IMRO International Touring & Festival Seminar

From Whelans to Wisconsin and Beyond. What does it take to break your music into new territories? A panel discussion hosted by IMRO featuring leading Irish and international music industry experts.

In association with Temple Bar Tradfest

PANEL

Tom Sherlock | Artist Manager & Consultant

Dublin-born Tom Sherlock has worked as a full-time music business professional since 1982 when he began employment with leading Irish folk music label, Claddagh Records. He helped establish Claddagh as one of the world’s largest distributors of traditional music and opened up many new international territories for the label and its artists. During his fifteen years with the label Tom worked as A&R manager and also as production manager. Among the artists he worked closely with were The Chieftains. He also established a retail arm for the company and successfully managed Ireland’s leading folk and roots music record store – which still trades to this day. Since 1997 Tom has worked in music management and event consultancy. He has represented many of the leading Irish traditional music acts among them Altan, Liam O’Flynn, The Poet and the Piper (Seamus Heaney & Liam O’Flynn), The Chieftains, Lankum (Lynched), Karan Casey, Seamus Begley,Usher’s Island, Lunasa, Paddy Glackin and Roisin Elsafty. In recent years he has taken on management of the Danish band, Dreamers Circus. He has wide experience of organizing tours in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Japan, China, Australia and has worked in most European countries. He works as a programming consultant and advisor to a number of festivals.  A contributor to the respected reference works The Encyclopedia of Ireland and The Companion to Irish Traditional Music, he is an occasional lecturer in music business. In 2012 he was Programme Manager of the North Atlantic Fiddle Festival (NAFCo2012) which ran successfully in Derry/Londonderry  and Donegal. Along with Professor Rionach ui Ogain of University College Dublin he was co-editor of The Otherworld – Music and Song from Irish Tradition – an illustrated book with 2 CDs on Irish music and folklore published by The Folklore Council of Ireland. He recently produced and presented a 6 part radio series entitled “Transmissions” that explored commonalities between various international folk musics – this ran successfully on RTÉ Radio 1.  Previously he served as an advisor to the Irish Arts Council and has also worked in consultancy roles for the Government of Canada, the European Commission, the Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland), The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and Danish Roots amongst others. Tom currently serves, as treasurer, on the board of the Irish Traditional Music Archive in Dublin (www.itma.ie) and previously served at board level for Open House Festival in Belfast and the Dublin Folk Festival.

Barry Stapleton | Milwaukee Irish Fest

Barry Stapleton has been involved in booking entertainment for Milwaukee Irish Fest for 28 years. Milwaukee Irish Fest hires 100 artists who perform over a 4 day weekend in August. Barry, along with an entertainment committee, oversees all the legal aspects, production, scheduling and logistics at the festival. Barry Stapleton is also the director of the Ward Irish Music Archives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through the archives he has published three CDs, the latest being “Francis O’Neill Cylinders: 32 recordings of Irish Traditional Music in America circa 1904.” Barry has given programs at many conferences in the U.S. and in Ireland. He has organized conferences on Bing Crosby, Irish Music and Celtic Festivals. In 2007 Barry was the local program chair and host for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, ARSC, national conference in Milwaukee. He has presented at the Library of Congress, Folk Alliance, Hofstra University, Na Piobairi Uilleann, Pipers Club, Dublin, the American Conference for Irish Studies and at the ACIS national and regional conferences.

Lisa Schwartz | Artistic Director Philadelphia Folk Festival

Lisa is a vibrant and dynamic individual with a passion for great music who serves as the Festival Director and Artistic Director for the world renowned Philadelphia Folk Festival. The annual event features approximately 100 acts on eight stages and and welcomes upwards of 35,000 patrons.  Known to showcase superstars and rising stars alike, the Philadelphia Folk Festival is the seminal music event of the summer. With a love for nonprofit service and leadership, Lisa also serves as the Vice President for the Board of Folk Alliance International and was the president of the Philadelphia Folksong Society for more than eight years. She also loves to use her strategic marketing and branding skills to consult with artists to position them for career growth. Not content to always be behind the scenes, Lisa has also been a member of the Savoy Opera Company performing on stage at the famed Academy of Music in Philadelphia.

