From Starving to Savvy

Erin Benjamin is the President and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association, an organization championing the needs of those in the live music sector. Live music has been one off the hardest hit industries by the pandemic and Erin speaks to the impacts, pivots, and evolutions coming out of a challenging year.

Saidat uses her music and performance as the vehicle for her message of inclusion and self-love. Her tagline is “one person can make a difference, together we can change the world.” As a children’s entertainer whose career involves performing at schools across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major upheaval in Saidat’s life. Persevering through a technological learning curve and throwing in a healthy dose of optimism, Saidat has managed to keep the music flowing and the good vibes rolling.

Guillermo Subauste is a jack of all trades and a technologically inept musician's dream. A lifelong journey of dipping his toes in many a musical pond, reading all the manuals, and just simply saying yes, has given Guillermo a toolkit chalk-full of musical, sound, tech, and production skills. When the pandemic hit and the music industry was left rattled, Guillermo and his toolkit came to the rescue. 

Ben Brown-Bentley is the Head of Events at Monstercat, an award-winning electronic music record label. Having existed in a digital landscape of live-streaming and gaming pre-covid, he shares his perspective on digital advancement in art and entertainment and the impact the pandemic has had on the expansion of artistry online.

Home to Music is a house concert series created and run by husband and wife duo, Mark and Paula Aquilla. They preach to follow your passions and this pair puts that into practice. Host, Renee Coughlin, spoke with Mark and Paula in September 2020.

Art is a means of questioning and connection for multi-disciplinary creative, Chris Carr. We find existential crisis and the deconstruction of colonial history at the root of his boundless creations.

Mercedes Caxaj, Co-Artistic Director of Sunfest, one of North America's largest "world music" festivals, speaks to prioritizing diversity and inclusivity in a shifting musical landscape and the hope she has for a collaborative future.

Side Door Cofounders, Dan Mangan and Laura Simpson take their entertainment tech startup into the new world of live-streamed performances. Finding opportunity exists in the midst of a pandemic for a middle-class of artistry. The interview took place on June 24th 2020.