Music City Initiatives

We collaborate with communities, governments, and industry to amplify what’s already happening, fill strategic gaps, and push for the long-term sustainability of Alberta’s music ecosystem. While not a funding organization, we have the pleasure of working to get funds to our province’s music ecosystem. As part of this work, we tackle and deliver on some interesting initiatives. See examples below.

Sound Bites Sessions 2026

To further our efforts to maximize the impact of music on cities in Alberta, West Anthem is working to engage with the Government of Alberta on the newly released Alberta Music Action Plan and the new Alberta Music Commission.

Share your opinion on Alberta’s music scene and Alberta’s newly released Music Action Plan!

The Action Plan includes seven priority areas, each of which includes several tasks recommended for achieving success. We are gathering feedback from the music community so we can best advise the Alberta Music Commission on which priorities and tasks matter most to you and will have the greatest impact.

Sound Bites 2026 Survey

PAST - Sound Bites Sessions 2025

In November 2025, we hosted SoundBites, lunch-hour sessions to connect, share feedback and see the progress being made in our music cities. View the highlights and updates below to see the progress being made in Calgary and Edmonton.

CALGARY

EDMONTON

Have an update to share? Let us know here.

PAST - Alberta Music Cities Grant Program

With special funding from Alberta Music and Calgary Arts Development, West Anthem hosted a one-time grant program to fund experimental projects targeting priorities and challenges highlighted in the municipal music strategies and rural tool kit released in spring 2024.

Thank you to everyone who submitted their proposal. Click below to view the funded projects and read the 2025 Wrap-Up Report.

Purpose: To fund small-scale, experimental projects that aim to tackle challenges in Alberta’s music scene through radical and innovative approaches. The experiments selected aligned with the tactics, priority directions/areas from West Anthem’s latest municipal music strategies for Edmonton, Calgary, and the rural/small city toolkit.

Who Could Apply: Alberta-based individuals, collectives, organizations, and businesses actively involved in Alberta’s music ecosystem could apply for up to $10,000 per experiment.

Supporters

Origin of West Anthem

The traditional territories of the Treaties 6, 7, and 8 Peoples encompass the majority of Alberta. Many First Nations continue to make their homes on today’s prairies: Siksikaitsitapi (including the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations), Tsuut’ina Nation, Îyâxe Nakoda (comprising the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley First Nations), Cree, Nakoda Sioux, Dene and Saulteaux, among others. The Otipemisiwak Métis Government governs five Territories within Alberta, distinct from the province’s eight Métis Settlements. Many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, both from here and as visitors from elsewhere, have helped care for these lands for generations. We recognize that they have traditions and relationships with the land far outstretching the arrival of settlers.

We are extremely grateful for these lands on which we reside, work, and play. We make this acknowledgement as an act of gratitude and reconciliation. While championing the arts across Alberta, we intend for our work to contribute to the valuing of traditional art forms and result in greater opportunity for the creative Indigenous talent who walk these lands today.

Contact

Email: info (at) westanthem.com

Supporters

Our Origin