Wikipedia

Richard Flohil

Richard Flohil (born 24 June 1934) is a Canadian music promoter, publicist, former Mariposa Folk Festival[1] artistic director and journalist based in Toronto.[2][3] Flohil now runs a public relations company, Richard Flohil and Associates.[4][5][6][7][8]

Richard Flohil
Born (1934-06-24) 24 June 1934 (age 90)
Selby, Yorkshire, England
NationalityCanadian and British
Occupations
Years active1950–present
Websitewww.richardflohil.com

Publicity

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Richard Flohil has been involved in the Canadian music industry for 60 years[9][10][11] primarily as a publicist working with artists, usually in the early stages of their career. These have included k.d. lang,[12] Shakura S’Aida, Good Lovelies, Moscow Apartment,[13] Jadea Kelly, The Jerry Cans,[14] Loreena McKennitt,[15] Jenie Thai, Serena Ryder, T. Nile[16][17][18][19] Ariana Gillis, Alejandra Ribera, and Ani DiFranco.

Other clients have included Ian Tyson, Long John Baldry, Prairie Oyster, Crash Test Dummies. He has handled Toronto "celebrity" publicity for Sir George Martin, Eric Idle, Alice Cooper, Billy Connolly, and Chuck D.

Concert Promotion

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As a concert promoter Flohil has promoted a wide variety of artists in many different Toronto venues. He presented the first Canadian appearances of Muddy Waters, B. B. King and Bobby Bland, Buddy Guy and The Chieftains.

Other artists he has presented in concert include Miles Davis, Stephane Grappelli, Benny Goodman, Chuck Berry, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Ry Cooder, Long John Baldry, Maynard Ferguson, Leon Redbone, Honeyboy Edwards, Jeff Healey,[20][21] and Ian Tyson.

Management

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Flohil co-managed Downchild Blues Band for several decades.[22][23][24][25][26][27] He notes that as a publicist, he has frequently acted as manager and agent, especially for new artists.

Journalism

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Flohil began his career as an apprentice trainee reporter on the Evening Press in York, England. Later Flohil worked on The Bradford Telegraph and Argus before becoming chief reporter of The Selby Gazette and Herald. Moving to Canada in 1957, he edited trade magazines, and freelanced for Canadian High News. He edited The Canadian Composer[28] from 1970 to 1993, co-founded the weekly trade magazine The Record.[29] Flohil now writes for FYI Music News, Roots Music Canada, and The Sound Cafe.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]

Folk festivals

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In addition to his involvement with the Mariposa Music Festival as programming director, Richard Flohil is a regular workshop host and MC at festivals in Canada, such as the Mariposa Folk Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival, the Calgary Folk Music Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and the Hillside Festival.[37][38]

Awards and nominations

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1990: Special Achievement Award, Casby Music Award

1999: Golden Porcupine For Lifetime Achievement Award[39]

2005: Blues Booster Award,[40] Toronto Blues Society

2006: Estelle Klein Award,[41] Folk Music Ontario

2009: Special Achievement Award,[42] SOCAN

2010: Spirit of Folk Award,[43][44][45] Folk Alliance International

2010: Keeping the Blues Alive Publicist of the Year Award,[46] Blues Foundation, Memphis, Tennessee

2016: Unsung Hero Award,[47][48] Canadian Independent Music Association

2017 : Hall of Fame, Mariposa Folk Festival[49]

