Andy has been the CEO of the East Coast Music Association (ECMA) based in Halifax Nova Scotia since April 2014. As the East Coast’s most prodigious music and industry event, he is responsible for delivering a nationally televised music award show, 5–day music festival and an industry conference as well as a world-renowned international export buyers program. Arriving from Manchester, England in 1982, Andy started his career as a Canadian recording artist, completing two albums for Sony Records with his band the Tenants, which were released worldwide between 1982-85. Andy was the principal songwriter and guitarist.In 1994, Andy Co-Founded and was the Managing Director of North By Northeast Conferences Inc. (NXNE) based in Toronto until 2013. Andy is committed to building new strategic partnerships and developing career-enhancing opportunities for ECMA members as well as reciprocal initiatives for our international partners. Check out @eastcoastmusicassosc

Lindsay Ruck is an author and editor from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She studied journalism at Carleton University's School of Journalism in Ottawa before returning to her home province to continue her writing career. Lindsay's first book for younger readers, Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians (2020), was nominated for a Hackmatack Book Award.Her first children's picture book, called My Favourite Colour, will be released in the Fall of 2023. Check out @lindsay_ruck

Janice Ho is a Korean-Canadian who freelances as a copy editor and marketing consultant. She is currently training to become a psychotherapist.Janice hosts The Soul's Work Podcast, the show about uncovering our authentic selves through doing both the light work and the shadow work. She is known for getting vulnerable about uncomfortable topics like trauma, alcohol dependency, sex, and polyamory in an open and nonjudgmental way. Janice is passionate about breaking down the silence and stigma around the very human challenges we all go through and adding one more Asian voice to the "self-development" space. You can connect with her @janicehoimages and @janicehocounselling, and listen to The Soul's Work Podcast on your favourite podcast player or at www.thesoulsworkpodcast.com!

Nick & Mathilde have left everything behind to go on a World Tour in their Landrover Defender 'Albatross'.Join them as they travel around the world in their tiny home on wheels for the next 3 years! Going from one Meridian to another, making new friends, exploring cultures & traditions, and road-tripping around this beautiful planet.3 Years | 88 Countries | 7 Continents | 300 00kmFind out more @nextmeridien.expedition

Jackie Torrens is a Halifax-based actor, writer and film director.She and producer Jessica Brown have, under their company Peep Media, completed four documentary films for CBC, the Documentary Channel and Bravo which include Edge of East, My Week on Welfare, Small Town Show Biz and Bernie Langille Wants to Know Who Killed Bernie Langille, which premiered this spring at Hot Docs.Jackie has also done two documentary films for Telltale Productions, Free Reins and the feature-length Radical Age. Torrens’ radio documentaries include The Poet Laureate of Youth Now, which received an Atlantic Journalism Award and Camp Mini Ha Ha, which received a CBC Award of Excellence.Learn more @torrensjackie

Ashlye is an artist from Brampton, Canada. This singer and songwriter strives to bring music that heals, expresses and touches upon souls other than her own.  This genuine artist connects influenced sounds of R&B and soul with a history of classical by the warmth and passion of her voice.   Her music captivates experiences and emotions when words limit the language of expression.   In hopes to continuously heal and recover her soul, the motive of her success derives from impacting others and being the image to be inspired by.Find out more @ashlyekate

Mehret writes the weekly newsletter, time spent offline, about spending less time online and (re)discovering the pleasures of the offline world.It is a documentation of her journey and lessons from years of plugging/unplugging, connecting/disconnecting, and learning/unlearning in our digitally-caffeinated world.Check out www.mehretbiruk.com

Lila Quinn is a poet, performer, and kinkster from rural Missouri. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her work has appeared in Rabbit Catastrophe Review, TulipTree Review, and Boulder Weekly.Her poem, “To Helen and River of A.A.'', was an honorable mention for TulipTree’s 2021 Wild Women story contest, and her story, “When Light Floats” was a finalist for Vocal Media’s Short Fiction Prize in 2022.Lila began making erotic art in earnest just before the COVID pandemic. Like her writing, Lila’s photos and videos dance between raw, sexy, and sure-footed, centering feminine pleasure and playing with kinky types as a way of finding full, authentic embodiment for herself. More exploration than prescription, Lila’s vulnerability becomes her strength through her artistic alchemy and playful ethos.She lives in Boulder, CO.

Tre. Charles is an Alt Soul Singer/Songwriter who dives into the depths of his soul and invites you into his world with an expressive blend of warm and soulful undertones, simplistic and powerful lyrics, and emotive crooning; all of which help you navigate your way through the encompassing experience. Growing up along the East Coast from city to city, Tre. Charles has been exposed to a myriad of different cultures. It is from these experiences that he has cultivated a sound of his own which pays homage to his nomadic upbringing. With hints of avant-garde R&B, modern/indie rock, and ambient soul, Charles’ honest & powerful music has a lot of people listening. Tre. Charles has been compared to musicians like Frank Ocean, Moses Sumney, Sampha, and James Blake to name a few but this artist has a sound all his own. Tre has acquired many cosigners along his artistic journey, his most recent being that he is now endorsed by the world-renowned guitar company D’angelico Guitars as an official artist. He has also been recently nominated for the Best R&B artist for the Carolina Music Awards (2022) as well as an official artist for NXNE music festival in Toronto; Also winning the Virginias Favorite Award at the (RIFF)(Richmond international film festival). Tre. Charles has performed in venues all across the US; from performing on CBS programming to festival stages, his artistry has a unique way of making any setting intimate and personal. Tre. has performed for numerous CreativeMornings sessions(international conglomerate) as well as numerous Sofar Sounds; he also made his New York debut this year at the legendary Rockwood Music hall to a captivated audience. His debut single (Stressin.) which gathered a lot of buzz from publications such as NPR, INDY Week, Wearesoul, and many more will be followed up by his debut E.P. which is scheduled to be released this year. Check him out @tre.charlz

Over the past decade, JoJo Worthington has emerged as a distinct presence in creative Canadian music, pairing deftly penned songs with spectacular sonic landscapes.Having wandered through the “lost, enchanted forest” (Bandcamp, New & Noteworthy) of 2016’s breakthrough album, \\, and sailed the seas of her epic avant-pop odyssey TCYK (2019), BAPTIZED I sees this visionary songcrafter adorning her armour, grabbing her sword, and beginning a quest for a destination that isn’t tangible—a quest towards the divine.BAPTIZED I leaves no stone of Worthington’s distinctive sonic palette unturned. Tender acoustic ballads erupt into sweeping electronic passages; anthemic refrains find peace in surreal soundscapes. Uniting Phoebe Bridgers-esque hooks with the electronics sensibilities of M83, these songs match confessional intimations with grand gestures.They bring Death, the devil, and the Holy Ghost into scenes of high school bush parties and wintertime walks along the St. Lawrence. Combining earthly and celestial sounds, BAPTIZED I stands between worlds as Worthington yearns to make her “flesh connect / to the world as it is / and to be as the spirit is.”This chameleonic EP explores the feeling of crossing a bridge between the ordinary and the extraordinary; between the superficial and the sacred; between what has been and what should be.Find out more @jojoworthington