Bryce Forbes
When you’re a 19-year-old music promoter, some people might look down at you.
It’s a problem that occasionally faces Fort Frances resident Adam Armit, owner of Wildfire Music.
But the way he sees it, as long as you do a good job, other people in the music industry don’t care.
“You just have to work through it and just don’t give them a reason to think otherwise,” Armit stressed.
“But it’s always a roadblock with it,” he admitted.
Still, Armit also said it’s “empowering” being a teenager who deals with professional bands.
“It’s pretty interesting because when you’re booking them, nobody knows your age on the other side until they come here and meet me—they are always very surprised,” enthused Armit, who just returned to Fort Frances after spending the school year studying business marketing at Fanshawe College in London, Ont.
Armit announced Friday that Canadian pop/rock group “Stereos” will be making their Fort Frances debut July 28 at the Townshend Theatre, followed by a gig in Dryden the next night.
“We are really excited for this show, we think it’s going to do very well,” noted Armit, who will spend his summer as an announcer for B•93 here.
“We think the tickets aren’t going to last for very long, so we are encouraging people to be there right when Sight & Sound opens or on the morning of, as well,” he added.
Tickets for both shows will go on sale this Friday (May 14) at Sight & Sound or online at www.wildfiremusic.ca
“Stereos” follow in the footsteps of “Marianas Trench” and “Faber Drive” as local concerts staged by Wildfire Music.
“We are growing and it’s definitely exciting,” Armit enthused.
“We can bring in bigger bands and have bigger shows, which obviously is better in terms for people of Fort Frances and Northwestern Ontario in general,” he reasoned.
This may not be the only show Wildfire Music puts on here this summer, but Armit doesn’t know for sure.
“It all depends on all the bands tours,” he explained.
“There are a few bands right now, on the top of my head, I’m keeping a special eye on for, but it all depends on whether they are going to be running through Thunder Bay or Winnipeg so we could catch them on the way through.
“If I need to a pay a little bit more and have them come for a special trip, it’s usually not worth it,” he said.
“It all depends on their tours and stuff like that.
“Ideally, I would love to do more.”
“Stereos” rose to fame in 2008 thanks to an appearance on the MTV show, “DisBAND,” where a group is told it either has what it takes to make it in the music industry or to break up.
Then last year, the band released its first studio album, the self-titled “Stereos,” which has since been certified gold in Canada with more than 40,000 copies sold.
The band received two Juno nominations back in March for best new artist and best pop album.
Best known for hit songs “Summer Girl” and “Throw Ya Hands Up,” the band will be releasing its second studio album in August.
With the prior success of the concerts by “Marianas Trench” and “Faber Drive,” Armit knows this one will do well.
“We basically do market research and decide how popular of a band they are, and that the people of Fort Frances will take to it and really want it,” he explained.
“I’ve been in contact with management and agencies for the band for quite some time,” he noted. “With the concerts we do, it’s generally with the same team of management or agency.
“When a new band goes on tour, we are some of the first people to know.”
Beginning in 2002 as a DJ services company, Armit has seen his company expand over the past seven years.
“The opportunity of the first concert came along and I just fell upon it. I thought I could take it on,” he said.
“The concert did very well, sold out in a day, so it worked out very well and [I] decided to keep on going with it.
“We have done a few concerts over the last few years, and this one is hopefully going to be our biggest and best one yet,” he added.
For more information, visit www.wildfiremusic.ca or call 1-888-272-1245.
