Announcing The Durham Region Economic Development & Tourism As Presenters for April 11 Livestream

To have the Economic Development and Tourism sector of Durham as a sponsor is one we will never let go of. It is our aim at the Oshawa Music Awards to forge a strong relationship together to have them understand our unique problems the musicians and club owners face in our industry here in Durham and create solutions to help us flourish in a vigorous way for years to come.

Elected as Durham’s Regional Chair and CEO in 2018, John Henry served as the Mayor of Oshawa from 2010 to 2018, and Regional Councillor for Oshawa’s Ward 5 from 2006 to 2010. He has previously served as a member of the Regional Planning & Economic Development Committee, as Chair of the Durham Region Local Housing Corporation, member of the Durham Region Transit Executive Committee and the Durham Environmental Advisory Committee. He will help us introduce to you our Music Industry of The Year recipients. Kevin Simpson and Jayson Callan, Managers of Long & McQuade Oshawa.

Kevin Simpson has been with Long & McQuade since 1989. He moved to the Oshawa location as a manager in 2005. Jayson Callan joined Long & McQuade in 2001 and was promoted to manager a short time after. Both of these men embody the Long & McQuade philosophy supporting community-related events and all types of musicians, bands, charities with genuine care and support. To the Durham Region music community these amazing men are held in such high regard and are heroes as they help and champion our music community. Long & McQuade started in 1956 began expanding in 1968 and hasn’t stopped since. Currently there are over 80 Long & McQuade stores across Canada as well as an online store that opened in 2008. The company employs over 1,300 musicians and contracts around 1,000 music teachers across Canada. To this day, the entire company is still 100% owned by the Long family.

The OMA is thrilled to have The Durham Region Economic Development and Tourism as a sponsor, they are a perfect fit for the music industry in Durham Region. The Economic Development and Tourism Division promotes the Durham Region as an ideal place to establish and do business while enjoying a high quality of life. Their priorities are to lead, facilitate and support various investment attraction and expansion initiatives. Their goal is to create and retain jobs and promote the region as the best place to live, work and invest. They take pride in linking existing businesses to sourcing capital while creating meaningful business relationships with domestic and foreign companies through our strong international presence. Simon Gill, Director of Economic Development and Tourism for the Durham Region is here to introduce the 2020 Oshawa Music Award for Album of the Year.

The Album of the Year nominees are  Whitby’s Skye Wallace for “Skye Wallace”, “Order in Decline” by Ajax’s Sum 41 and “Case Study 01” by Oshawa’s Daniel Caesar.

To have the economic development and tourism sector of Durham as a sponsor is one we will never let go of. It is our aim at the Oshawa Music Awards to forge a strong relationship together to have them understand our unique problems that we face in our industry here in Durham and create solutions to help us flourish in a vigorous way for years to come.

The Oshawa Music Awards April 18 live stream will share the spotlight and introduce our nominees for Emerging Artist or Band of the Year. Award presentations take place LIVE on Saturdays at 7PM EST. Upcoming award categories are:

April 18 - Emerging Artist or Band of the Year

April 25 - Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame

May 2 - Music Teacher of the Year

May 9 - Band or Artist of the Year

May 16 - Songwriter of the Year

May 23 - Durham Song of the Year

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