Blackbox Concert Series

The Blackbox Concert Series was founded in early 2010 with a clear mandate in mind: to attract top and emerging Canadian independent artists to perform in Ottawa’s untapped, intimate, and beautiful Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. Focusing specifically on folk and indie acts, BBCS runs year round, typically announcing acts as they are booked. Artists will be compensated for their performance, and out-of-town acts will have their accommodations provided by the Series./n/nThe Blackbox Concert Series was founded in early 2010 with a clear mandate in mind: to attract top and emerging Canadian independent artists to perform in Ottawa’s untapped, intimate, and beautiful Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. Focusing specifically on folk and indie acts, BBCS runs year round, typically featuring about one show per month. Artists will be compensated for their performance with a split of the door and keep 100% of merchandise revenue. They also provide dinner and drinks on the night of the performance, and artists, with accommodations available for some out-of-town acts.

Built in 2007 and opened in 2008, the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre is the home to Ottawa’s Great Canadian Theatre Company. The facility boasts two performance spaces: its mainstage theatre, a professional blackbox theatre space with a capacity of 262, as well as its blackbox studio theatre, an easily convertible and intimate space with seating for approximately 100 patrons. They provide complete professional staging, sound and lighting setups in both theatre spaces, along with experienced and highly regarded technicians.

The series also aims to be highly participative in order to build strong ties with Ottawa audiences, yearning for a local, professional venue to host the many less bar-inclined acts touring the nation. Audiences are invited to solicit festival staff directly to request artists they think appropriate for the space, as well as apply independently as artists.

The festival itself is carried out entirely by the efforts of a small group of volunteers dedicated to bringing the best in independent Canadian folk and indie music to audiences in the nation’s capital. The series also acknowledges the generous support of its corporate partners in making this endeavour a reality.