Official showcase applications will be accepted from March 1-April 30, 2019.

FMO Awards applications will be accepted from April 1-30, 2019.

Our office moved to a new location on February 1, 2019. Please note our new address:

330-176 Gloucester Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 0A6

Art House Café, 555 Somerset St W, Ottawa
Doors at 7:30pm – shows start at 8:00pm!
FMO members $10 / non-members $12

This Saturday, January 19th, we’re going to give you a taste of the magic that is the Folk Music Ontario private showcase floor! Moving from room to room at the Art House Café, you’ll be able to listen to some of Ottawa’s finest musicians play 15 minute sets. Sponsored by the SOCAN Foundation.

FMO’s late night private showcase floor occurs at the annual conference every September and is an unforgettable experience. An entire hotel floor is dedicated to musicians performing into the wee hours, where the audience goes room hopping, cramming in to catch a glimpse or settle in for the roster. It’s an intimate space where connections are made between musicians and industry, and is a whole lotta fun. For more info about the conference, visit: https://www.folkmusicontario.ca/folk-music-ontario-conference/

Here’s the lineup:

Catriona Sturton 8:10 pm
Jon Hynes 8:30 pm
Her Harbour 9:00 pm
Vinay Bhide 9:20 pm
Merganzer 10:00 pm
Shadowhand 10:20 pm

The 6th annual FMO Festival Retreat will be held in London, Ontario, on the weekend of April 26-28, 2019. Representatives of member festivals will meet for sessions and speakers addressing topics of interest.

The FMO conference will be held at the Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel & Suites in 2019. A link to FMO’s conference rate for accommodations will be posted here in the spring.

Members only advance purchase registration for the 2019 conference will begin April 2. You will need your Member ID to access this rate.

CLICK HERE for info on the conference.

Season’s greetings, fellow FMO members!

We hope you’ve enjoyed the fall season, and are looking forward to a winter full of activity or hibernation or some combination thereof.

We were both sorry to miss the FMO (co-hosted by OMIC and CFMA) Holiday party. Amie has been very busy in her role with FAI, and Preetam was just coming off a hometown show in Sarnia, so the trip to Ottawa wasn’t in the cards this year. We hope some of you were able to drop by and take part in some holiday cheer. Thank you to Alka and staff for organizing the event, and for everything they do for the organization year in and year out.

For our festival members, if the busy planning season hasn’t already begun, we know it’ll be ramped up in the new year, and we look forward to your announcements. For artist members who might be touring in Canada this winter, please be very careful while driving, and thank you for bringing your music to us through these cold and sometimes lonely months.

Finally, on behalf of the rest of the board, we want to wish you and your families a very safe and happy holiday season.

Amie and Preetam
Co-Presidents, FMO Board of Directors

Some board highlights since the conference:
– The FMO Advocacy Committee (chaired by Max Merrifield) has been active in conversation with several other music organizations to lend FMO’s support, to help establish FMO’s presence on the music scene (in Ontario and beyond), and to advocate on behalf of our members with both government and the private sector.

– At our November meeting, the board passed a motion to establish a Youth Advisory Committee to be comprised of FMO Board members, the Developing Artist Program Co-ordinator, and participants of that program from recent years. We are very excited to have a new generation’s voice at our table, and hope this may open a path of succession with the leadership of the organization moving forward.

– Richard Henderson accepted a position on the board by appointment, and he has already proved to be an invaluable resource with his legal background and expertise in governance. We are very happy to have Richard on board…on Board?

If you couldn’t attend the conference in September, or just want to look back at what took place, you can CLICK HERE to see the 2018 Conference Program and Showcase Guide.

Delegates who gave permission to have their names and contact information published are listed in the downloadable DELEGATE DIRECTORY.