Angela Dorgan | CEO First Music Contact

Angela Dorgan is the CEO of www.firstmusiccontact.com  (FMC), the Arts Council funded national resource organization for musicians which run the Irish Music Export Office, www.musicfromireland.org  the online music portal www.breakingtunes.com  and the annual music industry showcase Hard Working Class Heroes festival www.hwch.net . FMC also runs the artist income generating Live Music Trails around Dublin and other Irish cities Music From Ireland is the Irish Music Export office run by First Music Contact in partnership with Culture Ireland which funds and delivers the Irish showcases at leading international music events. Eurosonic, SXSW, The Great Escape, Primevera, A2IMIndie Week,NYC, Reeperbahn, Mondo NYC, Ireland Week and M for Montreal. Angela has a Masters Degree in Sociology from UCC and believes that Arts and Culture are an essential part of the life of every citizen. Angela has contributed regularly to RTE radio arts show Arena and was briefly a reporter for RTE1 TV’s The Works. Angela is a member of the WH Olgivy Culture Collective  http://www.wilsonhartnell.ie/culture-collective/ She is also on the board for the National Campaign for the Arts in Ireland http://ncfa.ie  and is a founder member of the Global Music Exporters Exchange and the European Music Exporters Exchange  . She also played the drums. Badly. (her words)

Dawn Beaton | Artistic Director Celtic Colours Festival Canada

Dawn is a passionate advocate and supporter of the arts.  Her long standing involvement as both a Cape Breton Gaelic style fiddler and step dancer, and as Artistic Director of the Celtic Colours International Festival are proof of that. Having performed at the inaugural event in 1997, she has been in the director role since 2009 (as Assistant Artistic Director and then Artistic Director).  Celtic Colours is a nine day Cape Breton island wide festival that celebrates the Celtic diaspora with its emphasis of celebrating the Gaelic/Celtic cultures found on the island, while celebrating the many and important cultures that vibrantly exist there such as Acadian and Mi’kmaw. For nine days in October, Cape Breton Island, Canada is alive with music, energy and excitement as people come from far and wide to celebrate its rich culture. From concerts to dances and workshops to community suppers, they offer a full range of events against a gorgeous backdrop of autumn colours welcoming visitors and local audiences alike. Additionally, Dawn serves on volunteer boards and makes it a point to volunteer her musical skills to many worthwhile local charities.

Steve Johnson | Artist Relations Manager Merlefest

Steve Johnson has been involved in the music industry since the 1970s, most recently in promotion/management with Mountain Music Entertainment, a company he started in 2010. Additionally, he has served on the Indianapolis Visitor and Convention Bureau Music Crossroads Steering Committee, the Indianapolis Opera Board, and The Bean Blossom Jamboree Foundation Board of Directors, and has also served as artist relations’ on-site contact for the Graves Mountain Festival of Music. Johnson is currently a member of the International Bluegrass Music Association, International Folk Alliance, and the Americana Music Association. He is a musician and songwriter, performing weekly with a band from the Asheville area. Steve was appointed to the role of Artist Relations Manager for MerleFest in 2013. MerleFest, considered one of the premier music festivals in the USA, is an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans alike was founded in 1988 in memory of the late Eddy Merle Watson, son of American music legend Doc Watson who passed away May 29, 2012. MerleFest is a celebration of “traditional plus” music, a unique mix of music based on the traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, and expanded to include Americana, country, blues, rock and many other styles. The festival hosts over 90 artists, performing on 14 stages during the course of the four-day event. The annual event has become the primary fundraiser for the WCC Endowment Corporation, funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.