The Wallaceburg and District Council For The Arts is proud to continue our Singer-Songwriter Workshop and Performance Series with Sarah Smith and Jay Allan on Saturday, November 26.
Before an evening performance from the Jeanne Gordon Theatre, Sarah Smith and Jay Allan will spend their afternoon leading a “Surviving As An Independent Artist” seminar for local aspiring singer-songwriters and musicians trying to get to the next level.
“One of the aims of the Arts Council is sponsoring, organizing, and promoting clinics and workshops for the benefit and betterment of local artists,” said Dave Elliott, President of the local council. “We want to help all of our local artists take the next step as songwriters, artists and players and we want to help them make a living doing what they love.”
The workshop will concentrate on both the craft of songwriting, performance and the business of being an independent artist.
“Sarah Smith is the perfect artist to lead this charge for us,” commented Jay Smith, a member of the Arts Council board of directors. “She’s making a living in the music biz as an indie artist. And she’s doing it very well. She gets it, she knows what it takes and knows a lot of the industry secrets. Our local artists should walk away with newfound knowledge and opportunity. That’s what it’s all about.”
Sarah Smith is a critically acclaimed and highly regarded London-area artist who has found her own niche as a leading Ontario songwriter and performer across the independent scene. Sarah has enjoyed success at home, across North America and overseas. The former lead singer of the very popular band The Joys, Smith has amassed several accolades in recent years. Smith has won hardware for “Best Adult Contemporary Artist” at the 2016 Toronto Independent Music Awards, Best Rock Artist at the 2015 London Music Awards and Best Singer/Songwriter at the London Music Awards in 2012 and 2014.
Jay Allan, a local favourite, is a Bothwell native whose songwriting prowess is applauded regularly. Allan has become one of Chatham-Kent’s most recognized songwriters, and often works with some of the country’s heavy hitters. Allan has a Top 40 Canadian Country charting single to his credit and continues to be one of the area’s busiest and most sought after artists.
The “Surviving As An Independent Artist” workshop will run from 2-5 pm on Saturday, November 26.
A live performance from Sarah and Jay will get under way at 8pm.
“We want to hear more live, local and original music here at home,” Elliott notes. “We want to encourage artists in any way we can. These workshops are the Arts Council’s way of supporting local musicians. The benefit to local citizens is that there is a really high quality concert associated with each, where the mentors perform for the people of Chatham-Kent. By attending our adult concert series we are then able to provide these workshops at a low cost to local musicians, and will continue to be able to assist and give back to our community and culture.”
Elliott added that proceeds from tickets sales are re-invested in the local arts community. The Arts Council recently began instruction with a local community-wide concert band and have now established the Wallaceburg Community Music Program. This series of workshops for musicians are part of that community music program.
“The community buys the tickets and enjoys the shows – then we re-invest the proceeds in helping the artists locally,” said Elliott.
Tickets are now on sale to the general public for Sarah Smith and Jay Allan at the Jeanne Gordon Theatre. Tickets are $25 and are available from 99.1 CKXS, The James Street Eatery and the Wallaceburg Museum.
Registration for the “Surviving As An Independent Artist” workshop is $40 and includes one free ticket to the evening performance. Additional tickets can be purchased at a discount price for those attending the workshop. For information on the workshop, e-mail jsmith@ckxsfm.com or call 519-627-0007 extension 227.
– Submitted photos
