Showlab
Showlab is a FREE and NEW program from the Guelph Youth Music Centre that will equip youth aged 14-18 with everything needed to organize and host music events, in a team of your peers.
REGISTER HERE!
You will learn what it takes to run a concert from pre to post production, including:
Ideation, vision and theming
Budgeting and sponsorship
Booking artists and contracting
Branding and promotion
Production management
Basics of sound, stage and lighting tech
Along the way you'll develop skills in collaboration and communication, learn from industry professionals, get to know local artists and organizers, and have fun!
Showlab is limited to 15 participants per session, accepted on a first come first serve basis.
The program is provided in four 5-week sessions, each ending with a concert YOU put on! In each session you will plan the following session's concert.
Participants are invited to take part in all sessions, and have the opportunity to mentor newcomers.
Where: Guelph Youth Music Centre (GYMC), 75 Cardigan St, Guelph, ON N1H 3Z7
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Who: Ages 14-18
Cost: FREE with transportation coverage available and snacks provided for all participants at each session!
For more information, please contact: showlab@gymc.ca
Session 1: July 21, 2026 - August 20, 2026
Concert 1: August 22, 2026 at 7:00pm at the GYMC Recital Hall
Session 2: September 22, 2026 - October 22, 2026
Concert 2: October 24, 2026 at 7:00pm at GYMC Recital Hall
Session 3: November 3, 2026 - December 3, 2026
Concert 3: December 12, 2026 at 7:00pm at Sonic Hall
Session 4: January 19, 2027 - February 18, 2027
Concert 4: February 20, 2027 at 7:00pm at Silence (46 Essex St., Guelph ON)
Showlab is hosted by Em Wright.
Em Wright (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist and event organizer based in so-called Guelph, Ontario, who has been hosting concerts in the city since 2022. She is known for adventurous curation, community-focused concerts, and her genre-defying DJ performances as Bodywaltz. As a DIY organizer who has learned by doing, they are so stoked to pass on their knowledge to the next generation!
Showlab Session 1 & Concert Recap
Showlab hosted our inaugural concert, featuring Toronto’s Cootie Catcher and Guelph’s Kale (Cowboy Medicine), at the Guelph Youth Music Centre on August 22nd, for a full crowd of music fans. This was the finale of the first session of Showlab GYMC’s FREE and NEW program equipping teams of youth aged 14-18 with everything they need to organize and host music events.
The Showlab team moved through a curriculum that provided them an introduction to every aspect of live music organization and production, from envisioning a show to live sound technique. They learned from Showlab lead Em Wright and a lineup of guests from across the arts and entertainment industry. This included workshops on budgeting from Wavelength Music’s Jonny Bunce, contracts from Good Co. Productions’ Amit Mehta, and day-of event production from Tragedy Ann’s Liv Cazzola, among many others. Along the way, participants began dreaming of the shows they would want to produce and carved out the fine details of the event we would run at the end of the session.
After five short weeks of ideation, preparation and learning, the event was upon us. During the final production meeting, there was a variety of feelings amongst the team. Most of them had not produced a show before, and so there was a reasonable blend of excitement and anticipation amongst some waves of anxiety. Em reassured them that this nervousness was not a bad thing, it was a clear sign that they wanted the show to go as well as possible! And without a doubt, that desire to run a great show was fully realized!
Kale’s soothing folk and Cootie Catcher’s bouncy, ecstatic indie rock were amplified by cutting-edge lighting and sound designed and operated by the youth, filling GYMC’s Recital Hall with an energy that got the audience out of the theater seats and across the floor boogieing down. The Showlab team took the lead on all other execution too, including welcoming attendees at the door, running our concessions, emceeing and tearing down when the night came to an end. The youth expressed that through the program they were well equipped to run our show, with some even feeling empowered to take the lead on organizing their own concert outside Showlab!
And this is only the beginning. Showlab continues on September 22nd, 2026, with much of the first Showlab team returning to advance their learning and run our 2nd show! The second session features a new slate of guest speakers including Hillside’s Kate Johnston, Silence’s Scarlett Raczycki, Agitate Production’s Kavya Yoganathan and many more! This session will be accessible to those joining for the first time, while also giving the returning youth the opportunity to advance their skills.
Guest Speakers: Session 2 (September 22 - October 22, 2026)
Showlab is possible due to a grant from Ontario Trillium Foundation.
