Ben Andersen
Owner/Presenter
Bright & Lyon Productions/The Word Barn – Exeter, NH, USA
https://www.thewordbarn.com/bright-lyon-productions
Ben Anderson is a seasoned music promoter who has produced/created award-winning multi-arts festivals and music venues. Today, he runs his own venue, The Word Barn – a micro venue that hosts national acts for an audience of 100 and a 90% sell-out history – and company, Bright & Lyon Productions, responsible for booking a multitude of venues/festivals along the eastern seaboard. Ben has been honored with a NH Business in the Arts Award, Distinguished Arts Leadership Award, and named 10 Young Professionals to Watch. He lives with his family, 36 chickens, 37,894 honey bees, 2 dogs, and occasionally three pigs.
Tessa Balaz
Artistic Director
Northern Lights Festival Boréal – Sudbury, ON
The ‘Northern Lights Folk Festival’ was first held in Bell Park in 1972. It was a free one-day music festival on one stage; needless to say it has grown exponentially since. It remains Canada’s longest continually running outdoor music festival, holding its 50th anniversary festival in 2022, and taking place on the picturesque shores of Ramsey Lake in Bell Park, in the heart of Sudbury. Over the years, NLFB has grown into a seasoned presenter of Canadian roots and modern music, and a lightning rod for the energy of Northern Ontario’s artistic community. Inventing tradition, fostering innovation, celebrating community, since 1972.
Chris Ball
Programming Manager
Arts & Culture Centres NL – St. John’s, NL
https://artsandculturecentre.com
Conrad Bird
Booking Agent
Midnight Mango – UK
https://www.midnightmango.co.uk
Conrad Bird is a live booking agent with award-winning, UK-based agency, Midnight Mango. Conrad works with international artists, booking them tours and festival performances across the world. His music taste is broad, and specializes in folk, roots and Americana genres. He has also toured for the last 10 years across the UK and Europe with his own band, Holy Moly & The Crackers. Conrad has worked in the music industry from both sides, as artist and agent.
David Smallwood
CEO/ Presenter
Rotary Arts Centre – Corner Brook, NL
David is CEO of the Rotary Arts Centre in downtown Corner Brook. Founded in 2015, the RAC offers a theatre, seating 100 as well as two art galleries and 6 artist’s studios. Annually the RAC hosts over 100 music performances of every genre as well as theatre productions, movies, book launches, and corporate events.
David was Event Chair when Corner Brook hosted the ECMAs in 2009.
He is a member of the Boards of MusicNL and Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador.
Dave Carmichael
Program Director
Deep Roots Music Festival – Wolfville, NS/Montreal, QC
Dave has been the Program Director of the Deep Roots Music Festival (Wolfville, Nova Scotia) since 2011. The festival was established in 2004 and has become one of the preeminent Festivals of the Annapolis Valley.
Deep Roots had a heartbreaking cancelation this year due to Hurricane Fiona, but we look forward to a promising return in 2023; to a full-scale live event with multiple stages, workshops, family programming including a parade, sing-alongs, face painting, and more – fun for all from September 21- 24, 2023.
David Priebe
Booking Agent
Favorite Son Entertainment – MN, USA
David has over 20 years of experience in the music industry. He began his career as a musician, and after receiving a degree in Music Business from McNally Smith College of Music, began booking and managing artists independently. In 2009 he joined Green Room Music Source, where he became a managing partner and remained until 2020 when he brokered a deal to merge into Fleming Artists. Along the way he has taught collegiate courses, spoke and panneled and numerous conferences and events sharing knowledge and always continuing to learn. At the start of 2022, David opened Favorite Son with a small, ambitious team to continue the mission of helping artists succeed doing what they love.
Doug Cox
Artistic Director
Vancouver Island MusicFest – Courtney, BC
Doug Cox is an award-winning, sushi-eating, musical collaborator with a life comprised of over 40 years of producing, touring, teaching and recording. That’s right, he’s an old white guy but it’s not his fault! With roots that go back to working for the founders of the Edmonton Folk Festival, Doug has been AD at Vancouver Island MusicFest for 25 years. He currently has a busy recording studio, a weekly syndicated radio show, tours with Cox and McRae and runs a 180 seat venue (Courtenay’s Old Church Theatre). Doug is currently co-chair of the steering committee; Roots and Traditional Music categories of the Junos.
