CIMA Wraps Up Another Successful Mission to The Great Escape 2016!
CIMA crossed the Atlantic once again to partake in the UK’s premier annual music event, The Great Escape. This marked the 5th time that CIMA has participated in the festival, which included 3 full days of Canada House showcases in Brighton as well as a pre-TGE showcase and B2B events in both London and Brighton.
The pre-TGE events kicked off on Tuesday afternoon at the Canadian High Commission “Canada House” in Trafalgar Square with a networking reception, followed by 1 on 1-speed meetings between Canadian and UK delegates. Once meetings wrapped up, participants were encouraged to head over to The Water Rats where Terra Lightfoot, Pyramid Tropic, Wake Island and L.A. Foster took the stage for a Canadian Blast showcase and helped set the tone for a week of great performances.
The final pre-TGE event of the week took place on Wednesday at The Gallery in Tileyard Studios, where an in-depth Festival Focus Panel was presented with international partners from Sounds Australia, CIMA, First Music Contact Ireland, Swiss Music Export and New Zealand Music. The informative and interactive panel focused on festival trends and the future of UK festivals.
Thursday’s Canada House daytime showcases took a trip to Central Canada with Bring It ONtario, presented by MusicOntario and the OMDC. Smart music fans showed up early to the Green Door Store to watch Pyramid Tropic take to the stage first and, by the time Frigs began to play, it was a packed house! Coleman Hell kept the party alive with his energetic performance and to wrap up the first day of Canada House, BreakOut West presented British Columbia’s own The Zolas.
On Friday morning, 17 Canadian delegates signed up to be a part of the “Meet the Canadians” B2B session held at Myhotel for a full 2 hours of meetings with international delegates.
Day 2 of the Canada House festivities kicked off from the East Coast with Music Nova Scotia based artists Nap Eyes and Ben Caplan. No one wanted to miss these performances, as lineups formed around the block to get in! POP Montreal added a Quebec flare to the day as Wake Island and L.A. Foster wowed the packed house. Ontario born and Berlin-based artist Sway Clarke ended the second day on a high note with his performance.
Unfortunately the festivities had to come to an end, as Saturday marked the last day of Canada House at The Great Escape but the crowds weren’t disappointed! BreakOut West hosted their delicious BBQ under the tent outside and presented 7 artists from across Western Canada. Joe Nolan hit the stage first and instantly captured the attention of the crowd. Alberta’s own The Velveteins were up next followed by the hip hop stylings of Queen City Stoop Kids.
Up next were Surf Dads who kept the party going and Living Hour had the crowd dancing throughout the afternoon. Our last showcasing artists of 2016 were Yes We Mystic and We Are the City who kept the party going until the final note! It was great to see the crowds sticking around in the tucked away venue enjoying one great Canadian artist after another!
A big thank you to The Water Rats and The Green Door Store for being home to 17 Canadian artists over 4 days!
Also many thanks go out to our Music Export Canada showcasing partners at Canada House – Alberta Music, BreakOut West, Manitoba Music, Music BC, Music Nova Scotia, MusicOntario, the Ontario Media Development Corporation and POP Montreal.
CIMA gratefully acknowledges and thanks our generous sponsors and partners Canadian Music Week (CMW), Corus Entertainment, the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), the Government of Canada (through the Canada Music Fund), Harvard Broadcasting, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), the Radio Starmaker Fund and Stingray Music.