Indie Week brings its first Ottawa edition to the ByWard Market, Nov. 12 to 14
The Toronto music-industry festival is reviving as a new Ottawa edition, with roughly 80 emerging acts across downtown venues and a networking conference attached.
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Indie Week is holding its first Ottawa edition from Nov. 12 to 14, with about 80 emerging indie acts playing a handful of venues within walking distance of each other in the ByWard Market.
The festival and conference, founded in Toronto by Darryl Hurs in 2003, has acts from Brazil, Nashville and Ghana on the bill alongside local bands. Ottawa's Double Experience, the nerd-rock duo of Brock Tinsley and Ian Nichols, is one of the Ottawa acts, and Tinsley is helping organize the festival portion.
Hurs said he chose Ottawa partly because the ByWard Market suits the event's live-music pub-crawl format. He pointed to the growth of the local scene, citing the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition and the city's nightlife office, along with the arrival of Live Nation and Hard Rock in town.
Hurs also said Toronto had become harder to run, citing rising costs and traffic. He recalled a delegate complaining of spending $150 a night on Ubers and missing performers as a result.
The Ottawa Music Industry Coalition is co-hosting an Indie Week member meet-up at Lowertown Brewery on Thursday, Nov. 12, the festival's opening night.
