SATURDAY:

Seth Sentry at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern (Sounds Australia Aussie BBQ)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522563021129508.1073741854.125331064186041&type=1

Grey Ghost at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern (Sounds Australia Aussie BBQ)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522558457796631.1073741853.125331064186041&type=3

Ben Caplan at Loft 406 (Pledge Parlour)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522564887795988.1073741856.125331064186041&type=1

Mad Ones at Loft 406 (Pledge Parlour)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522563904462753.1073741855.125331064186041&type=3

Diemonds at The Hideout
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522522664466877.1073741852.125331064186041&type=3

The Beards at The Bovine
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522521744466969.1073741851.125331064186041&type=3

Savages at Lee’s Palace
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522517224467421.1073741850.125331064186041&type=3

Boy at El Mocambo
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522516681134142.1073741849.125331064186041&type=3

FRIDAY:

The Wooden Sky at the Kool Haus (SiriusXM Indies)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522114154507728.1073741847.125331064186041&type=3

Cold Specks and the SiriusXM Indies at the Kool Haus
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522109897841487.1073741843.125331064186041&type=3

Wilderness of Manitoba at the Rivial
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522113574507786.1073741846.125331064186041&type=3

USS at the Rivoli
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522113084507835.1073741845.125331064186041&type=3

Protest the Hero at the Hoxton
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522110604508083.1073741844.125331064186041&type=3

Brews Willis at Sneaky Dee’s
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522109587841518.1073741842.125331064186041&type=3

A Place to Bury Strangers at the Garrison
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522109267841550.1073741841.125331064186041&type=3

Aiden Knight at Trinity Church
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.522108264508317.1073741840.125331064186041&type=3

Wildlife at the Great Hall
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521751674543976.1073741838.125331064186041&type=3

THURSDAY:

The Balconies at Lee’s Palace
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521750824544061.1073741837.125331064186041&type=3

July Talk at Lee’s Palace
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521750027877474.1073741836.125331064186041&type=3

The Funeral Suits at the Drake Underground
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521749534544190.1073741835.125331064186041&type=3

Emma Louise at the Trinity Church
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521748467877630.1073741834.125331064186041&type=3

Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers at the Horseshoe Tavern
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521746671211143.1073741833.125331064186041&type=3

WEDNESDAY:

Raekwon at the Sound Academy
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521736991212111.1073741832.125331064186041&type=3

Rachel Sermanni at the Cameron House
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521734861212324.1073741831.125331064186041&type=3

Pirates Canoe at Clinton’s Tavern
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521734401212370.1073741830.125331064186041&type=3

Justin Rutledge at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521732974545846.1073741829.125331064186041&type=3

DIANA at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521732504545893.1073741828.125331064186041&type=3

CHVRCHES at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521731541212656.1073741827.125331064186041&type=3

TUESDAY:

Eagleson at the Underground Garage
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521728971212913.1073741826.125331064186041&type=3

*Photos by Dylan Leeder - www.dylanleeder.com

Photos by Dylan Leeder – www.dylanleeder.com

“We’re so sorry to cancel our Toronto show tonight. Due to illness Casper is in no condition to sing or make it out tonight. We hate to cancel and we apologize to everyone. We hope we can make the concert in Montreal tomorrow work. Best wishes Rasmus / Efterklang”

Ticket holders will get a full refund for the show. Please go back to your point of purchase for details. We apologize for any inconvenience.

But don’t worry, there is still a lot more happening tonight! If you’re interested in checking out another band, we recommend Cai.ro at The Dakota Tavern at 9PM or attending the Sound Gallery (6:30PM at the Church of Holy Trinity) presented by Sounds Australia to catch some of the great Australian acts at this years festival! Make sure to check out our schedule HERE for more details!

Matt Mason serves as Vice President of Marketing for BitTorrent, Inc. a creator of advanced, innovative technologies designed to efficiently deliver large files across the Internet. BitTorrent currently boasts over 170 million active monthly users. Mason is also the bestselling author of The Pirate’s Dilemma, and a board member at PopTech, a global community of innovators, working together to expand the edge of change.

