is pleased to present on
October 3rd & 4th, 2025
in
Registration opens June 2025
Community Futures Peace Country exists to assist entrepreneurs of any kind and music IS a business! This event is for songwriters, musicians, singers or lyricists wanting to expand or explore the process of songwriting, recording and the business of the music industry. Any level of ability is welcome to attend, and all genres of music are awesome!
It’s two days of learning, networking, songwriting, performance and FUN!
Our Why
The 2025 SongRise Conference provides valuable opportunities for local musicians to enhance their skills, network with industry professionals, and showcase their talent. The conference will feature industry-related education sessions, performance opportunities, and songwriting workshops guided by renowned experts in their respective fields including Duane Steele, Jake Mathews, Troy Kokol, Matt Patershuk, Joel Lavoie and many more!
Our Mentors & Keynote Speakers
TBA
Joel Lavoie
Agenda
Friday October 3rd
10:00am
10:30am
6pm
7pm
Mile Zero Theatre
Grimshaw, Alberta
Part 1:
Saturday October 4th
9am
9:30am
12pm
12:30pm
4-5:30pm
5:30pm
Overview of the Day
Songwriting!
Lunch
More Songwriting!
Record & Rehearse
Supper Break
Saturday Evening Concert
Mile Zero Regional Multiplex Fieldhouse
6:30pm
7:00pm
Doors Open
Show Begins!
SongRise Delegates perform the group song written that day!
Part 2:
Local Legends Showcase!
Part 3:
Duane Steele & Friends!
Part 4:
The Honey Cowboy! Followed by Open Mic
Mile Zero Theatre
Holy Family Regional Catholic School classrooms (Mile Zero Multiplex)
Grimshaw, Alberta
Our 2025 Feature Band, Grimshaws’ own
Success Story!
We have had many success stories directly related to SongRise, most notably one of Canada’s top music stars Tenille Townes! Tenille has won 14 CCMA Awards including Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Single of the Year, and the Humanitarian Award.
Tenille hails from Grande Prairie and attended the inaugural SongRise event in 2008 when she was 14 years old. She continued to attend for several years where she gained valuable industry information and formed important relationships that would forward her career. She co-wrote many songs with the SongRise founders and mentors which resulted in songs and relationships that would fast track her career. Tenille made a special video appearance at SongRise 2024!
Our History
The SongRise Music Conference was created in 2008 by Sherry Crawford & Dana Blayone formally of No Limitz Music, and Duane Steele, an award-winning artist who originally hails from the Peace region. We had a vision to create an event that brings together musicians, songwriters, and industry professionals from the local community and beyond, fostering creativity, education, and growth within the music industry.
Our Future
Community Futures Peace Country is a non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurs and acknowledges the significant economic benefits local musicians bring to the community. We endeavor to offer the training, knowledge, networking and information local music creators need to further their music careers. Our region encompasses 26 Municipalities and as such, we will be hosting SongRise in different locations each year to be the best of our ability! Do you have expertise to offer for a future SongRise event? Contact us and let’s chat!
Our Partners - 2025
We thank our partners for their generosity by supporting our conference. For more information about partnering with us as a sponsor, please click below for more information.
“I have been a part of the SongRise Team for 10 years and every year it just kept getting better and better…and the first year was AMAZING!! The perpetual smiles, grins, laughs, and all the positive comments about the instruction and mentoring and music making are just some of the reasons I love being involved in this conference, and I am so excited that we brought it back!”
Duane Steele, CCMA Award winner, multiple JUNO nominee & Alberta Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee
"SongRise truly changed my life, no exaggeration. It’s been a decade since the first time I attended and, in that time, I’ve been fortunate to call music my career for most of it. That career started in earnest with SongRise, the friendships, feedback and advice gleaned, all helped me to do things I never knew were possible for someone from a small prairie town." - Al Peterson, Singer/Songwriter
"SongRise truly changed my life, no exaggeration. It’s been a decade since the first time I attended and, in that time, I’ve been fortunate to call music my career for most of it. That career started in earnest with SongRise, the friendships, feedback and advice gleaned, all helped me to do things I never knew were possible for someone from a small prairie town." - Al Peterson, Singer/Songwriter
"The proof is in the pudding. When each of the songwriting teams performed their creation in front of an equally enthusiastic audience, they all stated what a wonderful, learning experience they had. They uniformly said they'd gladly do it again. And the audience got to hear why they were so positive. The songs that the delegates created in a few short hours were sensational, some even magnificent." - Wendell Ferguson - Multiple CCMA award winner, CFM award winner, multiple Juno nominee and inductee into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
"The proof is in the pudding. When each of the songwriting teams performed their creation in front of an equally enthusiastic audience, they all stated what a wonderful, learning experience they had. They uniformly said they'd gladly do it again. And the audience got to hear why they were so positive. The songs that the delegates created in a few short hours were sensational, some even magnificent." - Wendell Ferguson - Multiple CCMA award winner, CFM award winner, multiple Juno nominee and inductee into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
"As a songwriter, what could be better than a conference for songwriters?! SongRise is that and so much more. Connecting with fellow creatives and diving deep into the various aspects of the music industry is an incredibly fulfilling experience and I always look forward to going back!" - Brendan Dickson, The Honey Cowboy
"As a songwriter, what could be better than a conference for songwriters?! SongRise is that and so much more. Connecting with fellow creatives and diving deep into the various aspects of the music industry is an incredibly fulfilling experience and I always look forward to going back!" - Brendan Dickson, The Honey Cowboy
“Every single year that I attended I found myself blown away with the wealth of knowledge, talent, and appreciation for this thing we call music. The way that they were able to bring total strangers into a room and turn them into a family in TWO DAYS absolutely floors me. I attended for four years, the first year I was unsure what to expect. I knew the organizers had superpowers when it came to moving people, but this was something else!" - Daylen Callison – Range Road Ramblers & independent artist
“Every single year that I attended I found myself blown away with the wealth of knowledge, talent, and appreciation for this thing we call music. The way that they were able to bring total strangers into a room and turn them into a family in TWO DAYS absolutely floors me. I attended for four years, the first year I was unsure what to expect. I knew the organizers had superpowers when it came to moving people, but this was something else!" - Daylen Callison – Range Road Ramblers & independent artist
2024 Songs! Delegates were grouped into 3, given a choice of three titles or themes and they had 6 hours to write with help and guidance from our mentors. Then they were all performed that evening at the Concert! All songs belong to the respective composers as listed.