Amber Goodwyn
Artistic Director
Regina Folk Festival – Regina, SK
https://reginafolkfestival.com
Amber Goodwyn is the Artistic Director of the Regina Folk Festival and a multidisciplinary artist with active performance, film and video, writing and music practices. Amber has worked extensively in community radio, has also served on various non-profit boards of directors and committees, and has been an adjudicator on various juries for funding and national and provincial music awards.
Troy Greencorn
Executive Director/ Festival Producer
deCoste Performing Arts Centre/ Stan Rogers Folk Festival
Troy Greencorn is the founding Artistic Director of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival, now into its 26th year. “Stanfest”, as it has come to be known, is an international songwriter’s festival that presents a roster of over 40 accomplished artists/acts from a wide range of genres. The event, hosted in Canso, Nova Scotia is a 4 day, multi-stage festival. Troy is also the Creative Director of the deCoste Performing Arts Centre in Pictou, Nova Scotia, a 400 seat facility that presents 100+ events each year. The deCoste’s presents a rich mix of shows, predominantly music, but also including dance, theatre, comedy, film and variety.
Morgan Hamill
Artistic Coordinator
Winnipeg Folk Festival – Winnipeg, MB
https://www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca
Morgan Hamill has worked in the music industry for over 25 years. For the past 20 as Artistic Associate at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, one of North America’s premier music events. In addition to assisting in programming and production of the summer event, she works year-round on concert series and event production. The 2024 Winnipeg Folk Festival will take place July 11-14.
Taylor Jack
Director, Entertainment Operations Manager
Whitecap Entertainment/ Cavendish Beach Music Festival / Sommo Festival – Charlottetown, PEI
https://whitecapentertainment.com
https://cavendishbeachmusic.com
As the Director, Entertainment Operations at Whitecap Entertainment, Taylor oversees the operational side of festivals, regional tours, and their own concert venue in Charlottetown. Whitecap Entertainment is the producer of Atlantic Canada’s largest music festival, Cavendish Beach Music Festival (country music focused) and a the highly successful new festival Sommo Festival (rock, indie rock, folk rock) which focuses on not only music but local food and drink products. This new festival has 2 stages for music and 1 stage for culinary, pairing celebrity chefs with musicians for cooking and cocktails demos. Whitecap Entertainment has also produced and promoted some of the larger country music tours in the region, including Dallas Smith and Dean Brody, Old Dominion and Luke Bryan at Magnetic Hill in Moncton.
Devin Latimer
Artistic Director
Trout Forest Music Festival – Ear Falls, ON
Devin Latimer is artistic director of Trout Forest Music Festival in northwest Ontario where he books approximately 30 Canadian acts for the 3-stage annual festival taking place on the second full weekend of August. He is also a faculty member in chemistry at the University of Winnipeg focussing on green organic chemistry and environmental communications, as well as a struggling bass player with Winnipeg music collectives Leaf Rapids and the Juno winning Nathan Music Co.
Jenna Klein-Waller
Executive Director
Canmore Folk Music Festival – Canmore, AB
https://canmorefolkfestival.com
Jenna Klein-Waller, the Executive Director of the Canmore Folk Festival, is a seasoned arts leader with over 15 years of experience in a variety of artistic disciplines. She oversees the festival’s operations and collaborates with the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers to bring its vision and mission to life. Jenna is responsible for programming the festival’s lineup, coordinating artist logistics, managing grants, and spearheading an ongoing artist development program. Her passion for the arts and her extensive expertise ensure the festival’s continued success and its reputation as a vibrant celebration of music, culture, and community.
