Jonny Harris Announced as 2015 East Coast Music Awards Gala Host on Thursday, April 9
The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is thrilled to return to St. John’s, April 8-12, 2015 for Eastlink East Coast Music Week (ECMW). ECMW was last in Newfoundland & Labrador for the 2009 event in Corner Brook and the association is thrilled to return to St. John’s for the first time in 10 years. ECMA has received $250,000 in funding from the province of Newfoundland & Labrador, and the city of St. John’s has committed $100,000 in funding for ECMW 2015.
“The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is proud to support East Coast Music Week and its International Export Buyers Program, which promotes talented Atlantic Canadian artists abroad. Newfoundland and Labrador’s internationally-renowned musicians and performers are both talented and unique, but they are also small businesses that make a valuable contribution to the province’s economy. Through this opportunity, representatives from the local industry are able to promote their product to a broader national and international market and I am confident that this financial contribution will allow the region’s musicians to showcase their talents, while they also gain knowledge and skills in the area of exports,” said the Honourable Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
2015 marks a shift in scheduling for ECMW, with the East Coast Music Awards Gala kicking off the week on Thursday, April 9.
Newfoundland and Labrador actor, writer and comedian Jonny Harris will host the 2015 East Coast Music Awards Gala on Thursday, April 9 at the Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay, NL. The Gala will once again be broadcast in HD on Eastlink nationwide, on their TV anywhere platform Eastlink To Go and OnDemand.
Harris is best known for his roles in the television series Murdoch Mysteries and Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, as well as the films Young Triffie, Moving Day and Grown Up Movie Star. His new travel comedy show on CBC, Of All Places, premieres in February 2015. He has performed as a comedian at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs Festival and the Halifax Comedy Festival, the CBC Radio series The Debaters and Match Game on the Comedy Network.
“ECMA is excited to kick off Eastlink East Coast Music Week with our Awards Gala on Thursday, April 9, in the community of Torbay,” said Andy McLean, ECMA Executive Director. “The Awards Gala celebration will set the tone for a very busy and dynamic week, and Jonny Harris, an incredible Newfoundland and Labrador talent, is the perfect host to do that.”
Early bird Gala tickets – including tickets for ECMA’s first ever Gala Fan Pit – and early bird wristbands, festival passes and VIP passes will be on sale on Monday, November 24 at noon. Very limited quantities of early bird gala tickets are on sale for $40. Fans can rock out in the Gala fan pit for $35. Until January 19, 2015, early bird wristbands are $75, early bird festival passes are $160 and early bird VIP passes are $300.
ECMA is pleased to welcome Erin Best and Peter Newman as co-chairs of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for ECMW 2015 in St. John’s, NL, April 8-12. Peter Newman is a songwriter, producer, educator and business owner. He is an ECMA board member and President of Music Newfoundland & Labrador. Erin Best is a singer and practices law with Cox & Palmer. She is the first vice-chair of the ECMA board of directors. Erin and Peter will work closely with Event Manager Glenda Tulk.
A skilled leader in the entertainment industry, Glenda Tulk has over 25 years experience in the planning, management, fund raising, and marketing of high profile events, venues and associations in Newfoundland & Labrador. Glenda’s work has been behind many successful undertakings in NL, including the JUNO Awards, St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, St. John’s Folk Arts Council, Marble Mountain Event Management, the 2009 East Coast Music Awards in Corner Brook and the Canadian National Freestyle Ski Championships.
“Glenda, Erin and Peter leading the ECMW team in St. John’s is exceptional,” said McLean. “They are all immersed in both the Newfoundland and Labrador cultural and corporate communities, and will help ECMA to develop new and exciting relationships with both community and corporations.”
“Eastlink East Coast Music Week has a huge economic impact and leaves a significant imprint, and we’re excited to work with ECMA and the businesses and communities in Newfoundland & Labrador to create a fantastic event on April 8-12, 2015," said Erin Best and Peter Newman.
Preparations for ECMW in St. John’s are well underway, including the opening of a local event office at 186 Duckworth Street, sharing space with Music Newfoundland & Labrador. ECMA will be staffing contract positions locally in coming months. Awards and stages submissions have closed and the jury process is underway, with the first programming and nomination announcements for ECMW set for January 20, 2015.
Submissions for ECMW 2015 came in at a record number: 1,224 submissions in total, with over 400 musicians and industry members applying for nominations and showcasing opportunities. An additional 152 submissions came in for the Music Industry Association stages. Of the over 400 music and industry professionals who submitted, 105 were from Newfoundland & Labrador, an increase from 34 individuals in 2014. ECMA acknowledges the incredible outreach work of Jen Winsor, Glenda Tulk and Erin Best on increasing the number of submissions from NL.
