VENUES, FULL SCHEDULE, AND SPEAKERS RELEASED FOR MUSIC CITIES CONVENTION

THE HYBRID GLOBAL GATHERING WILL TAKE PLACE FROM FEBRUARY 9-11, 2022.

(December 1, 2021, Alberta, Canada) – February 9-11, 2022 will see global policymakers, music industry professionals, academics, and city leaders meet in Calgary and Edmonton, as well as virtually, for the tenth global edition of Music Cities Convention, the largest and most extensive gathering on the topic of music cities.

Hosted alongside West Anthem, National Music Centre and Alberta Music, the three-day event will feature two full convention days and a carefully curated lineup of international speakers. Music Cities Convention programming will cover topics such as music city policies, diversifying economies with music, the economic impact of music in a city, music and technology, music for community building and for supporting diversity and inclusion, the infrastructural and planning aspects of developing a music city, incentive programmes for musicians, the nighttime economy, and more. The full schedule can be found here.

The event will tackle some of the challenges highlighted in the 2020 publication of the West Anthem Music Ecosystem Study and will provide a stage to further the conversation around music’s pivotal role in cities and to provide solutions to advance the music ecosystem in Alberta.

"The National Music Centre and West Anthem are looking forward to connecting the local Alberta community with thought leaders from around the world this winter,” said Andrew Mosker, Co-Founder and Chair, West Anthem and Founding President and CEO, National Music Centre. “Together, we will address the ongoing challenges and opportunities that the music sector and industry in Alberta and beyond faces and map out a plan to move forward. We’ll also be shining a light on the vibrant music ecosystem of talent, studios, educators, programs, broadcasters, archives, collections, venues, and music professionals that exist in Alberta.”

The global gathering will follow a hybrid format with talks being held concurrently in Calgary and Edmonton, as well as streamed worldwide. The main conference venues will be Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, in Calgary; and The Francis Winspear Centre for Music in Edmonton, which is the home of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and hosts a wide array of concerts and events.

In-person event attendees and locals will be able to enjoy a full lineup of music events happening live in both cities during the Music Cities Convention. The 100% provincial talent lineup will occur in some of Alberta’s most treasured venues, including the King Eddy on Calgary’s Music Mile. Performing artists include Sargeant X Comrade, T. Buckley, Amy Nelson, Shaela Miller, K-Riz, Fox Opera and Samantha Savage Smith, to name a few. The full lineup will be announced soon.

General Admission tickets are available to the global music community, who'll be able to attend the event in person from the city of their choice or virtually via a world-class event platform. Through the generous support of the Edmonton Arts Council, tickets to Edmonton based musicians and music professionals are being made available at a discounted price. Tickets for eligible attendees are set at $10 for an online ticket and $30 for an in-person ticket (a total of 90% in savings). Music Cities Events is matching their generosity by subsidizing the ticket cost for all other musicians in Alberta outside Edmonton at the same rate. For more information on how to access this program, visit this link. General Admission tickets can be purchased here.

