CREDIT: JOHAN GEORGE
Miguel Thompson and the Rapture were one of 24 acts to perform at the annual Share the Land concert, held on Feb. 15.

The music industry arts (MIA) program put on an incredible show on Feb 15., with 24 performances from various artists in both years of the MIA program, performing in the annual Share the Land charity concert. Second-year students Erica Charles and Makayla Fox were the General Managers for the event and the hosts were Arthur Brkic and Jaiden d’Entremont (Jai Vinyl), who helped deliver an amazing experience for everyone attending.

The show had a number of amazing acts including stand out performances from bands like Andre & the Reflections, who performed “So Long Marianne” by Leonard Cohen in a folk style, and Miguel Thompson and the Rapture, who performed “Crabbuckit” by k-os in their signature gospel funk style. Rebel Til Dawn singer Marisa Campbell in classic rebel fashion walked off stage with her microphone and started singing in the crowd during her band’s performance of a rock mashup of “Tom Sawyer” by Rush and “New Orleans is Sinking” by The Tragically Hip. Dr. Muck featured an incredibly unique vocal performance for the song “Suburbs” by Arcade Fire with the band’s take on bringing a very digital sound into a live environment. E.X.I.T. performed one of the most soulful performances of the night with a solo acoustic and the two singers belting their hearts out singing “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes.

First-year students made amazing performances during the night such as Lavender Blue and The Boys, the only band of completely first year students at Share the Land, performing “Just Came Back” by Colin James. Lead singer Lavender Blue put on an epic performance with great guitar playing from guitarist Brennan Longboat and head banging from bassist Jackson Voss who is also the bassist for band Mental State. John Wyatt was on keys and Peter Leondidas was on drums. The goal of the band in their introduction video was to “Kick some ass and take some names,” and they definitely accomplished that. Several first-years were also involved in performances like E.X.I.T. & Dallas who played “Rude” by MAGIC!, Flamingo Sour’s rendition of “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen.


For many of the performers, this was one of the first times they had been on stage performing in front of an audience. Many students come into MIA with the hopes of becoming successful artists and to learn technical skills for working with audio but Share the Land gives many students the opportunity to get out of their comfort zone, get into a performance situation and are forced to break out of their shells.

“Honestly it’s kind of a dream come true for us,” said second-year student Mathilde Martel, the lead singer of the band Mathilde Martel. “When I got to MIA in the beginning I didn’t think that I would be the lead singer of a Share the Land band, let alone in a band performing, so all this has been a surprise to me”

Fanshawe’s Broadcasting — Television and Film Production program captured the three-hour show in a livestream and you can catch the entire video on their YouTube channel, Fanshawe Television.