For all the joy, vibrancy and recognition that Peterborough’s live music community has brought the city over the decades, there exists one undeniable truth: that community faces unprecedented challenges threatening its very existence.
Look no further than the recent closures of long-standing Peterborough music venues for proof of the severity of the growing assault on all things musically live and local.
Earlier this month, The Spill in downtown Peterborough closed its doors — a huge setback in particular for young musicians who always found a most welcome home for their developing talent at the George Street North café.
Combine that with April’s closure of the Pig’s Ear Tavern and the subsequent near sale of the building housing The Black Horse Pub (it remains on the market), and it’s clear that 2017 hasn’t been kind to those who make all, or part, of their living bringing music to the people.
But while the loss of venues has been well publicized, it’s what we haven’t known that provides hope the live music community will not only survive roadblocks to its existence but will thrive in spite of them. Anchoring that optimism is Music Peterborough, until recently a mostly whispered initiative that aims to “celebrate and promote” Peterborough’s significance and role in the provincial, national, and international music scene.
On Sunday, October 29th from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte Street, 705-749-1146), the collective behind Music Peterborough will host its first public event in the form of a public consultation, the goal of which is “to initiate conversation on the needs of our music scene, and seek innovative ways to both promote our music cluster and advocate on behalf of those working in and alongside it.”
Everyone — including musicians, tourism and economic development stakeholders, and local music fans — is welcome to participate in what Music Peterborough chair Donald Fraser predicts will be “a rather formal informal event.”
“We’re absolutely doing our homework,” says Fraser of the motivation behind hosting the consultation.
“I think it would be presumptuous to start offering any type of programming or setting any type of direction without talking to the stakeholders — the people involved. We’re trying to get the lay of the land.”
To that end, the event will see participants provided the opportunity to sit in at moderated tables grouped by theme and provide their input on the needs of the local live music community. Themes include education, networking, funding, promotion, and advocacy.
While terming the loss of live music venues “a real concern” (the loss of The Spill is “a massive blow to young musicians”), Fraser makes it clear there are numerous other challenges long overdue for a hard look and solutions.
“I had one guy message me saying if shows started at eight o’clock rather than 10 o’clock, he’d be there,” Fraser says. “That’s the type of thing we need to hear.
“I was having a conversation with a relative. We were talking about fair pay for musicians. He’s an architect. I said, ‘Imagine someone saying ‘Can you drop by and maybe just do a couple of sketches?’ It wouldn’t happen. People think that because musicians enjoy their work, that means they shouldn’t be paid. That drives me nuts. In a perfect world, we should do what we love but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be compensated.”
Formed almost five years ago, Music Peterborough’s mandate makes clear the initiative is no one-trick pony:
- Promote Peterborough as a destination for music tourism.
- Promote Peterborough musicians on a global platform.
- Provide advocacy and access to professional development resources for musicians.
- Strengthen Peterborough as a destination for recording, rehearsing and other professional development activities.
- Stimulate economic growth by promoting Peterborough’s venues, festivals and other activities related to live music.
When it comes to music, “artists are a funny bunch,” Fraser says.
“They are lousy at advocating for themselves. That’s one of the reasons musicians often get paid so terribly. They are not thinking about themselves and their impact, but rather just doing what they do because they love it — living that day-to-day life of art and music.
“Arts and music are huge economic drivers in Peterborough. If the artists aren’t recognizing this, they should be. If the municipality and people who are involved in economic development aren’t recognizing this, they should be. It’s time to go from having this loose collective of musicians who are eking out a living, to bringing them together and recognizing their worth to the community and to themselves.”
Fraser points to the current serious health challenge faced by Rick Young of Rick and Gailie fame, which has forced the duo to take a lengthy sabbatical from performing — their prime source of income.
“It makes you realize it’s an awfully precarious lifestyle. If something happens, there’s no safety net. This is one of the things that need to be addressed. In most offices, you break a leg or you have a heart attack, you go on sick leave; there’s no sick leave for musicians. It’s about legitimizing music as a career.”
Describing himself as “a very bad musician, which makes me a very big lover of good music,” Fraser’s involvement in Music Peterborough came about innocently enough. A pub sit-down here, a sidewalk conversation there, and eventually the invitation to chair the group.
“One of my first tasks is to make myself obsolete and set up a board of directors made up of people from the music scene,” says Fraser. “I turn to the people on the committee and try to draw information from them.”
Along with Fraser and downtown Peterborough city councillor Diane Therrien, the interim committee includes three well-known local musicians: Mary-Kate Edwards, Al Black, and Melissa Payne.
“They are musicians that were picked carefully. Mary Kate is very young, Alis on the other end of the spectrum, and Melissa is right in the middle.”
“I want questions asked by the people who are probably asking those questions already,” Fraser adds when referring to the public consultation. “I’ve been very careful, and (committee members) have been very careful, in not saying what it is we need, but discovering a way to find out what the great needs are.”
To that end, one of the table themes at the public consultation will be governance — “What Music Peterborough should look like — and, from there, the development of “a working board that can go on” and work towards fulfilling its mandate.
“There’s a creativity that’s unique to the artistic process in helping launch new programs and projects,” Fraser says. “There’s an excitement, a palpable energy. I really enjoy the process but I also recognize that a big part of that is pulling the right people together and empowering them and watching that excitement grow.”
Despite the threats to the live music community’s existence, Fraser is careful to note it’s not all doom and gloom. After all, the sector has always faced challenges in one form or another. It’s not time to throw out the baby with the bath water.
“The economic landscape of Ontario, of Canada, of North America, is increasingly stark. We see that across every sector but that doesn’t mean the entire (live music) sector is falling apart. I work closely with Trent University. I see the cuts that happen at learning institutions across the province and across the country. That doesn’t mean we should shut down learning institutions. It means we have to find creative new ways to move forward.”
“The ability to network, the ability to share resources — there have been all sorts of ideas floated, like where you pay a cover at one place and can go to several others. There are ways that offer increased compensation for being a venue for live music.”
While many point to Austin, Texas as the supreme example of how live music’s value should be respected and mined in terms of a community’s overall well-being, Fraser references a city much closer to home: Stratford, and its long recognition of the economic impact of live theatre. Peterborough, he adds, is very well positioned for a similar result.
“Peterborough already has a stellar reputation for both producing incredible musicians and also being a drawing card for musicians across Canada. For the longest time, Peterborough was that stop you always hit. If you were going from west to east or east to west, we had everyone come through.
“Bring the music here, bring the people here, and give it the infrastructure that also allows our local musicians to shine. In two years, programs will hopefully start being launched with partners. In five years, I would really hope that the Peterborough live music scene has been bettered by bringing all of the stakeholders together.”
For more information about the public consultation, visit Music Peterborough on Facebook.
