Rocky Mountain Live will help artists and arts organizations reach their audiences and each other
A new live music platform is amplifying local artists and the venues they play.
Rocky Mountain Live has launched as a new, one-stop-shop promotional website which aims to increase the exposure of local live music and showcase the artistic talent in the mountains.
“People know the Rockies are flush with outdoor activities,” says Jimmy Stevens, founder of Rocky Mountain Live. “But the mountains also tend to attract artistic people, and every community in the Rockies has a music ecosystem that can be better connected.”
Stevens is the force behind the new “guide to rock the Rockies,” as RML’s instagram bio suggests. Stevens, a former chef and now a promoter and digital marketer who lives in Canmore, said he’d seen community media platforms in other Canadian cities help artists and audiences reach each other, and he thought the Rockies were ripe for a similar directory.
“These communities tend to have a lot of tourists and seasonal employees—people who are just learning the scene as they come here,” Stevens said. “I wanted to create a hub to help those people discover artists and venues, and also to help cut out the work for artists to reach their target audiences.”
Rocky Mountain Live launched on February 1. The platform has since been building out a wide roster of artists and musicians, venues, promoters and other businesses active in the music scene. Stevens wants to cover the music scene in the Rockies regions of Alberta and British Columbia—from Banff to Lake Louise, Canmore to Kananaskis, Jasper to Hinton and the Kootenays.
Fernie folk rockers Shred Kelly were among the first batch of bands to onboard with Rocky Mountain Live.
Along with a calendar for upcoming events, the website features band profiles, musician resources and spotlights on venues. Eventually, content will be primarily populated by the site users themselves, Stevens said.
Using the search function and filtering for upcoming events in Jasper, users of Rocky Mountain Live can see that on Wednesday, February 19, alternative country singer-songwriter, musician, and troubador, Del Barber, will be belting out his brand of Canadiana at the Jasper Legion (The Stand Easy) at 9 p.m.
So far, highlighted Jasper artists include local folk and blues songstress, Marie Flipo-Bergeron and power punkers Sonance. Stevens knows there are many more artists in the community that could be broadcasting their brand. As such, he is encouraging those in the industry to create their music resource profile on the platform.
“It’s about getting people in the music scene involved in their community,” he said.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