Info on Panel: “Making Money for Artists: DIY Social Online Tools” – 9:45AM – 10:35AM

A few days ago, Dave Grohl’s SXSW keynote reminded us why we believe in music. Why we’re ridiculously lucky to be alive here and now, at a time when it’s “easier than ever to start our own bands, make our own records, book our own shows, and publish our own zines”. We can grow up to be anything. We might not have maps to guide us. We might not have the same hard-and-fast rules to hold on to. But we don’t have anything holding us back, either.

Success within this landscape requires a little bravery, and a lot of little experiments. For over a year now, BitTorrent has been partnering with creators and fans to test new monetization models, and DIY growth tactics. Along the way, we’ve created a legitimate content ecosystem 85-petabytes-big, driving 152 million downloads of partner content. Counting Crows, a featured content partner, described BitTorrent as the new radio. Reaching 170 million users, like radio, it’s indisputably powerful as an awareness tool. It’s also an incredibly powerful monetization tool.

Which brings us to DIY pop star Alex Day. In 2006, Alex started posting his music videos on YouTube. Today, he has over 500,000 YouTube subscribers, and 100 million video views. With over 600,000 paid downloads, he’s one of the recording industry’s brightest young stars. He has never worked with a record label.

There’s a rule about how labels = charts. This week, we were reminded again that, in fact, they don’t. Alex Day’s Epigrams And Interludescollection outcharted Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience in the UK, and debuted at #22 in the US. A kid with a YouTube channel who makes music on his terms is more powerful than the industry machine.

How’s that possible? To get there, Day broke another rule. He worked with BitTorrent. Day’s objective was to get his songs to people. We partnered with him to distribute ten tracks and stems through BitTorrent to 170 million fans. Within seven days, he had 1 million downloads – a viewcount that would require several weeks – if not months or years –  to build on YouTube. 38 thousand people checked out the remixes he posted on SoShare. And as a result, Day received 60 thousand additional visits to iTunes. All from BitTorrent users.

By releasing downloads first via BitTorrent, Day was able to reach the critical mass of fans necessary to drive up album sales. The old rules don’t apply, anymore. We congratulate Alex for breaking them.

Tomorrow, I’ll be participating in the panel “Making Money for Artists: DIY Social Online Tools”, where we’ll talk Alex Day, and other stories of success in the post-digital landscape. I look forward to hearing and discussing insights with the panelists; we’re really excited to talk about what we’ve learned.

CMW 2013 is here at last!  With tons of shows happening all over the city, and advance tickets selling out quickly, it’s tricky to decide just which events to hit up. Here’s a list of must-see shows and in-store events you should definitely check out! See you there!

TUESDAY, MARCH 19

Canadian Music Week @ Goorin Bros. 4-6PM Feat. Cai.ro

https://www.facebook.com/events/248208525315744/?ref=ts&fref=ts

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20

CHVRCHES  @ Virgin Mobile Mod Club – 10PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=22&band_ID=5644

Hollywood Undead @ Phoenix Concert Theatre – 10PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=193&band_ID=5965

Canadian Music Week @ Of A Kind. 1-3PM Feat. Mise en Scene, Cai.ro, Miesha & The Spanks, Incura

https://www.facebook.com/events/504092589648592/?fref=ts

Mount Moriah @ Drake Underground – 11PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=12&band_ID=5461

Canadian Music Week @ Goorin Bros. 4-6PM Feat. Attagirl

https://www.facebook.com/events/248208525315744/?ref=ts&fref=ts

THURSDAY, MARCH 21

Coheed & Cambria, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Sound Academy – 8:20PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=24&band_ID=5646

Eight and a Half @ Gladstone Hotel – 12AM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=88&band_ID=5754

Wildlife, PS I Love You, Mad Ones @ The Great Hall – 9PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=228&band_ID=5983

Canadian Music Week @ Of A Kind. 1-3PM Feat. Hue, The Bokononists, The Town Heroes, The Meds

https://www.facebook.com/events/504092589648592/?fref=ts

Elephant Stone @ The Garrison – 10:30PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=86&band_ID=5271

