Rehearsal space, springtime gigs and more

Spring inspires me musically. I’m dusting off the Telecaster, connecting with friends to jam and even playing a few gigs. Spring also inspires me at work as Kitchener’s Music Officer because every week I meet new people committed to supporting and building our music community. I’m a lucky guy.

We need to hear from you!!

The Conrad Centre is a city-owned, 300-seat performing arts theatre in downtown Kitchener. The City’s Arts and Creative Industries team has been directed to craft recommendations to City Council for how the Conrad Centre should be operated in the future. Make your voice heard through this survey.

We have gigs!!

Last issue we asked you to register for the Musician’s Directory. I receive inquiries every week from people looking to hire musicians! If you would like to be considered, registration is quick and easy right here !

Rehearsal space!!

It is finally here and it's live! Get over there, practice and get better!

The JR

Fan subscriptions

Services like Patreon are being used more frequently than ever to help musicians build their communities and sustain their careers. They allow you to bypass social media algorithms to connect directly with your super-fans. Check out this introduction.

Adom Postma, owner of The JR Music Rehearsal Space

Meet Adom Postma, owner of The JR, Waterloo Region’s new music rehearsal facility. Inspired by the great work Patrick Corcoran did at The Garage, Adom channeled his love of Kitchener and his love of music into an amazing asset for our music community. By night he plays in “The Boys and I” and by day he is a business advisor. In between, he found the time to build and run this amazing rehearsal facility!

Most moving musical experience:

Hearing the song O Magnum Mysterium for the first time. Without knowing what the piece was and not even having listened to much classical music (other than Looney Toons growing up) I heard the song played live by the KW Symphony Orchestra (wind ensemble if memory serves) in Centre in the Square. There were no lyrics, but I found it so beautiful it actually moved me to tears (not a normal occurrence for me with music and an entirely involuntary reaction).

Favourite thing about Kitchener:

Opportunity, with a broad range of people to meet and get to know. I come from a small town of 4,500 and I don't think I could have the same breadth of experience in music (or even in business) where I'm from.

Local music happenings that inspire you:

Seeing artists continue to push even when things are tough. Even though there may be obstacles they still love music and want to be involved in creating, curating and experiencing music so they pour themselves into it, even if there may be no standing ovation at the end of the day.

Currently listening to:

Everything local - I have put together a Spotify playlist called "Tri-Cities Talent" that features a song from each of the 250 current and past artists I have identified who have roots in or are located in Waterloo Region. I put it on smart shuffle with Spotify and away we go. Some of my current favourites are Jaguar Sun, Frankie Flowers, Mason Smyth, Flowers for Daniel, Solsic, Halloween Animals, Bass Lions, but I could go on and on. I'm really hoping that I can eventually get some of these artists to play at the JR.

Here are a bunch of activities to jumpstart your inspiration this Spring!

What do you think? As always, comments or feedback are welcome at KitchenerMusicOffice@kitchener.ca

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