Manuela an emerging Alberta songwriting talent spent time in Kenya Switzerland and the Bahamas.
TransCanada series digs province’s deep musical wells
Luka Symons has been involved in various levels of the Calgary music scene for nine years so when it came time to step up to the plate as the programmer for the TransCanada Alberta Music Series she was the proverbial kid in a candy store.
The candy store in this case was more than 140 submissions for the 14th year of the series. Symons now in her second year as the programmer has spent weeks meticulously combing the submissions and crafting playlist after playlist to form the perfect four nights of music. Throughout the week expect the ukulele strumming of Edmonton’s Doug Hoyer the soulful jazz of Johanna Sillanpaa the ramshackle indie rock of Axis of Conversation and plenty plenty more.
“The idea that somebody trusts me with what I think works and that people will support me in this means a lot” says Symons who is also on the board of directors of Alberta Music. “It’s important to have that trust and responsibility.”
Toiling over playlists was just the beginning though. Symons filled her wall with Post-it notes and went over every possible detail: Gender region city and genre representation the logistic sense and who has played before versus who should have played before.
“I wish that I had four weeks of music” says Symons. “No night would be a dud at all.”
But why is it so important to her that every band gets their turn? Symons feels the Alberta talent pool is often overlooked not only by the rest of the world but by the province itself. This sentiment is echoed by many Alberta artists.
“This series is important because it showcases Alberta talent” says Manuela who will be performing during session two on Thursday March 24. “Big name acts come through and will be promoted way above local acts. Every province should be promoting their own talent. Why do we promote these people who aren’t even from Alberta when we have all this talent here?”
Manuela has only been in Alberta for a year having lived in Kenya Switzerland and the Bahamas. As a result she has had some difficulty making her mark in the Alberta scene. For her being chosen for the series is a push in the right direction.
“I feel like I have something to contribute” says Manuela. “And they chose me because they feel I can contribute.”
Reuben Bullock is another musician performing at session two who finds the exposure from the series as well as Symons’s devotion to be invaluable.
“It was good fortune to get in” says Bullock. “Last year’s lineup was super strong and I felt it was an accurate depiction of Alberta music. There’s a disconnect between the general public and the music they listen to. The radio mainly showcases international talent and who knows where these people come from? There are lots of strong local acts who deserve this sort of recognition. This helps bridge the gap between people who want to listen to this music and the artists.”
According to Symons bridging that gap is more important than ever and the time of Alberta talent being overlooked is coming to a close.
“There are a lot of music fests going on in Alberta” says Symons. “There wouldn’t be so much going on if there wasn’t so much good music here. There was a time people would leave Alberta to make music. Well times are changing and people are staying here or coming here to make music. And I’m stoked.”
With Symons’s tenacity and a diverse lineup of devoted and talented musicians there’s only one big hurdle the series has to pass now: Space. Last year three out of four shows sold out. This year looks no different.
