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The largest music industry event in Western Canada is hitting Saskatoon for the first time. Here are five things to know about BreakOut West, which combines a music festival, development conference and awards show all in one week …
* Now in its 21st year, the event is made up of a three-day music festival from Thursday through Saturday, a business development conference from Wednesday through Sunday, and the Western Canadian Music Awards, which are announced during the week.
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Organizers say this year’s event brings together more than 50 artists from Western Canada, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Germany, Wales and the United States.
* The music festival features concerts across the city. Venues for performances include Amigos Cantina, Broadway Theatre, The Refinery, Black Cat Tavern, Cosmo Senior Citizens Centre, The Broadway Collective, Buds On Broadway and Sheraton Cavalier.
Performances begin each night around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m., and continue at various venues as late as 1 a.m., with an official after-party at Amigos Cantina at 12:30 a.m. each night. A full schedule can be found at BreakOutWest.ca.
A $20 wristband is available for purchase and provides access to shows all weekend.
* Local standouts Wide Mouth Mason will be among those honoured with special awards at the WCMAs alongside Amigos Cantina and Zandra Kaszas.
Wide Mouth Mason — comprised of lead vocalist Shaun Verreault and percussionist Safwan Javed — will be inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame; concert presenter Kaszas will receive the Heritage Award and Amigos Cantina will be honoured with the Kevin Walter Industry Builder Award.
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Wide Mouth Mason will also perform on Friday at 11 p.m. at Broadway Theatre. The band has been together since the 1990s, producing multiple gold records and radio hits. They have also toured around the globe, including stops with the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and ZZ Top.
Saskatchewan nominees for WCMAs include: Alexis Normand, Francophone artist of the year; Beau Nectar, Francophone artist of the year; Rooky Kamiz, global artist of the year; West of Mabou, instrumental artist of the year; Jake Vaadeland, roots artist of the year; The Dead South, roots artist of the year; Amy Mantyka, video director of the year; and the Community Arts Mentorship Program (CAMP), community excellence award.
* Nearly 100 speakers and delegates are scheduled to attend throughout the week.
Topics range from management to festivals, media to marketing to licensing, Indigenous radio to touring and more.
* The Western Canadian Music Alliance was created by the music industry associations of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory, and in partnership with Nunavut. WCMA each year hosts BreakOut West — its core artist and industry development event — in a different western Canadian city on a rotational basis.
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