears, Rosie Lowe etc.  This partnership also extends to a second co-management client, NZCA Lines, who she signed to Memphis Industries for records and Because Music for publishing. 

 

Between 2017 and 2019 Feedy lived between London and Los Angeles and took part to various panels discussing current state of the music industry, international markets, artist development and current state of the ever-changing media. While at BreakOut West she discovered Boniface and took them to the UK to sign them to Transgressive Records. Since then, she relocated to the UK, started her own management company MBF Music which currently represents NZCA Lines (Memphis Industries/Because Music), Daniel Brandt (Erased Tapes) and Max Pope (Caroline International).

 

Kimberly Sinclair

Sat Feb 27 12pm on The Hunt For Radio Play

Kimberly Sinclair is an award-winning publicist and music industry professional based in Nova Scotia and Louisville KY. Since founding Spincount in 2008, her firm has been awarded Company OTY 6 times and Kimberly awarded Industry Professional OTY twice. Spincount handles marketing and publicity for major organizations such as Philadelphia Folk Festival, PFS, Home Routes, the CFMAs, NERFA and more. Kimberly's clients are routinely nominated for GRAMMYs and JUNOs and receive multiple nominations yearly from regional and provincial music industry associations. Kimberly currently serves on the boards of NERFA and PFS, has served on the boards of Music Nova Scotia and the ECMA, and loves to present showcases and host online events.

 

Kurt Dahl

Sun Feb 28 12pm on TikTok and the Musician

Kurt Dahl is an entertainment lawyer by day and a rock star by night. A founding member of One Bad Son, Kurt has toured the world with the band over the past 16 years, sharing the stage with The Rolling Stones, Def Leppard, Judas Priest and more. The band landed their first #1 single in Canada with the song Raging Bull in 2018. By day, Kurt is one of the preeminent entertainment lawyers in Canada, working with the biggest names in the music industry from coast to coast. Kurt has served as President of SaskMusic for the past five years and is passionate about utilizing his knowledge as artist and lawyer to help others in the entertainment industry make the most of their career. He shares his knowledge in the articles he writes on cutting edge issues in the music industry which have been published around the world by Canadian Musician, Canadian Lawyer, SOCAN, Drum Magazine and more, and can be found on his website www.lawyerdrummer.com.

 

Lenore Maier

Sat Feb 27 10am on Fostering Community in Music

Lenore Maier is a multi-instrumentalist; she plays drums and sings in Saskatoon surf pop band The Garrys, where she has performed alongside notable acts such as The Sadies, Elliott Brood and La Luz. She also produces ambient electronic works as Ursa and has worked in the realms of film score composition and live theatre sound design. She is the co-founder of Grey Records, a small cassette label based in Saskatoon. She has toured across Canada and the UK, and has booked several tours for her own bands and others on Grey Records. She is an organizer with Girls Rock Saskatoon and is the founder of FEMFEST! (2017-2019) and Festival Director of The Manitou Boogaloo (2018-present). She has juried several music festivals and has been a FACTOR juror since 2014. Lenore holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan.

 

Marvin Chan

Sat Feb 27 10am on Fostering Community in Music

Marvin Tontiwachwuthikul Chan, better known by his stage alter-ego, Merv xx Gotti, is the singer of SMA - Hip Hop Artist of the Year award-winning and WCMA - R&B Artist of the Year-nominated Canadian hip-hop/R&B duo, Samurai Champs, as well as Artistic Director of Canadian music startup and artist collective, Trifecta Sound Co.

 

Matt Maw

Sat Feb 27 11am on Artist Teams: How to Build Yours

Matt Maw (Chippewas of the Thames First Nation) is the Director & Lead Artist Manager at Red Music Rising. Matt brings over 10 years of multi-faceted music industry experience to RMR, along with a passion for artist development and a mission to amplify Canada's Indigenous artists on the global stage. Throughout his career, Matt has worked with some of Canada's most celebrated artists, Indigenous and otherwise, including Tanya Tagaq, William Prince, Riit, Jeremy Dutcher, Broken Social Scene, and BANNERS, among others. A graduate of the Harris Institute for the Arts, Matt has previously worked alongside organizations including Arts & Crafts Productions, Six Shooter Records and New Constellations.

