In Canada: Alanis Morissette to Accept Icon Award at Billboard Canada Women in Music 2024

Alanis Morissette, one of the most iconic artists of the last three decades, is coming to Toronto to celebrate as the guest of honour at Billboard Canada Women in Music. The singer-songwriter will accept the Icon Award at the first Billboard Canada Women in Music event, taking place on Sept. 7 at DPRTMNT.

The Icon Award is given to a female artist of extraordinary accomplishment, who has made historic contributions to the industry and artistry. It’s been given to some absolute legends, including Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Lopez, Shania Twain – and Alanis herself, who first won the honour in 2019.

Though she was often pigeonholed as an angry songwriter in the ‘90s, she’s now fully celebrated as a multidimensional artist who has showed the unlimited nature of representing femininity in music, opening the doors to multiple generations of musicians who continue to rediscover her.

“I was loved and ignored and adored and hated,” she said at Billboard Women in Music 2019, while joking that it’s hard for a polite Canadian to accept such an honour. “Then I was considered really hip and then totally irrelevant and then totally relevant again… These roles and archetypes are within all of us, all the women in the room and all the women I’ve worked with.”

Her 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill, was a juggernaut – vulnerable, confrontational, funny and poetic in equal measures. With that album (now also a hit Broadway musical), she became the first artist to sell over 2 million copies in Canada. She hasn’t slowed since then, with her 10 studio albums and three live albums selling more than 75 million worldwide. 

Alanis joins The Beaches, LU KALA and Allison Russell as already-announced recipients of Billboard Canada Women in Music honours, with more to be announced soon. 

For more on Billboard Canada Women in Music and to buy tickets for the September 7 event, head here. – Richard Trapunski

Vancouver Jazz Festival Calls for Donations as Arts Events Struggle to Survive

In a recent newsletter, Coastal Jazz, the organization that presents the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, put out a concerned call for donations.

“I’ve got to be honest with you – I’m worried about the future,” writes director of operations Eduardo Ottoni in the newsletter. The festival has cut back its programming by over half since the start of the pandemic – from 487 performances in 2019 to 171 in 2024.

“It breaks my heart,” Ottoni says of the reductions.

As it looks ahead to its 40th edition in 2025, organizers are trying to stave off further cuts.

The announcement makes the festival the latest arts organizations in Canada to reveal serious financial struggles. From high-profile festivals like Just for Laughs, which cancelled its 2024 edition, to documentary festival Hot Docs, which has indefinitely closed its flagship theatre, to local venues like Toronto’s Tranzac Club, arts orgs country-wide are facing immense challenges. Other festivals have also seen corporate sponsors depart – Bell pulled out of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last year after a three-decade partnership.

Nina Horvath, Coastal Jazz’s executive director, tells Billboard Canada that their funding issues stem from the loss of their title sponsor, TD, in 2022, coupled with rising infrastructure costs. The festival budget has shrunk by 41% since 2019. “Couple this with a general global economic downturn and it’s a recipe for challenging times,” says Horvath. Inflation and a cost-of-living crisis mean it’s hard to pass on these problems to consumers, who are resisting rising ticket prices. 

The federal government announced a $31 million increase to the Canada Arts Presentation Fund in the 2024 budget, providing some assistance to performing arts events. Horvath says government funding has become increasingly competitive to attain, but that policies supporting locally-run destination-events could make a big difference.

Amidst these challenges, the Vancouver Jazz Festival hosted a successful 39th edition, welcoming international stars like Killer Mike and showcasing local artists like R&B singer Janette King and indie group Parlour Panther.

The festival welcomes 100,000 attendees every year, generating an estimated $20 million in economic impact for the city. – Rosie Long Decter

Bruce Springsteen, Pharrell Williams, Elton John Heading to Toronto International Film Festival 2024

There are always some major music superstars making their way to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) alongside other a-list celebrities this year. 

Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Pharrell Williams, Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams will all be reaching the city this September, likely along a red carpet.

The announcements come as part of this week’s unveiling of the lineup of 63 films in the Gala and Special Presentations programmes for the 49th edition of the festival. Other Hollywood celebrities coming to Toronto include Amy Adams, Riz Ahmed, Cate Blanchett, Will Ferrell and Alicia Vikander.

The Boss is expected at the World Premiere Gala of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, a documentary look at the behind-the-scenes preparation for the rocker’s latest tour. Springsteen narrates the film.

Also given a prestigious Gala slot for its World Premiere at TIFF, Elton John: Never Too Late is a documentary co-directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, Sir Elton John’s Canadian husband. 

Another TIFF World Premiere is Morgan Neville’s biopic of Pharrell Williams, Piece by Piece, one that employs Lego animation to tell the “Happy” star’s life story. Peers and friends of Williams appearing in the doc include Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg. Neville previously won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014 as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film for his critical and commercial hit documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. 

The life and work of Italian classical music superstar Andrea Bocelli is explored in Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe, a U.K. documentary directed by Cosima Spender and given its World Premiere as a Gala at TIFF.

Veteran English pop star Robbie Williams has booked his ticket to TIFF to attend the premiere of Better Man, a biopic musical centered around him and directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman). Williams stars as himself, with Jonno Davies playing the younger version.

Also premiering at TIFF will be K-Pops!, a comedy/drama written and directed by Anderson .Paak. – Kerry Doole