National Music Centre Announces Music Summit, Concert, and Film Screening in Celebration of the Laurel Canyon Era on October 4 & 5

Two-day event in partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music to cover influential period that brought Canadian and U.S. artists together 

(Calgary, AB — August 26, 2025) The National Music Centre (NMC) is pleased to announce, Echoes Across the Border: Laurel Canyon and the Northern Connection, a music summit in collaboration with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music (BSACAM). The event will feature keynote speakers and an evening concert on October 4, and a film screening on October 5.

With a special focus on the Laurel Canyon era, where songwriting visionaries like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young made their mark at home and beyond, Echoes Across the Border: Laurel Canyon and the Northern Connection will bring together industry leaders to discuss how cross-border Canadian-U.S. influences have shaped generations of artists. The event will include a carefully curated lineup of speakers from Canada and the U.S., including Rob Bowman, a Canadian GRAMMY Award-winning musicologist, known as York University's "rock 'n' roll professor"; Nicholas Jennings, one of Canada’s most respected music journalists and finest music historians; Eileen Chapman, Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University in New Jersey, who was responsible for bringing the collection to the University; Robert Santelli, a GRAMMY Award-winning music historian, producer, and educator, who is the Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music; and more speakers to be announced soon.

The summit will culminate with a live tribute concert featuring artists performing timeless songs from the era. More details on the concert will be announced soon.

Music lovers will be invited back the following day for a matinee screening of the 2020 two-part documentary, Laurel Canyon, which gives an up-close look at the lives of the musicians who inhabited Laurel Canyon, painting an intimate portrait of the artists who created a music revolution that would change popular culture.

"The Laurel Canyon era is a perfect example of how music transcends borders and brings people together,” said Andrew Mosker, President and CEO, National Music Centre. “By partnering with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, we’re excited to explore the deep and lasting connections between Canadian and American artists, and to celebrate the creativity that emerges when cultures meet and collaborate."

This partnership marks the beginning of an exciting series of future collaborations between two leading institutions dedicated to preserving and celebrating music heritage. Together, NMC and BSACAM aim to foster cross-border cultural exchange and deepen understanding between Canadian and American musical traditions.

"The story of Laurel Canyon is as much about the blending of Canadian and American voices as it is about the music itself,” said Robert Santelli, Executive Director, Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. “We look forward to joining the National Music Centre in Calgary to shine a light on the artists, stories, and songs that continue to inspire and influence both sides of the border."

The Echoes Across the Border: Laurel Canyon and the Northern Connection music summit and film screening will be free with registration. The evening concert will be a paid ticketed event. More information on the two-day event can be found at studiobell.ca/whats-on.

Special thanks to the City of Calgary for supporting this event.

About National Music Centre | Centre National de Musique
The National Music Centre (NMC) has a mission to amplify the love, sharing, and understanding of music. It is preserving and celebrating Canada’s music story inside its home at Studio Bell in the heart of the East Village in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) on Treaty 7 territory. NMC is the home to four Canadian music halls of fame, including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Quebec’s ADISQ Hall of Fame. Featuring musical instruments, artifacts, recording equipment, and memorabilia, the NMC Collection spans over 450 years of music history and innovation. A registered charity with programs that include exhibitions, artist development, performance, and education, NMC is inspiring a new generation of music lovers. For more information about NMC’s onsite activities, please visit studiobell.ca. To check out the NMC experience online, including video-on-demand performances, made-in-Canada stories, and highly entertaining educational content, visit amplify.nmc.ca.

About the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music 
The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music preserves the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and celebrates the history of American music and its diversity of artists and genres. Our mission is two-fold. The Springsteen Archives serves as the official repository for materials related to Springsteen and the E Street Band, including photographs, historic memorabilia, oral histories, and more. The Center for American Music explores American music more broadly. We accomplish this by producing exhibitions, concerts, and educational programming that explores and honors the cultural impact of American music past, present, and future. For more information, please visit springsteenarchives.org. For more information, please visit springsteenarchives.org.

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Media contact:
Julijana Capone, Senior Manager, PR and Marketing
National Music Centre
T 403.543.5123
julijana.capone@nmc.ca | @nmc_canada