people really wanted to listen to the words and the story. The Cavendish Beach Music Festival was a great example - everyone was so nice.
Spotlight on Business: Tell us about the first song you wrote, the first gig you played, and when you discovered that you might want to make a career out of music and not tennis. Do you prefer performing live or recording? Why? Jade Hilton: My first gig was at the Bradley Museum, during a summer barbecue. I offered to sing, and all my high school friends came - it was really fun, and I just kept digging into performing. One of my most notable early gigs was at the Mod Club in Toronto during a battle of the bands. You could only play if you sold 20 tickets, and of course, I sold them all— high school friends will always show up! I go on stage, acoustic guitar in hand, and it’s all these screamo metal heads in the audience, and I’m like, okay, I love Taylor Swift. Looking back, it was hilarious, but I knew right then I loved being on stage. It was magical. The end goal is always performing in front of fans. As an artist, my favourite part is performing live - the work I do, all the writing and recording, it’s all to get to that moment on stage at a big festival. I need all of it to chase that dream, but playing live is what I love most. Spotlight on Business: You’re very busy touring and performing at festivals and events like Boots and Hearts and the Cavendish Beach Music Festival. How has this helped you as an artist? Jade Hilton: Playing festivals has been incredible for learning what it takes to perform at that level. At Boots and Hearts, I played on an emerging stage for the first time and got a taste of how the pros work - the way they treat you, having multiple people on your sound, interacting with press - it really gave me a ballpark of where I need to be. Cavendish Beach is kind of my bucket-list festival and a place I love. I went a couple of days early to explore PEI, and performing there was amazing. I even filmed a video
Playing for country fans was the first time I felt like people really wanted to listen to the words and the story. ” “
12 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 26 ISSUE 2
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE 13 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE 13
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