DC rocks with Reel Music Festival

Reporter: Chris Burrows

Music lovers everywhere, sing your songs and rejoice. The fourteenth annual Reel Music Festival will be returning to Durham College on Wednesday, April 2, ending Saturday, April 5.
The four-day festival will be kicked off Wednesday evening with Prescription 2 Rock, a workshop for musicians which Tony Sutherland, professor of Music Business Management, says can include anything from how to write songs, how to play guitar or how to play on stage.
Thursday evening will be Songs Revealed, a songwriters competition in which musicians will perform songs they have written on stage, in front of a panel of judges. There are prizes involved and musicians can expect to be critiqued.
The Demo Derby kicks off Friday’s festivities at E.P. Taylor’s.
“Where Songs Revealed was about the songs, this one is about the recorded music,” said Sutherland. “So somebody would record their music and bring it to the panel of judges, and our judges will listen to it and critique it.”
Sutherland also says the judges will critique the recording, benefit and marketing of the song, and there will be prizes involved.
The music festival portion is also kicked off on Friday at 7 p.m.
Country music fans should head to the Hub Bar and Grill in Oshawa. Showcased will be the bands X-Prime, Sideline 95, The Doozies and Andrew Nantais.
If indie music is more your scene then you’ll want to go to Wasted Space to hear Elos Arma, Viva Mars, Lightmares, Brave Bohemia, Native Other and Things We Can’t Untie.
There is also a rap and R&B showcase planned for Friday, but the artists involved were not confirmed at the time this article was written.
The music conference and film festival both kick off Saturday at noon.
The conference includes “guest speakers from various parts of the industry that will talk about various topics that relate to music and how music is marketed, the future of the music business, if you’re an independent musician how you might want to get your music out there, how you can promote it, market it,” said Sutherland, who adds that the conference is a great way for musicians to network with people in the industry.
The point of the film festival, Sutherland says, is to showcase student films, and anyone interested in learning about film making will have an opportunity to meet with professors from the college and students who are involved in making films. The student films will also be critiqued.
On hand for the film festival will also be a make-up artist who will be doing a demonstration of effective and proper make-up.
Following the conference and the film festival will be the continuation of the music festival.
Wasted Space will play host to the folk music festival, which will showcase the artists Cole Arthurs, Krystle and Justin (Esteem), Kyle Wilson and The Ukecouza and Mellowkotzen.
Metal heads can rock out with the Metal Experience. The 17 plus show at E. P. Taylor’s will showcase Weston, Constellations, Drag The Lake, This Is Death Valley, Sleep When You’re Dead and Skynet.
Ticket prices start at $5 for certain events, up to $35 for an all-access pass. For a full list of prices and event times visit www.reelmusicfestival.ca.