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Melissa Vincent

Sun Feb 28 11am Creating Social Content Without Losing Your Mind

 

Neena Sharma

Sat Feb 27 11am on Artist Teams: How to Build Yours

Neena Sharma is an independent Grant Writer, and the Project Manager with the Toronto based record label URBNET. She has been a juror with multiple funding organizations including FACTOR and Creative Saskatchewan, and is a mentor with SaskMusic’s Career Tracks program. She has also been a nomination judge for several Canadian music award ceremonies, including the JUNO Awards. Neena is a graduate of York University and has been working in the music industry since 2016.  

 

Although born in the U.K., Neena grew up in Ajax ON before eventually moving to Toronto. As a teenager, she loved visiting Criminal Records on Queen St. West, and trying to get into 19+ shows. Within her position with URBNET, she has contributed to projects that have secured WCMA and Music NL awards, and is involved with securing OMF (Ontario Creates) and FACTOR grants. She is also part of the publicity team and contributes to A&R efforts.

 

As an independent Grant Writer, Neena has developed grants for artists and record labels applying to funding organizations across Canada. Neena is an active volunteer with the Feminist Art Collective of Toronto and was a festival coordinator for the 2020 exhibition at OCAD. She currently resides in St. John’s, Newfoundland and can usually be spotted with her little dog in tow.

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Niko Stratis

Sun Feb 28 10am on How to Not Screw Up Your Album Release

Niko Stratis is the owner and operator of Switchblade Music Group, a Toronto-based artist agency and consulting company for trans artists in the music industry. With over 15 years in the industry, working with festivals, running a small record label, working as the ED of a Music Industry Association and more, Niko brings a wealth of knowledge to her work helping trans artists find their place in the industry and pushing the industry to make space for trans artists.

 

Pip Newby

Sun Feb 28 1pm on Export: UK Markets

Friends Vs Music is a London-based talent management company founded in 2017 by Pip Newby. Friends Vs Music’s roster of 12 songwriters, producers, mixers and engineers have sold millions of records, worked with some of the planet’s biggest stars and have made some absolutely astonishing music.

 

Pip has previously held A&R positions at Play It Again Sam/[PIAS] UK Ltd and Atlantic Records, as well as having run his own independent label, Friends Vs Records. With over a decade of label experience, Pip has worked with artists like Enter Shikari, Ghostpoet, Lucius, Lord Huron, Crystal Fighters, fun., Keaton Henson and Editors.

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Paul Tuch

Sat Feb 27 12pm on The Hunt For Radio Play

Paul attended the Radio Broadcasting program at Humber College in Toronto and started his music industry career at the Canadian music business trade magazine The Record in 1987, becoming Chart Manager in 1991. He joined the radio monitoring company Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) in 1997, eventually becoming Director of Canadian Operations for Nielsen Music, which encompassed the BDS and SoundScan services. He is currently part of the Customer Success team for MRC Data, following MRC’s purchase of Nielsen Music, and is based in Toronto.

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Sheryl Kimbley

Sat Feb 27 10am on Fostering Community in Music

Member of the Big River First Nation and residing in Prince Albert most of her life, Sheryl Kimbley is the Producer of Voices of the North, mentor and creator of Northern Spirits, 2016 Prince Albert citizen of the year, winner of FSIN Strength of a Woman award in Arts and Entertainment, CITV Hometown Hero, YWCA - Women of Distinction award winner in Arts and Entertainment, and is acting Chair of PA Police Commission. Sheryl uses the arts with a focus on music to help youth find their voice and network. She currently works with Prince Albert Grand Council as special event coordinator.

 

Stevie Smith

Sun Feb 28 2pm on Export: International Showcasing

Stevie Smith is CEO, Americana Music Association UK and Founder of All I Want Agency. Stevie joined the AMA-UK team shortly after it was founded and became CEO in 2014. Her initial goal was to develop the inaugural UK Americana Awards; the first event was held in January 2016, and has taken place each year since in the form of AmericanaFest UK, now a 3-day conference with 2 evenings of showcase festival and the UK Americana Awards. As a retailer she saw a gap in the Official Charts for the Americana genre, and worked with the Official Charts Company to make the chart a reality. The Americana Album Chart launched in January 2016. The Association continues to grow in strength and numbers and Stevie and the Board work hard throughout the year to keep the Americana genre vibrant in the busy UK music scene, working with festivals, artists, media and promoters across the country.

