2013 SoundClash Music award winners announced

Three Winners take home big cash prizes

 

TORONTO, ON (August 1, 2013) - Harbourfront Centre is proud to announce the top three cash prize winners in the third annual SoundClash Music Award 2013.

First place was awarded to singer Brendan Philip, who won the Grand Prize of $5,000, plus a showcase performance at the Hot & Spicy Food Festival, Friday, August 30.

The Jessica Stuart Few scored second place with a prize of $3,000; and The Grounders took third place and a prize of $2,000.

The final decisions were determined by a jury of music industry trendsetters in combination with public voting.


The competition opened April 1 to independent artists living inside the GTA. From the hundreds of submissions, six finalists made the cut to the short list, and performed at the SoundClash Festival, July 12-14.

Public voting continued from the time the finalists were announced, May 1, until July 23. A numerical formula compounded the judging and voting results to declare the winners. 
In addition to the cash prizes, each of the winners has collected a number of other prizes in recognition of this significant accomplishment:
 
First Prize also includes:

·        A one-hour vocal consultation from vocal coach Donna Flynn (http://vocalcoach.ca)

·        A one-hour music career development consultation with Musi Artist Development (http://musiartists.com)

All six finalists receive:

·        A Music Ontario membership courtesy of Music Ontario        
(http://www.music-ontario.ca/)

 
The three winners reflect the rich and diverse talent that has established the high water mark for which the Toronto indie music scene is well known, world-wide.



They join past winners, SoundClash Music Award Winners, Saida Baba Taliba, who won our inaugural competition in 2011; followed last year by Chloe Charles.  Both have gone on to great success, and Harbourfront Centre audiences will recall Chloe Charles performed at our Canada Day Celebrations earlier this summer.  It is within this illustrious company SoundClash Music Award 2013 winners will now take pride of place:

1. Brendan Philip, who combines influences from legendary artists such as Brian Eno, David Byrne and the experimental and soulful collectives of Sun-Ra Orkestra and Parliment Funkadelic with the style of contemporary urban artists to create a uniquely original new sound.

2. One of the hottest groups to emerge from Canada’s eclectic indie folk scene, folk jazz power trio The Jessica Stuart Few play koto-speckled tunes that are vastly unique to Toronto's musical landscape.

3. After countless spirited live shows, old demos circulating the web, relentless tinkering and additions in personnel, Toronto's Grounders have successfully sidestepped the dangers of local hype to actually hone in on something to call their own – music that is lush, melodic and charmingly idiosyncratic.

Music continues to be a programming priority for Harbourfront Centre. The arts and cultural centre has made a commitment to encourage and celebrate new and emerging artists. Not content to merely rest on its laurels as a presenter of the world’s established performers, Harbourfront Centre has created the innovative SoundClash Music Award and SoundClash Festival to groom and support independent music and its artists - to push boundaries and challenge the audience’s perceptions of what new music is.

Plans are already underway for next year’s installment of SoundClash Music Awards and SoundClash Festival.  Expect the outcome to recognize and propel the careers of more upcoming artists on the brink of stardom.

 

ABOUT HARBOURFRONT CENTRE
Harbourfront Centre is a Canadian charity operating the 10 prime acres of Toronto's central waterfront as a free and open public site. We celebrate the multiplicities of cultures that comprise Canada and enliven the city through the creative imaginations of artists from across the country and around the globe. Harbourfront Centre attracts more than 17 million visits to its site each year to experience 4,000 diverse public events and activities. Harbourfront Centre receives operational support from the Government of Canada and the City of Toronto and program funding from all levels of government, the private sector and individual donors.

-30-