For the love of music
November is Music Celebration Month in Newfoundland and Labrador
The team at Musicnl is thrilled to be kicking off not only Music Celebration Week, but an entire month of honouring beloved local musicians and talented newcomers.
November is Music Celebration Month in Newfoundland and Labrador. Musicnl Executive Director Rhonda Tulk-lane says they officially kicked things off on Oct. 14 at The Rooms, where they released a list of nominees and had Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation Minister Steve Crocker sign a proclamation making November Music Celebration Month.
The traditional and folk quartet, Rum Ragged, nabbed three 2020 Musicnl awards including celtic/traditional artist of the year and album of the year for “The Thing About Fish.” The band was also voted The Telegram fan’s choice entertainer of the year.
Rum Ragged’s Mark Manning says the Musicnl awards are a great recognition for the work musicians create.
“The art and music you are making gets out to more listeners, and more people get to appreciate it, which allows us to create more music,” Manning explains.
From an artist’s perspective, he says the Fan’s Choice Award is perhaps the most important award given out during the week.
“There’s nobody more important than the people who listen to our music and get behind you and support what you do,” Manning says. “We had a lot of people in our corner last year who helped us out to win this award. It’s great to know you have so many people supporting you as people and as artists.”
Clinching any Musicnl award is also a great incentive for putting your name and band out there for other awards, he says. During a phone interview, Manning thanked Musicnl for its continued support of artists and musicians. He also thanked the band’s many other backers at home, across the country and around the world.
MUSICNL CELEBRATING 29 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY
Tulk-lane says this year’s nominations have surpassed those from 2020, with more than 140 nominations being passed along to the jury for review — and that having a qualified jury that is willing to support Musicnl is key to success.
Having more than doubled its membership over the past 12 months, Musicnl now has 540+ members.
She says the organization has been focusing on diversity and inclusion and has created a new award this year called the Global Music Artist to support and celebrate immigrant artists.
“This award is specifically geared towards an individual artist who is a newcomer (international student, international graduate, PR, refugee, temporary foreign worker etc.) to Newfoundland and Labrador, living in the province and making a positive impact in their community through their artistic practice,” says Tulk-lane.
Musicnl is also pleased to launch its new Export Academy. Tulk-lane says the initiative is a six-month program created to further the careers of exporting artists and support emerging artists develop their export capacity.
“As part of the program, the Musicnl team will work with artists to identify and target international showcasing opportunities, expand alternative revenue streams and build relationships with export buyers.”
Tulk-lane says the Musicnl team will also create online networking opportunities for the artists and selected export buyers, such as booking agents, venue and festival programmers, promoters, and presenters, allowing artists to lay the foundation for national and international tours. Music supervisors and publishers will also be part of the mix, she says, to help diversify artists’ revenue model.
But in the end, it all comes down to what inspires musicians to continue creating new work: performing for an audience. Tulk-lane says musicians are excited to take the stage and encourages folks to buy tickets as soon as they’re available.
November is Music Celebration Month in Newfoundland and Labrador. Visit musicnl.ca for more information on shows and to purchase tickets.