More information on the 10th global Music Cities Convention is available on the event’s official website.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Amy Woodhouse, Head of Policy, Projects and Participation, Children in Scotland (UK)
• Andrew Mosker, Chair, West Anthem and President & CEO National Music Centre (Canada)
• Amanda Burgener, President & Co-Founder, Curbside Concerts (Canada)
• Amy Bishop, Musician & Songwriter (Canada)
• Ashley Bieniarz, Indigenous Music Development Coordinator, Manitoba Music (Canada)
• Ben Price, Production Manager, Crack Magazine (UK)
• Brad Bradford, ​​City Councillor, Ward 19, Beaches-East York, City of Toronto (Canada)
• Diana Hopeson, CEO, Ghana Music Publishing (Ghana)
• Devon Laney, President & CEO, 36 Degrees North Co. (USA)
• Eileen Chai, Co-Founder, 3am Music Collective & Strings For Kindness (Singapore)
• Erin Benjamin, President & CEO Canadian Live Music Association (Canada)
• Felix Barros, President, Music Tech Association Chile (Chile)
• Gideon Feldman, Head of Programmes, Attitude is Everything (UK)
• Kaley Beisiegel, Lead Consultant, West Anthem (Canada)
• Kate Duncan, CEO, The Push (Australia)
• Leah Flanagan, Manager, National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Music Office (Australia)
• Luke Azevedo, Vice President, Creative Industries & Film Commissioner, Calgary Economic Development (Canada)
• Marc Brown, Founder & CEO, Byta (Canada)
• María Rut Reynisdóttir, Head of Cultural Office at The City of Reykjavik (Iceland)
• Marie von der Heydt, Senior Policy Officer, Senate Department for Culture and Europe (Germany)
• Martin Elbourne, Co-Founder of Music Cities Convention, Co-Founder of The Great Escape and Main Booker, Glastonbury Festival (UK)
• Maud Salvi, Executive Director, Sled Island Music & Arts Festival (Canada)
• Maurizio Vitale, Co-Founder Movement Entertainment & President, Turismo Torino e Provincia (Italy)
• Michael Rodrigues, 24 Hour Economy Commissioner, City of Sydney (Australia)
• Naheed Nenshi, Mayor, City of Calgary (Canada)
• Naomi Pohl, Deputy General Secretary, Musicians'​ Union (UK)
• Patti Pon, President & CEO, Calgary Arts Development (Canada)
• Rebecca O'Brien, Executive Director, Inglewood BIA (Canada)
• Ricky Graboski, Executive Director, The Vera Project (USA)
• Robert Lavia, CEO, UMUSIC Hotels (FL, US)
• Rochelle Riley, Director, Arts and Culture, City of Detroit (USA)
• Terry Rock, President & CEO, Platform Calgary (Canada)
• Thom Mahler, Urban Initiatives and Program Lead, Downtown Strategy, City of Calgary (Canada)
• Tobba Andersson, Project Manager, Zorch Productions (Sweden)
• Sirasar Boonma, Founder, Hear & Found (Thailand)
• Shain Shapiro, Founder and Group CEO at Sound Diplomacy & Executive Director at Center for Music Ecosystems (UK)
• Steve Wood, Grammy Nominated Leader, Founder of Northern Cree & School Administrator, MESC (Canada)
• Vel Omazic, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Canada's Music Incubator (Canada) 
• Yngvil Vatn Guttu, Executive Director, Northern Culture Exchange/ Music Alaska (Alaska, USA)

ABOUT MUSIC CITIES CONVENTION
Music Cities Convention is the biggest global event exploring the uses and importance of music in the development of cities all around the world. From community development to education, economic development, employment and health, music impacts a number of issues prevalent in city planning. Music Cities Convention will bring together the top minds from municipalities, brands, real estate, health, events, academia, non-profits, the music industry and more, to introduce new thinking, action and structure to develop more vibrant, global cities.

ABOUT MUSIC CITIES EVENTS
Music Cities Events organizes world-leading international conferences on the topic of music cities, produces the leading international awards ceremony on music cities, and runs the Music Cities Community, the first-ever platform for professionals in all industries using music to create more value in towns, cities and places. In everything Music Cities Events does it aims to showcase the best uses of music by individuals, organizations and cities all over the world.

ABOUT WEST ANTHEM
West Anthem’s vision is to become a recognized champion for promoting the benefits of developing music cities in Alberta. By establishing a diversified and credible voice from Alberta’s creative music industry and its related ecosystem, West Anthem will help foster new conversations that will highlight cultural, social and economic benefits as well as the necessary strategies required for developing music cities in Alberta. Our vision is to make Alberta the leading music cities province in Western Canada. Creating vibrant music cities in Alberta will help diversify the economy, create jobs and amplify the evolving cultural, social and economic identity of Alberta across Canada and around the world. West Anthem’s primary activities are threefold: commission and publish reports about the breadth and scope of Alberta’s music ecosystem; organize events and gatherings to share information, knowledge and best practices about the benefits of music cities and thirdly to be an advocate on behalf of the music ecosystem in Alberta. For more information, please visit westanthem.com.

ABOUT NATIONAL MUSIC CENTRE | CENTRE NATIONAL DE MUSIQUE
The National Music Centre (NMC) has a mission to amplify the love, sharing, and understanding of music and is preserving and celebrating Canada’s music story inside its home at Studio Bell in the heart of the East Village in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) on Treaty 7 territory. A registered charity with programs that include exhibitions, artist development, performance, and education, NMC is inspiring a new generation of music lovers. For more information about NMC’s onsite activities, please visit studiobell.ca. To check out the NMC experience online, including video-on-demand performances, made-in-Canada stories, and highly entertaining educational content, visit amplify.nmc.ca.

Media contacts:
Camila Anino, Marketing & Partnerships Manager
Music Cities Events
T. +34 673 013 680
camila@sounddiplomacy.com | @musiccitiesevents

Julijana Capone, Senior Publicist
National Music Centre
T. 403.543.5123 | C. 403.710.4758
julijana.capone@nmc.ca | @nmc_canada