References

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  1. ^ Hill, Michael (6 May 2017). The Mariposa Folk Festival: A History by Michael Hill. ISBN 9781459737754.
  2. ^ "Mariposa Folk Foundation | Hall of Fame".
  3. ^ "Mariposa Folk Festival 69 · York University Libraries – Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections online exhibits". archives.library.yorku.ca.
  4. ^ "Mariposa Folk Festival – July 6–9 in Orillia Ont.: The Flohil report". 12 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Music promoter Richard Flohil reflects on a six-decade career – The Star". Toronto Star. 27 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Richard Flohil".
  7. ^ "Richard Flohil, music publicist and concert promoter". Roam New Roads. 4 May 2016.
  8. ^ Barclay, Michael; Jack, Ian A. D.; Schneider, Jason (June 2011). Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock Renaissance, 1985–1995. ISBN 9781554909681.
  9. ^ "Music Memory – Richard Flohil" – via Jazz FM 91.
  10. ^ "Hifi Salutes: Richard Flohil, music publicist and concert promoter" – via Road New Roads.
  11. ^ "Music promoter Richard Flohil reflects on a six-decade career". Toronto Star.
  12. ^ "Feature Article: k.d. lang – Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee". nicholasjennings.com.
  13. ^ "Richard Flohil – Mundial Montréal". mundialmontreal.com.
  14. ^ "At folk fest, the talk can be as good as the tunes" – via The Calgary Herald.
  15. ^ https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1994/3/28/celtic-dreams Celtic dreams
  16. ^ "Mixcloud".
  17. ^ "In-D-Exposure, 2nd Edition: Ryder and Ruthledge" – via Blog TO.
  18. ^ "An idol in the making: Serena Ryder opens up on depression and a music career poised for greatness". The Globe and Mail.
  19. ^ Head, Live Music. "Richard Flohil". notinhalloffame.com.
  20. ^ "Jeff Healey recovering from lung cancer surgery" – via CTV News.
  21. ^ Watson, Cindy (30 August 2010). "Out of Darkness: The Jeff Healey Story". ISBN 9781770704787.
  22. ^ "Richard Flohil" – via Not in Hall of Fame.
  23. ^ "Downchild Still Rockin' 28 Years On". Billboard. 26 April 1997.
  24. ^ "Music Biz Veteran Richard Flohil Celebrates 85th Birthday with Charity Concert" – via Samaritan Mag.
  25. ^ "A Conversation With ... Richard Flohil". FYIMusicNews. 10 June 2016.
  26. ^ "The Blues Foundation". Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  27. ^ "Richard Flohil's top three music moments". The Globe and Mail.
  28. ^ "Rush: Living the Rock and Roll Lifestyle – The Canadian Composer Magazine – January 1975". cygnus-x1.net.
  29. ^ "The Record". Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Festival Touring in a Sunburned Country". 28 February 2021.
  31. ^ Young, David (8 September 2005). "The CBC and the Juno Awards". Canadian Journal of Communication. 30 (3): 343–366. doi:10.22230/cjc.2005v30n3a1549 – via cjc-online.ca.
  32. ^ "Toronto Blues Society | » Keynote Speaker".
  33. ^ Petersen, Holger (2011). Talking Music. ISBN 978-1554830336.
  34. ^ Richard Flohil Interview – 2011 Songwriter's Market by Editors of Writer's Digest Books.
  35. ^ Richard Flohil Interview – Is This Live?: Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic: The Nation's Music Station by Christopher Ward.
  36. ^ Flohil, Richard (5 July 1975). "A Week in the Life of a PR Person" (PDF). RPM Magazine. 23 (19) – via rpm-magazine.
  37. ^ "Richard Flohil's War Stories @ Prince's Island Park. 2015 Calgary Folk Music Festival – www.flickr.com/". flickr.com. 24 July 2015.
  38. ^ "Toronto Blues Society – " Keynote Speaker".
  39. ^ "Porcupine Awards, by Steve Fruitman". backtothesugarcamp.com.
  40. ^ "Toronto Blues Society – " Veteran Music Promoter Richard Flohil to be honoured with Blues Booster Award".
  41. ^ "FMO Award Winners :: Folk Music Ontario".
  42. ^ "Rush, Stompin' Tom among SOCAN Award winners – The Star". Toronto Star. 23 November 2009.
  43. ^ "Folk Alliance International". folk.org.
  44. ^ "Rush, Stompin' Tom Connors among SOCAN Award winners – CTV News". ctvnews.ca. 24 November 2009.
  45. ^ Torontoist (27 June 2014). "Urban Planner: June 27, 2014". Torontoist.
  46. ^ Publicist Sarah French Awarded Keeping The Blues Alive Award from The Blues Foundation. Retrieved 11 February 2019
  47. ^ "CIMA Award Winners: What Was Said". FYIMusicNews. 15 June 2016.
  48. ^ "Gala Awards – Canadian Independent Music Association". cimamusic.ca.
  49. ^ "Hall of Fame".
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