For the second year in a row, the Canadian Songwriter Challenge in Northern Ontario was held over three days within the context of the Northern Lights Festival Boréal (NLFB) in Sudbury. With the help of award-winning mentors Jonathan Byrd and Rae Spoon, 10 songwriters were split into pairs and each composed a song to then be recorded. A “Business of Songwriting” seminar kicked off the weekend’s activities.

Thanks to NLFB, participants also got the opportunity to showcase their new creations on the festival’s workshop stage on Sunday afternoon. This added a great live performance component to the program as well as exposure to new audiences.