Canadian Music Week @ Model Citizen. 6-8:30PM Feat. Dominique Fricot, Thom Huhtala, The Meds, The Revival, The Town Heroes

https://www.facebook.com/events/365756586874017/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Canadian Music Week @ June Records. 4-8PM Feat Dominique Fricot, Statue Park, Ponctuation, Acres of Lions

https://www.facebook.com/events/556871184344073/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Canadian Music Week @ Goorin Bros. 4-6PM Feat. Amos the Transparent

https://www.facebook.com/events/248208525315744/?ref=ts&fref=ts

FRIDAY, MARCH 22

Lucius @ Rancho Relaxo – 12AM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=98&band_ID=6096

Coalition Music Showcase @ Rivoli Feat. James Black, Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers, Incura, TimeGiant, + secret guest – 8PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=123&band_ID=5748

Canadian Music Week @ June Records 4-8PM Feat Miesha & the Spanks, The Town Heroes, Kevin Kralik, Mad Ones

https://www.facebook.com/events/556871184344073/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Tori Kelly @ Virgin Mobile Mod Club – 9PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=101&band_ID=5771

Metric, Matt Mays, Diamond Rings, Yukon Blonde, Cold Specks, The Wooden Sky @ Kool Haus – 9PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=45&band_ID=5673

Ryan Leslie @ Phoenix Concert Theatre – 11:30PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=47&band_ID=5679

Canadian Music Week @ Of A Kind. 1-3:30PM Feat. Dominique Fricot, Statue Park, Kevin Kralik, Acres of Lions, Benefit of the Free Man

https://www.facebook.com/events/504092589648592/?fref=ts

Protest The Hero @ The Hoxton – 9:30PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=148&band_ID=5854

Canadian Music Week @ Sonic Boom. 2-7PM Feat. Andy Shauf, Kopecky Family Band, Mad Ones, Mise en Scene, Bend Sinister

https://www.facebook.com/events/603911889638259/?fref=ts

Lee Harvey Osmond @ The Great Hall – 9PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=227&band_ID=5982

Canadian Music Week @ Model Citizen. 6-9:30PM Feat. Statue & Park, Miesha & the Spanks, The Noble Thiefs, Mise en Scene, Julian Fuego

https://www.facebook.com/events/365756586874017/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Canadian Music Week @ Goorin Bros. 4-6PM Feat. The Noble Thiefs

https://www.facebook.com/events/248208525315744/?ref=ts&fref=ts

SATURDAY, MARCH 23

Savages @ Lee’s Palace – 12AM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=21&band_ID=5642

Light Asylum  @ Wrongbar – 1AM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=243&band_ID=5976

Matt Dusk @ Randolph Theatre – 9:45PM

http://canadianmusicfest.com/tickets/ticket-details/?schedule_ID=8&band_ID=5503

Canadian Music Week @ Sonic Boom. 1-8PM Feat. Grounders, Cai.ro, Mac DeMarco, Sean Rowe, The Grapes of Wrath, Blonde Elvis, Ponctuation

https://www.facebook.com/events/603911889638259/?fref=ts

Canadian Music Week @ Goorin Bros. 3:30-6pm Feat Mise en Scene, Washboard Union

https://www.facebook.com/events/248208525315744/?ref=ts&fref=t

Marc Scarpa is a veteran Director and Executive Producer of live participatory media.

His most recent credits include The X-Factor’s Pepsi Digital Pre-Show and Second Screen Experience, The Global Citizen Festival, Incubus HQ Live, GRAMMY LIVE!, Earth Day Network’s Earth Day Live! Concert on the National Mall (2008-2012) and MySpace LIVE!.

A precedent has been set. We are living in the age of participatory media. If we as content creators, producers, production companies and networks want to keep and grow our audiences, we need to stay on top of these changes and develop new ways to further turn viewers into participants.

