Brisbane's Crowbar To Host Music Industry Summit With Devin Townsend & A Bunch Of Local Legends

Legendary Canadian metal identity Devin Townsend will present a keynote lecture at Brisbane's Crowbar next month as part of the impending Music Industry Summit being held by Rodney Holder, of Music Business Facts, and APRA/AMCOS.

Townsend will be backed up by fellow his fellow keynote speaker (and manager), Andy Farrow — who also looks after the likes of Opeth, Paradise Lost, Anathema and a bunch of other acts — as well as local industry identities Graham Nixon (Resist Records/manager of Parkway Drive), Tim Price (Collision Course) and Eli Chamravi (Wild Thing Presents).

Before you say anything, know that Holder is well aware of the completely male make-up of the event. Without making excuses for himself, he told The Music that aspect is absolutely something he is "determined to address" at future events, and that this one came together somewhat unexpectedly and quickly.

"The entire event was initially just going to be myself and Devin doing a keynote, then Devin's manager Andy Farrow was going to be in town so we added him, then I invited my buddy Tim Price to speak, then we added some bands, and one of the managers of the bands offered to also speak," Holder explained. "And, boom, I had a live event comprising of only men.

"But it certainly wasn't a conscious decision to leave out women from the summit. More a reflection of my close network of friends in that particular genre or style of music. Again, something I acknowledge I need to address."

It's also worth noting that Holder's online version of the summit — which runs from early April — does feature women on its line-up, with more to be announced in the near future.

As for the mini-event at Crowbar, Townsend will step out with his lauded presentation, "How To Develop Creativity & Excel As A Successful Songwriter In A Changing Industry", while Farrow's lecture is titled, "How To Plan, Book, & Implement A Successful International Tour", so that should give you an inkling as to whether this is an event you're keen to get along to.

Nixon, Price, Chamravi and Holder will be joined by Farrow for a panel on "How To Succeed In The Modern Music Industry"

The afternoon-and-evening program runs from 4pm until 1am on Friday 19 May, and will include live performances from icecocoon and Dyssidia, so your need for some distinguished acts of the prog-rock/metal persuasion is well and truly looked after.

It all kicks off with a whisky tasting session before getting down to brass tacks from 5pm; the live component gets under way at 10pm.

Tickets are only $35, and are available now.

More details are available at the Music Industry Summit website.