Lara Supan
Booking Agent/ Head of Artist Division
Midwood Entertainment – Ithaca, NY, USA
https://www.midwoodentertainment.com
Lara started her career in the live music business as a performance artist herself where she managed her own Americana band, South Rail, through many successful regional and national tours. She went on to co-found and launch the crowdsourcing and crowdfunding platform, RoadNation, a site that allowed bands to work directly with their fans to pre-fund and plan tours. She moved on from RoadNation to co-found a boutique booking agency, Mile One, with music industry veteran Fawn Goodman in 2015. In 2019, she joined forces with Jim Fleming at Fleming Artists and became Vice President of the company in 2020. In 2023, she accepted the position of Head of the Agency Division at Midwood Entertainment and currently represents artists such as Kellie Loder (US only), Carsie Blanton, Crys Matthews, Aleksi Campagne, Scott Cook, Martyn Joseph and many others.
Lauren Hodge
Talent Buyer
The Music Hall – Portsmouth, NH, USA
Lauren is the Talent Buyer at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Music Hall is a historic, 895 seat theater, which is one of the oldest operating theaters in the US. She also books the newly opened Music Hall Lounge, a small 115 seat venue which hosts a variety of events.
A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Lauren’s passion for singing and music led her to an interest in live entertainment, and she began to work at an on campus venue, The Red Room at Cafe 939. After graduating, she spent 2 and a half years there as Talent Buyer, before moving to Paradigm Talent Agency as a booking assistant in the music department. Now at The Music Hall, Lauren is eager to continue her work in bringing live entertainment to the local community, while fostering growth for artists and creating quality events for fans.
Maggie Olster
Programming Committee
Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society/ Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival – Lunenburg, NS
The Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society is a volunteer-run charity based in beautiful Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, presenting the annual Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival (2024 will be the 39th) as well as concerts year-round, youth music scholarships and other educational activities. The year-round concerts include a series of 8-10 ticketed shows each in the spring and the fall and a 10-show weekly outdoor free series in the summer. In 2022, Folk Harbour launched a songwriters camp for emerging musicians that takes place in the week leading up to the Festival, led by seasoned songwriters and Festival performers. Maggie Ostler has volunteered with Folk Harbour since 2011 and has been a member of the Program Committee since 2016. She also manages the box office and sits on the finance and personnel committees, but her true love is programming. Maggie has juried for the Canadian Folk Music Awards and the ECMAs.
Simeon Pranger
Booking Agent
Treetop Agency – Utrecht, Netherlands
Simeon is the founder of Treetop Agency, a booking agency based in Utrecht/Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Founded in 2015 out of a passion for finding the perfect match between artist and atmosphere, the Treetop vision is borderless. Treetop Agency is proud to represent an eclectic roster of artists from across the globe, both as international agent and Dutch promoter, including Canadian talents Declan O’Donovan, Scenic Route To Alaska, St.Arnaud and The Secret Beach.
Cathy Sherrill
Executive Director
Boothbay Opera House – Boothbay, ME, USA
https://boothbayoperahouse.com
It has been gratifying to work as the Opera House’s Executive Director for the past 18 years, heading up a small team of staff and volunteers that have restored and reinvigorated this historic theater and community gathering space. We host 75-85 concerts and events annually. We bring in regional, national, and international acts, heavily focused on the folky genres, but also including classical, jazz, rock, comedy and anything that our audience might enjoy/request. Among many hats, I am the individual responsible for all of the booking for the venue. I have the best job in town!
Mikalia Simmons
Music Supervisor
St. John’s, NL
Andrea Vincent
Creative Director
Sappyfest – Sackville, NB
Hailing from Newfoundland & Labrador, Andrea grew up in an active DIY music community where youth “made stuff happen.” In 2011, Andrea co-founded the St. John’s music festival Lawnya Vawnya with friends; and later served as Director of the Dawson City Music Festival for five years before joining Sappyfest (Sackville, NB) in 2022 as Creative Director. Sappyfest is a music and art festival focused on emerging, unheralded, and celebrated artists working in all styles of music, sound, poetry, dance, film, and the visual and performing arts. Andrea also sits on the Board of the Canadian Association For The Performing Arts (CAPACOA) and lives for being in or on the water!