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The Western
Canadian Music Awards is alive in Kelowna
by Kate
Mukasa
 The
Okanagan and Kelowna specifically is certainly well
known for it’s beautiful lake and foothills, world
class vineyards, and even its favorable
climate....but an indie music festival mecca?....certainly
NOT...
Or not YET at least.
You see, Kelowna won the bid to host
the not-so-small Western Canadian Music
Awards/Conference/Festival this year, called Break
Out West.
And for those who have not heard of
this before....it’s a pretty big deal.
A quick history....During the years
1995-1999, the music industry associations of
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta staged the All
Indie Weekend, an indie music festival and
conference. The group formerly became known as the
Prairie Music Alliance in 1999. Then, in 2002 the
group expanded to include the Music Industry
Associations of BC and the Yukon, becoming the
Western Canada Music Alliance (WCMA) in 2003.
 The
WCMA has formerly been hosted in cities such as
Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. And now,
Kelowna.
So what’s in it for us as a city?
Despite the obvious of the opportunity to experience
home grown talent in intimate settings, there are
long term benefits to hosting an event such as this.
To begin with, the WCMA is a SLIGHT
step down from the Juno’s and attracts some pretty
significant music industry heavy weights both
nationally and internationally.
Which is a huge benefit to the city,
explains Quinn Best, one of the festivals’
producers,
“This is an opportunity for
Kelowna to become more of a destination for
producers, managers, and agents looking to reside in
our city because there’s enough going on.”
Best also says that the festival will
stimulate local businesses, and attract tourists
interested in Canada’s music scene.
 The
event includes three components: a festival where
music fans will have the opportunity to see up to
60 musicians perform for only $20; a conference
which will match local musicians with industry
people; and an awards show, which will celebrate all
that Western Canadian artists have to offer.
Rick Fenton is the executive director
for WCMA,
“We want to create sustainable
careers for artists in the West”
says Rick,
“we want much more than just a music festival, we
want to connect artists with industry people.”
That is why, he says, they have
scaled down the number of artists performing to
around 50 or 60, and each artist will perform twice.
Kelowna Mayor, Sharon Shepherd says
she is excited about the festival, and sees both
it’s short term and long term benefits, “We as a
city have been criticized for not making enough
available for our youth,” she says, “The
University and college are important pillars in our
community, so this will set the stage for the
future.”
But it’s not just for the youth,
“We want Kelowna to be a sustainable city, meeting
the needs of all age groups,” she says,
“Also, it makes good economic
sense. Everything about the event is positive.”
So WHY Kelowna?
“Don’t sell yourself short”
says Fenton,
“SXSW in Austin is a good example;
great artists came because of the great geography,
and Kelowna has the same appeal.”
Fenton also says that Kelowna’s sense
of community and relative size is perfect for a
music festival.
Best is just as confident in the
WCMA’s choice of host this year,
“Geographically speaking, Kelowna is
the 5th largest radio market in BC so an event like
the WCMA really helps provide that foundation for
the rest of the [Arts and Culture] industry to grow
off of, and in fact that’s the importance of the
event coming to Kelowna.”
Break Out West runs October 21st-24th.
As for the musicians performing, the event committee
is accepting applications until Friday, April 30th.
For more details, you can visit their
site at
www.westerncanadianmusicawards.ca |