In a recent article for TechCrunch, VC at GRP Partners Mark Suster predicts that the future of television will be more participatory than social. Mark suggests that the shift in the industry is moving more towards participation. He uses the most recent viral YouTube meme, ‘The Harlem Shake,’ as an example of how low cost production and storage, along with increasing bandwidth, will drive people to be less passive and more involved in the creation of “television,” whether broadcast or online.

The foundation for participatory media had been established as early as 1982, when Hip-Hop ensemble Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force released a music video comprised mostly of crowdsourced footage. Producers since have integrated fan created media into their content as a way to further engage their audiences.

In 2011, FOX’s X-Factor supplemented their live broadcast show with an online pre-show and second screen experience. As Producer and Director of the X-Factor Digital Experience, a goal we set for the show was to further build the X-Factor brand in the U.S. while engaging its audience before, during and after the live TV broadcast.

The X-Factor pre-show turned participatory, inviting its audience to Skype live with the hosts of the pre-show and judges of the TV broadcast. Live tweets from fans were read and responded to in real-time. Fans were also encouraged to vote on performance elements, such as wardrobe and song choice, further blurring the line between viewing and contributing. All of this and more was happening not on the “Main Screen,” but on secondary devices such as mobile and tablet. As a result, X-Factor Digital received the greatest social media response of any broadcast in 2011. Over 1000 hours of original content was created yielding nearly 3 billion engagements over the course of 15 weeks.

In the summer of 2011, alternative rock band Incubus took things one step further by giving fans unprecedented access, both online and on-site. IncubusHQ Live was a week long, live stream that invited fans of the band into their rehearsal space for a once in a lifetime experience. Performances, instrument clinics and Q&A’s were conducted for both fans in attendance and viewers tuning in to IncubusHQ.com. Various social media interfaces were introduced, including TweetBeam and Viddy, to help create a real-time, personal, global conversation between fans and the band.

My career is full of experience turning audiences into participants using a variety of techniques and technologies. Amongst all of the participatory experiences that I’ve helped create, there is a single tie that binds: individual storytelling. No matter the means, producers must act as facilitators towards making audiences feel like they are a part of the greater context, regardless of their location or affiliation. In fact, the technology is the easy part. It’s ready and in the hands of willing audiences/creators in the form of smartphones and tablets containing the proper apps. The interest lies in how content producers use these technologies to help tell a story from an individual who contributes with a participatory point of view.

I would love to tell you more about how participatory media has played a part in my role as a storyteller. On Wednesday, March 20th at 2:40pm, I will be speaking on a panel titled Connected Content on Multi Screens and Devices at the Digital Media Summit,  moderated by Ted Cohen, Managing Partner at digital entertainment consulting firm TAG Strategic. I’ll also be presenting a case study of Incubus HQ Live on Thursday, March 21st at 11:50 AM at Canadian Music Week. This project was a real-time participatory documentary and media exhibit created in collaboration with the band. Both sessions are sure to be a lively, insightful discussion on how content creators are furthering the participatory genre. Hope to see you there!

Rugged, raspy, and roaring with charisma, Halifax’s Ben Caplan is to folklore what smoke is to bourbon. Perfectly coupled. Ben’s songwriting is as bold in range as it is in ferocity. Fueled by a quality of melodrama and powerful lyricism, it’s the romance and the manhood crashing with his voice that gives Caplan a truly innovative and experimental artistry. A sound that bridges the gap between controlled composition and unruly passion.
Striding in pace with gypsy-inspired strings amid the sultry tones of clarinet and saxophone, Caplan has marked his place in the Canadian music landscape with a growling spirit similar to that of Tom Waits. Caplan’s tours have extended throughout the Commonwealth, the rhapsodic energy in his live show an elegant cacophony gaining attention around the world.
Breaking between guitar, banjo, piano, and melodica, Caplan’s stage show is almost reminiscent of a burly and bearded Freddy Mercury; a raging, strong, and exploratory songwriter, it’s the blues in his soul, and the heart in your chest pounding as one that makes Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers an act not to be missed.
Ben Caplan has been a touring musician since 2006. Seasoned in coast-to-coast travel, Caplan his seen stages in the UK and has performed a number of festivals.

