Tamizdat at Folk Alliance: Town Hall Meeting on P2 Visas • Working Towards Parity at the Canada/US Border
February 21 | 10:30 am - 11:30 pm UTC
A Conversation with Cathy Fink, Joy Bennet, Jennifer Roe, and Matthew Covey
Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, 1201 René-Lévesque Blvd W, Montréal, Quebec H3B 2L7, Canada.
Salon ABC – Level B
Canada and the US share a 8800 km-long border, and they also share a vibrant folk and roots music scene that isn’t restricted by legal boundaries. But while US musicians can easily cross the border to work and perform in Canada, Canadian musicians who want to perform in the US face a visa process that is time-consuming, expensive, and capricious. Delays in visa processing can lead to cancelled gigs and tours, which is bad for musicians, presenters, agents, and audiences. Local 1000 of the AFM has spearheaded this Town Hall to update artists, agents, presenters and audience members on the current status of the process and of efforts towards changing the process. We will discuss where things stand right now, where we’d like them to end up (total parity for US and Canadian musicians) and how you can become active in the campaign to make change. US musicians are the ones that can and must exert the most pressure on institutions for change. It’s critical that they attend this to begin plotting a course forward. It is a simple and essential act of solidarity. There will be time available after the meeting to discuss with Local 1000 and other panelists in the same room.