Showcase applications for Folk Music Ontario Conference close next week

If you're an artist in Canada's folk music community, one of the year's biggest opportunities has just opened up for you—but not for very long.

The Folk Music Ontario Conference, which runs from October 15th to 19th and is run by Folk Canada, is currently accepting showcase applications from artists "at any stage of their music career" from anywhere in the world. The artists chosen will be seen by "festivals, venues, concert presenters, radio DJs, labels, agents, managers, music supervisors, and talent buyers from across the country and beyond!", in addition to discounted pricing for the conference itself.

Showcases across the conference range widely in scale.

20-minute Official Showcases, for instance, feature full stage and sound production, with artists given the change to participate in Folk Canada's Export Development and Canadian Buyers Programs. Spotlight Showcases, meanwhile, are staged shows presented by conference sponsors. Private Showcases are intimate gigs performed in hotel rooms during the conference, and may even be performed fully acoustically.

Such a variety of showcases is what allows a full range of artists, "from emerging to export-ready", to demonstrate their talents.

Interested artists need to submit their applications soon, however. Submissions close next Monday, on March 31st, 2025.

Folk Music Ontario is "Canada's largest annual conference devoted to the folk, roots, and traditional music community", offering "training, showcasing, and networking opportunities for artists and music industry professionals in Canada and the international Folk community", per Folk Canada's website.