Official website: http://bencaplan.ca/

There are bands, and then there are brotherhoods. The former does not the latter make, but the five members of Nightbox grew up in the same town, went to the same school and fell in love with the same sounds. Then three years ago they moved to Toronto together, shacked up in an old Kensington Market red-brick and got down to business making sounds of their own.

Their bond is uncommonly deep and so is their musicality. Attend a Nightbox show and you’ll be struck by just how many ideas are expressed in tandem, all constructed to fit together like some bizarre Techno-color pop puzzle. You’ll marvel at their music’s ability to gyrate your body and brain at the same time, and you’ll experience a sort of synesthesia where you can’t tell which instrument is keeping time and which is sounding a melody; bass lines, guitar licks and tom fills all ducking and weaving around each other in a helix of awesome. You will no doubt, begin to get a sense of the glorious noise these five young Irish lads are creating.

And the world is starting to take notice. After releasing their debut EP in 2011, critical and commercial reaction was noteworthy on a world scale. The music video for single “Pyramid” earned heavy rotation on Canadian music television stations, and the track was selected to appear on the prestigious French label Kitsune’s Maison Compilation 11. It was chosen by NME as a Top-10 download, stating it takes on “a fresh sound of its own”, while UK’s Dazed & Confused magazine raved it “takes a hedonistic approach with high energy results on a new breed of dance.” The EP’s release in Japan on Rallye Label, sold out 1,000 copies on its initial offering.

Nightbox proceeded to tear up festival tent stages on both sides of the Atlantic, most notably during their barnstorming sets for packed houses at Reading & Leeds and Ireland’s Electric Picnic Festival, where BBC exclaimed “The glitchy synths and the guitars sound delightful… and by jove do they know how to write a hook”, ranking Nightbox’s performance Top-10 of the entire festival. Chops were honed, experience was gained, and bonds were formed with thousands of new fans.

Nightbox have retreated to the studio for the last six months to record their first full-length album with MSTRKRFT production wiz Al-P. An ardent, burgeoning fan base and a raft of industry power brokers are all eager to get their ear-mitts on the results. Recent direct support slots for Ellie Goulding, Cults, Death From Above 1979, and Canadian & UK tours with Juno Award winner Lights, have confirmed that this band’s positioned to make some serious waves in 2013. Dance floors will be soaked. Bring a mop.

Official website: http://www.nightbox.ca/

The Balconies stand before you – teeth barred, eyelashes batting, clothing and hair drenched in sweat. In the blink of an eye, the trio has grown from a humble indie pop band to a leather-clad three-headed rock and roll monster, punctuated by 80s hair metal flair.
Jacquie is at the helm, backed by the rippling rhythms of Liam and Stephen, and The Balconies continue to steamroll unsuspecting crowds throughout continental North America – doing it heavier, sweatier, and more aggressively than their peers (go ahead, try to outdo Jacquie’s deep rock lunges and swirling hair).
They’ve shared the stage with Cold War Kids, Mother Mother, Devo, Sloan, Stars, and, most recently, Wide Mouth Mason and Big Sugar while touring in Fall 2012.
But The Balconies aren’t satisfied.
They’re out for blood and hungry for fresh ears– as indicated by the video for the single “Kill Count” (a single which garnered the band extensive major radio play and media attention), off the Jon Drew (Tokyo Police Club, Fucked Up) produced Kill Count EP), and the video for the haunting single, “Do It In the Dark” (which premiered on Much Music in October 2012).
The trio is hard at work on their upcoming full-length album with legendary producer Arnold Lanni (Finger Eleven, Simple Plan, Our Lady Peace). Coupled with a European Tour, including the MIDEM Festival in France, and slots on the North American festival circuit, which will see them in Austin for South by Southwest, the future looks bright.
So, if you fancy a riot of gargantuan rhythmic proportions, swing by. Oh…and be prepared – this will get loud.

Official website: http://thebalconies.ca/