Canadian Music Week A “Must Attend” Event

By Fred Gretsch

After attending our first Canadian Music Week (CMW) festival last month, it was made real clear to Dinah and me why so many great musicians and artists come from Canada.

For five days and nights in the first week of May, the city of Toronto was transformed into an energetic music, media, and entertainment mecca. More than 850 Canadian and international artists performed in 58 live venues throughout the city–ranging from small nightclubs to Massey Hall to the Air Canada Centre. That’s not a typo. Over 850 bands from 33 countries performed during the course of five days! Some of the must-see shows included Brody Dalle, Neko Case, City and Colour, Television, The 1975, and Ellie Goulding.

In addition to all that great live music, the CMW also included a film festival, comedy festival, four award programs (including best indie band awards), music summits, and conferences where legendary producer Quincy Jones, Chic guitarist and Daft Punk collaborator Nile Rodgers, and Joel Zimmerman of Deadmau5 fame spoke and were interviewed.

This year CMW featured a “Spotlight on Germany” and Gretsch was proud to be a major sponsor of this event. In addition to being the birthplace of my great-grandfather and company founder, Friedrich Gretsch, Germany has always been an important market for the Gretsch Company. In fact, Germany is Europe’s #1 music market and ranks #4 worldwide for recorded music just behind the United States.

Dinah and I were invited to be guests of honor at a special May 7th “Spotlight on Germany” reception at the Marriott Eaton Centre and had a delightful time meeting various artists and industry representatives from many countries. All of the attendees were also treated to a special live performance by “The Booze Bombs,” Germany’s hottest rockabilly band. They were invited to perform at CMW by Joe Carducci, Senior Product Manager for Gretsch Guitars, who spotted them at a rockabilly festival in Arizona and made them a Gretsch-endorsed band. Guitarist Lucky Steve McBread was ripping it up on his Duo Jet and Rockin’ Bende kept a steady backbeat on his Gretsch drum set. It was a fun, high-energy show from this rockabilly band from the Black Forest of Germany and definitely an evening to remember.

Fred and Dinah Gretsch posing with “The Booze Bombs,” a German rockabilly band after they performed at the May 7th Gretsch-sponsored CMW “Spotlight on Germany” event in Toronto. From left to right: Frank Martinez, Rockin’ Bende, Fred Gretsch, Dinah Gretsch, Annie Leopardo, Lucky Steve McBread.

The rest of the week was spent seeing as many bands as possible, talking with Gretsch fans and dealers, spotting Gretsch guitars and drums being played onstage (like the left-handed green Anniversary guitar played by Joel Gibb of “The Hidden Cameras”), and soaking up the diversity and beauty of a world-class city like Toronto. It is really a cool (and clean) city.

Dinah and I have attended hundreds of music festivals, but nothing quite compares to the depth and diversity of the Canadian Music Week. This was the 32nd year of the festival and I can’t believe it wasn’t on our radar screen before now. Gretsch was proud to sponsor and participate in this year’s festival and Dinah and I plan to be back. I also encourage you to add it to your “must attend” list. The 33rd CMW festival will return to Toronto next year for another week of music, film, comedy, awards, and conferences from May 5 to 9, 2015. Try to be there if you can. It’s quite an experience.

To learn more about the Booze Bombs, visit their Facebook page.

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