 

As well as working for the AMA-UK, Stevie is an entertainment and retail entrepreneur. She co-founded Union Music Store in 2010, the only roots-specific record store in the UK at the time, and hosted hundreds of in-stores and promoted gigs from Canadian and American artists. Union Music Store has since been sold so that Stevie can concentrate on the growth of the AMA-UK. Stevie founded All I Want Agency in 2020, a management and consultancy agency for artists in the folk and Americana genres.

 

Susan Busse

Sat Feb 27 11am on Artist Teams: How to Build Yours

Susan is an independent publicist from Saskatoon who specializes in working with artists. She was awarded the 2017 Western Canadian Music Award for ‘Impact in Music Marketing’, and was nominated in 2016 and 2018 for the same. She was also nominated for the Saskatchewan Music Award for ‘Industry Achievement’ in both 2018 and 2019.

With a business background in marketing and sales and a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Finance from the University of Saskatchewan, she strategizes and executes campaigns (print, radio, visual, digital media) with award winning clients such as: the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Cirque du Soleil, Sean Burns, Rosie & the Riveters, 100 mile house, Alexis Normand, Andino Suns, Belle Plaine, Blake Berglund, Kevin Roy, the Regina Folk Festival, and more; with television clients The Neighbors Dog, Quizzine, and Space Stretch; with the Saskatoon Fashion and Design Festival; with writer Alice Kuipers; with visual artist and published colouring book author Denyse Klette; and with a small selection of corporate clients. She also provides hourly consultation services and is developing publicity training courses. Susan recently served a six-year term as Treasurer of the Board for SaskMusic. She continues to serve as a juror for CARAS (The JUNOs), FACTOR, WCMA, CCMA and Creative Saskatchewan. Previous roles in music include radio tracker for OnRamp Records, producer of CMT music videos for Fahrenheit Films (nominated for CCMA “Country Music Program or Special of the Year”), freelance writer for Saskatoon Express and contributor to a music history book and several blogs.

 

Vanessa Cito

Sun Feb 28 11am on Creating Social Content Without Losing Your Mind

Vanessa develops customized social marketing plans and strategy for musicians and brands across multiple online platforms. With over 15 years of experience in the music business, Vanessa built her career in Hospitality, Branding, and Social Media, starting her career working for festivals like NXNE, CMW, and Indie Week, which took her to Ireland to produce the European side of the Indie Week festival during the 2013 season. She joined The Marketing Store team in 2010 working with clients such as Nissan, Infiniti, and McDonalds on branding, CRM, and localized opportunities for growth. In addition to her work in Marketing, Vanessa co-founded both show promotion collectives Big Things Productions and People Put Out Productions (active 2012-2016). She also acted as the booker at The Rivoli in Toronto 2012-2014. Vanessa joined the Coalition Music management team in July 2013 to create, curate content for, provide educational tools, and report on digital marketing strategies for Coalition Music’s roster of artists as well as their TEMPO Charity and Canada’s Music Incubator.

 

Noticing a void in assistance for independent artists, Vanessa stepped down from her position of 5 years in music management as head of Digital Strategy for Coalition Music to start her new Digital Services Agency, Reach, in March 2018. Vanessa spent the last two years growing Reach and representing digital and marketing for many notable organizations such as Anthem Entertainment (formerly Ole) on their rebrand, feminist festival Venus Fest’s second year, New Constellations Indigenous New Wave tour, Sound of Music Festival, LA Times at TIFF, Animal Crossing, and more. Since branching out on her own, she has worked with many up-and-coming artists such as Notifi, Megan Nash, Iskwe, Brooklyn Doran, Tom Boy, Mariya Stokes, and more on the digital side. For management, she has represented T. Thomason, taking him through The Launch on CTV and releasing a single that dominated the Pop and Canadian Charts. She currently represents pop artist Bedhead, whose second-ever single Fight No More was picked up on its own for Toronto’s favourite Indie station, Indie88 + and debuted as the most streamed Canadian Indie on satellite radio.

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