The ‘Songs Revealed’ songwriting competition, part of Oshawa Music Week (OMW), returned on April 8 with the goal of supporting emerging Durham/GTA artists..
This year’s event saw six up and coming artists take the stage and perform their original songs, including Paige O, Evyn Berridge, Lauren Carson, Daniel Kuku, SOLACE and 7 Days Away, across genres such as folk, R&B, country, rock and pop.
Each artist performed two original songs evaluated by a panel of four judges: Whitby-based musical duo, Candace & Michael; Entandem licensing specialist and program alumni, Brett Baxter; and musician and audio engineer, Kayle Goguen.
At the end of the night, judges selected Whitby artist Paige Ouellete, known professionally as Paige O, as the winner after hearing her two songs “I Punched an Angel” and “Calamity.”
As the winner, Ouellette has been awarded $250 worth of photo and studio time as well as $250 worth of audio studio time.
She says performing close to home offers advantages when compared to a big city like Toronto, where she may be lost in a crowd of other performers.
“It’s been a little difficult at times just getting out there, but I think, ultimately the smaller the town, the more people will hype you up,” says Ouellette.
“I moved to Toronto and I do a lot of open mics downtown where there’s a lot of people. But if I did an open mic here, everyone would remember my name.”
Oshawa Music Week started in 2000 under the name “Reel Music Festival” and was entirely organized by the students of the Music Business Management program.
The Songs Revealed event began around the same time under the name “Rock N Reel” and includes performances by various up and coming local artists.
Participants are evaluated by a panel of local music industry professionals on aspects such as sound, creativity, audience interaction and instrumental technique.
Over the last 26 years, Oshawa Music Week events have undergone many changes beyond just finding new names. Events such as Songs Revealed have helped to launch not only artist careers but DC student careers.
Janest Gomez Calubayan, an MBM student involved in organizing this year’s event and booking performers pointed to alumna Anne Stirk as a notable graduate of the program.
Stirk, who graduated in 2007, has worked with Universal Music Canada and Spotify Canada. In 2025, she was recognized on Billboard Canada 40 Under 40.
Gomez Calubayan says students are responsible for all aspects of the events, including booking artists, coordinating the venue and managing production elements as a way to gain further experience.
“It started with a basic plan of ‘who do you want?’… Then we made a Google forum and invited other artists,” says Gomez Calubayan. “We need to make sure that there are these types of music events, not just in Toronto, but in places like Durham Region.”
Musician Kennedy Lily sat among the audience at the event and performed in the OMW ‘Country Showcase’ event on April 9. Though Lily’s event focused on country music, she says she appreciated the genre diversity at Songs Revealed.
“I feel like a lot of songwriting showcases are all folk or all country, whereas this is really unique in the sense that there are so many different options,” says Lily. “I also think it’s really unique that a school is involved in making that happen.”
Oshawa Music Week and associated events are expected to return next year, led by a new batch of MBM students and more local artists hoping to make it big.