Peace Region Music Industry Conference, Showcase & Songwriters Workshop

Duane Steele, a mainstay on Canada’s country charts. He is a self-assured, engaging performer, connecting one-on-one with his audience both on a record and on stage. Duane is a CCMA Award Winning Artist & Songwriter and was on the road traveling with his CCMA award winning band opening for some of the hottest acts in country music including Shania Twain, Terri Clark, Trisha Yearwood, Sammy Kershaw, and Prairie Oyster. He continues to grace the country music scene with his traditional country style and undeniable singing and songwriting talent. For the fourth year in a row he is excited to come back to the Peace Country to mentor fellow artists, musicians, & songwriters, and catch up on friendships made from the last four Music Industry Conference's. www.duanesteele.com
As a songwriter, Blair Packham started out wanting to be Paul McCartney. Then he wanted to be Curtis Mayfield. He then wanted to be either John Prine and Steve Goodman. Soon, Blair wanted to be Elvis Costello, any member of the Clash or Andy Partridge of XTC. For a while he wanted to be the lead singer of a band called The Jitters and had some success at this, between 1981 and 1991, when he and the band had some hit songs, including “Last of the Red Hot Fools” and “’Til the Fever Breaks”. After that, Blair decided he wanted to just be Blair Packham, so he finally released his solo debut, called Everything That’s Good, in May 2001. The Toronto Star called it “superbly-crafted...tuneful, honest, sharp-witted, and performed with style and confidence”. It was written and recorded with friends like Ron Sexsmith, Suzie Vinnick, and Craig Northey. In 2003, Blair wrote and recorded the follow-up disc, Could’ve Been King, in Vancouver with Craig and the rest of the Odds. In 2005, Blair co-produced, with Ron Sexsmith, “What Ever Happened to Christmas” for Andy Kim, and the song hit Number Five on the national AC charts. Blair continues to want to be Blair and does so by being the co-host of CFRB 1010’s Rock Talk (heard Sunday nights at 6 p.m. in Toronto) and by running—with Rik Emmett—the annual Songstudio Summer Songwriting Workshop. for more information:www.blairpackham.com www.myspace.com/blairpackham
Having opened for acts such as Terri Clark, Easton Corbin, Aaron Pritchett, Emerson Drive, Gord Bamford, The Wilkinsons, Duane Steele, and Sean Hogan, Tenille’s performance schedule is as real as it gets for this 18 year old hard working young woman. Selected to sing when the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay went through her hometown, Tenille has taken the stage at Bud Country Fever festivals, performed The National Anthem prior to the Edmonton Eskimos Canadian Military Appreciation football game and was chosen as a Royal Bank of Canada Emerging Artist for West Edmonton Mall’s Newcap Stage show. Working with Nashville based Canadian producer Fred Mollin, Tenille launched her debut CD, REAL in June 2011 and in its first week was #13 on Soundscan charts. Signed by Royalty Records, Tenille’s first video, Pictures On A Crooked Wall took it’s place on CMT national rotation. Tenille has attended the past four Peace Region Music Industry Conference's as a participant, where she gained a lot of her education through the music industry business sessions, networked and found co-writers, producers, and opportunities. A high school honour grad student, Tenille's focus and dedication to her songwriting skills have aligned her with some of the best in country music such as Willie Mack, Gil Grand, Patricia Conroy, and award winning writers including Nashville SESAC Legacy Award Winner Stan Webb, and multi Juno nominated and CCMA Award winners Tim Taylor, Byron Hill, and Troy Kokol and has recorded a song written by Grammy award winner, Gordie Sampson. We are excited to invite Tenille as a mentor to this year's conference to celebrate what "Creating Your Own Success" can actually achieve. Her experiences, skills, and giving personality will be a definite benefit to this years conference. www.tenille.ca
Josh Rob Gwilliam is an independent Engineer/Producer with his own company called Pilot Audio. He also creates at Audities Recording Studio. Previously he worked at MCC Recording Studio in Calgary Alberta since 2000. Working as an Engineer with major Canadian Artists has earned him Junos for “Country Recordings Of The Year 2006” with the Road Hammers, and “Country Recordings Of The Year 2007” with George Canyon . He has also earned “Gold Records” with George Canyon & Road Hammers and just recently another “Gold Record” with a new artist Andrew F. Josh has recorded and worked with many genres of artists such as Gil Grand, Jason McCoy, Friends Of Otis and Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. He will provide insights and advice on recording home demos and working with other musicians, engineers & producers. Josh is also a very talented songwriter and bass player. http://www.myspace.com/joshrobgwilliam
A guy who loves radio and music, Kent blames his childhood. Music and radio has been a part of his whole life. His mom is a cousin of singer Lisa Stanfield. He remembers fishing complete with eight tracks and non-stop tunes from Orleans and the Starland Vocal Band. At home he often "borrowed" vinyl from his Dad. Cliff Richard and Three Dog Night being his favourite targets. We are pleased to have Kent join our panel of experts this year and look forward to hearing the radio perspective of what makes a hit song and what a music director looks for when adding songs to the playlist. www.kix106.net