The 29th annual Canadian Music Week brought 800 bands to 60 different venues around Toronto from March 7 to 11. As always, one of the highlights for music industry attendees was the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards Gala, held March 10 at the Canadian Room in the Fairmont Royal York hotel.
This year's ceremony took on an added appeal, as two big-name artists showed up to accept awards. Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan received the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award, and Randy Bachman and Fred Turner of Bachman & Turner received the Hall of Fame Award. Both McLachlan and Bachman & Turner also performed, which meant planners had to get creative with the schedule.
"This year we had 42 awards in addition to the performances, so it was quite a tight show to pull off," said Verle Mobbs, general manager of Canadian Music Week. "Usually we would do all of the awards after dinner, but this year we had to start them a little earlier. No one wants a never-ending award show."
So the Sarah McLachlan presentation began during dessert, and the singer accepted her award and performed immediately following. Also in the interest of time, many of the 42 honorees were feted via winners' reels, rather than doing 42 live presentations.
"The toughest part of this event is just getting the room ready in time," Mobbs said. "Our production team sets it all up in 13 hours, and for an event like this, what people really care about is the performances, so we really have to make sure all of the lighting and staging is perfect."
Music services company Indie Pool set up a live tableau of a rock-star-trashed hotel room, complete with graffiti on the walls, beer bottles littered everywhere, and a guitar smashed through a TV screen. Guests could walk through the space and talk to Indie Pool representatives about their services.
"It certainly was one of the biggest attention-getters," Mobbs said.
