TUNING UP OUR MUSIC CITY
Influential women working to build a better scene
For decades, playing music has been considered a diversion, something fun to do until one is forced to follow that eternal parental advice espoused by George Thorogood and “get a real job.”
Well, that attitude is changing fast, thanks to a number of studies conducted in recent years that show the importance of music to the economy. Live music, for example, contributes a whopping $1.2 billion to Ontario’s economy, according to a 2015 Music Canada-commissioned report on the live music sector.
It’s been demonstrated that a vibrant live music scene attracts a young, skilled workforce, prompts visitors to spend money on hotels and restaurants, and contributes to a healthy way of life, to name a few of the positive benefits.
Rock ’n’ roll, in all its forms, is even being taken seriously in stuffy Ottawa, where city council unanimously passed a music strategy this year: a three-year plan that provides as much as $100,000 a year in funding for the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC) and sees the creation of a new music-officer position at City Hall.
It’s all part of a concerted effort to transform Ottawa into a “music city,” a place where musicians are able to make a living, and audiences are excited to support the music they’re making.
To find out more about what that involves, we spoke to three key people in the Ottawa music industry: City of Ottawa music officer Sabra Ripley, whose official title is cultural industry development officer, Festival of Small Halls general manager Kelly Symes, who works out of the Bluesfest office, and OMIC general manager Nik Ives-Allison. Ripley is new to the job, although no stranger to Ottawa, while Symes and Ives-Allison were on the task force that helped create the music strategy.
Sabra Ripley: The face of the strategy
Ripley, 42, is essentially the face of Ottawa’s music strategy, the person at City Hall who can help with things such as navigating the permit system for event organizers, or point artists to granting programs.
She landed back in Ottawa, her hometown, with the freshly minted music strategy already in place, and a number of initiatives, including the industry group OMIC, the Megaphono conference, and the local talent showcase Marvest, an offshoot of CityFolk, underway.
“I find there’s a lot more happening in Ottawa than people realize,” she says. “There’s a myth of sleepy Ottawa that doesn’t have things happening. The reality is there are always a ton of really interesting events. People say they don’t go out much because there’s not much happening in Ottawa, but then it turns out they go to Bluesfest, they go to the Tulip Festival. They’ve been to see something at the NAC. They are going out to see music more frequently than even they realize.”
The founder and past executive director of Ottawa’s House of Paint Festival of Urban Arts and Culture, now in its 15th year, Ripley also served as a cultural co-ordinator for the City of Toronto, managing a citywide economic development project focused on arts and culture. She says one of her big goals is to develop the mid-career music sector in Ottawa.
“There’s a strong festival environment, and a really strong largescale event and project ecosystem. There’s also a really creative and inspiring grassroots sector, but the mid-sector for mid-career artists is where we can build a lot. That’s where you find people who have done well to a point but to find sustainable careers they have to move elsewhere.
“Building and bolstering the middle sector so it’s more robust and more artists and creatives can stay in the city, that’s one of the goals.”
Kelly Symes: Grew up in the industry
The daughter of Paul Symes, owner of Wakefield’s venerable Black Sheep Inn, the 29-year-old practically grew up in the live music industry, starting by working the door at the Sheep. For five years, she’s been the general manager of the Ontario Festival of Small Halls, which brings nationally known artists to rural community spaces in Eastern Ontario over a period of several weeks in the fall.
Thanks to her work in matching artists and communities, the Small Halls festival has grown from a handful of venues to more than 30 last year. The festival’s success earned Symes a live-music industry award at this year’s Canadian Music Week for the best small festival of the year (in a tie with Edmonton’s Interstellar Rodeo).
In her experience, results come from developing audiences and encouraging officials to champion local music.
“We’ll ask a local mayor or councillor to MC a Small Halls show because they’re usually good public speakers and they want to show the community they support the arts. It really gives the event legitimacy,” she said, singling out Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper and his support of the Ottawa music strategy.
“Being in Ottawa, you have to expect a certain amount of bureaucracy to what we do. It’s natural here,” she says. “But when you have champions like Jeff Leiper on board, it only strengthens it. It would be nice to see some of the others jump in to champion stuff.”
Another way to develop audiences, particularly in Ottawa, is to start shows earlier, say 7:30 p.m. instead of 9 or 10 p.m.
“If we know anything about Ottawa, it’s that people don’t want to go out on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. We’re kind of routine-oriented. (Most) have to work in the morning, so if we want to get a good sleep and continue living a healthy life, then maybe we have to push back the times,” she said. “Small Halls shows start at 7:30 p.m. and they’re done by 10 at the latest.”
Nik Ives-Allison: Collaboration works
The general manager of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition once lived in Ottawa but left to pursue education and travel opportunities.
Now that she’s been back in town, the 30-year-old is impressed at what’s happening on the music scene.
She’s been working on Ottawa-centric playlists and podcasts as part of OMIC’s Love Local Music campaign, and has been blown away by the response.
“People are getting to be aware that some of the biggest stars in Canada right now are from Ottawa,” she said, listing the Arnprior country heroes Rivertown Saints, pop hitmakers Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, and electronic pioneers A Tribe Called Red as some of the most popular acts in the country with Ottawa roots.
She believes the strength of Ottawa’s music strategy is it was developed through consultations with people across the various sectors of industry.
“The key thing we learned about building a music city is that you really need buy-in across the board,” she says.
“Ottawa is not just one thing. We’re urban, we’re rural, we’re French, we’re English. We’ve all got to work together and play together, and really build this momentum together.
“The fact that there is unanimous support for the strategy shows we have support in all the different Ottawas that operate in sometimes parallel universes. To come together on this issue is really exciting.”