Finally! We get to introduce the man that all submissions of the 2019 Bent River Records Recording Competition are fighting for the chance to work with:

Russell Broom.

Based out of Calgary, Russell is a fantastic producer, engineer, songwriter and guitar player. He has worked with countless amazing musicians like Jann Arden, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, and Sam Roberts, just to name a few. He has done work not only within the music industry, but is also a very active writer, performer and engineer in film and TV. He has done work for CMT (Lady Antebellum, Florida Georgia Line, Civil Wars, etc.), Alberta Primetime, Love Lies Bleed (Elton John) and many, many, many more. Besides being a phenomenal producer and engineer, he is also a very well-established guitar player across Canada and has played with the likes of Josh Groban, Robbie Williams and Brett Kissel. We could go on forever.

His hard work and creativity have led to many awards including a JUNO for songwriter of the year, WCMA producer of the year (three times!), WCMA musician of the year, WCMA engineer of the year and WCMA pop album of the year along with an even longer list of nominations.         We cannot wait to see who Russell Broom and his fellow judges choose to be the winner of the Bent River Records 2019 Recording Competition. We’ve had a listen ourselves and it won’t be easy to choose just one winner. There is just so much talent in Alberta!

As of midnight last night, we are now in phase two of our 2019 recording competition! You submitted your music, now we’re going to listen. We will be diving into the hard process of determining finalists this week, sifting through your songs, CV’s, and stories, searching for the artists with a pinch of the ‘X factor’ and a little dash of ‘je ne sais quoi.’ 

This contest has brought us more entries than ever before, and on behalf of the Bent River Records team, thank you for sharing your hard work, creativity, and talent with us. We can’t wait to hear your music and see the competition winner onstage, performing at the Bent River Records Artist Spotlight in April. 

Last but not least, we have Chris Martin joining the rest of our amazing judges.

Chris Martin began his career in the music industry in 1990 as a booking agent.  His company, The Bristol Agency has worked with the likes of Uisce Beathe, Jr. Gone Wild, Bill Bourne and Shannon Johnson, Painting Daisies and Ann Vriend. As a manager and music consultant, Chris has assisted in the development of emerging Canadian artists within Canada and abroad. He has sat on conference panels at the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, Western Canadian Music Week, Canadian Country Music Week and others. Since 2006 Chris has worked at CBC Edmonton where he is currently the Associate Producer of Saturday Night Blues! He will be an amazing contribution to our panel and we can’t wait for him to see all of your submissions!

Don’t forget that the submission deadline for the Bent River Record 2019 Recording Competition is almost here! Monday, October 15^th will be the last day that we are taking submissions. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity!

We could not be more thrilled to announce Celeigh Cardinal as one of the members on our 2019 recording competition panel! 

Hailing from Peace River, Celeigh has established herself as an Alberta artist to be reckoned with, internationally performing  “heartfelt, biographical inspired songs [that] blend soul and emotion,” as her website’s biography aptly describes. Give any song from her two albums or EP a listen and you’ll hear why Celeigh, Métis herself, is one of the top artists representing both Indigenous and Alberta music today! Her undeniable talent and hardwork have earned her the WCMA Indigenous Artist of the Year award, and both the Female Artist of the Year award and Indigenous Recording of the Year award at the Edmonton Music Awards. And we’re not done yet! Celeigh is also a recipient of Winnipeg’s REVEAL Ingienous Arts Award from the Hnatyshyn Foundation.

Outside of her performing work, Celeigh has been making even more history. She is a radio personality at CKUA-FM 94.9 in Edmonton and a member of Edmonton’s Art Column, the In Crowd… and the first Indigenous person to hold either position! No stranger to Alberta’s music scene, to musical success, or to breaking through glass ceilings, Caleigh will provide an essential voice in the selection process of the Bent River competition. 

Welcome, Celeigh!

We’d like to give a warm welcome to Adam Fox, who will be on the panel of judges for the Bent River Records 2019 Recording Competition! 

Adam Fox hails from a small farm in Essex County, Ontario, but his passion for music and story has led him to Windsor, Toronto, Edmonton, and Calgary. He studied journalism and English literature before immersing himself in community radio. He’s worked in radio and print media, for CBC, CKUA, CJAM, and CHRY as a journalist, music director, and in programming and general management. 

In his current role as Director of Programs for National Music Centre, he contributed to the first permanent exhibition of music in Canada and oversees a team that delivers Education, Artist Programs, Live Music and Public Programs. He’s maintained a creative pursuit through the years, producing, releasing, and performing music with various projects.