The Recognition I Never Expected

Editorial by Stevie Connor | The Sound Cafe Journal

Stevie Connor nominated for Industry Person of the Year at the Mississauga Music Awards

There are moments in life when somebody tells you something and, for a few seconds, you don't quite know how to respond. This was one of them.

I have been nominated for Industry Person of the Year at the Mississauga Music Awards. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm still trying to get my head around it. Not because I don't appreciate it, quite the opposite. It means more than I can easily put into words.

The nomination is presented by the Mississauga Board of Trade, and to find my name among people doing important work in the music community is an honour I don't take lightly. But there is something else about this particular nomination that makes it feel different. For me, music has never really been about the awards. It has always been about the people.

It started with a love of music

Long before there was The Sound Cafe Journal, there was a young Scottish lad with a love of music. There were pipes and drums. There were football grounds. There were journeys. There were friendships. There were records. And there were countless moments when music somehow managed to make sense of the world around me.

Years later, after moving to Canada, that relationship with music took another turn. I founded Blues & Roots Radio in 2012. What started as an idea became something much bigger than I could have imagined. It became a community. It connected artists and listeners across borders, gave independent musicians a platform, and, perhaps most importantly, taught me that there are an awful lot of people working incredibly hard behind the scenes who don't always get recognised.

The people who book the shows. The people who run the festivals. The promoters. The photographers. The journalists. The broadcasters. The volunteers. The people sitting in small offices late at night trying to figure out how to make the next thing happen. The people who simply believe that music matters.

I became one of those people.

We started with an idea in 2012: to create a platform that would feature and support independent artists, many of whom were working away from the mainstream spotlight. Who would have thought that nine years later, in 2021, we would be awarded Best International Radio Station by ISSA, the International Singer Songwriter Association, the very organisation representing the kind of independent artists we had set out to shine a light on. That moment felt like a full circle. We had started by trying to give independent artists a voice, and somehow, along the way, those same people had given something back to us.

From Blues & Roots Radio to The Sound Cafe

The Sound Cafe was actually born in 2020, while Blues & Roots Radio was still part of my life.

When Blues & Roots Radio eventually came to an end in 2024, I thought perhaps that chapter was finished.

It wasn't.

It simply changed shape.

Over time, The Sound Cafe evolved into The Sound Cafe Journal, and I began to understand what it could become.

Today, the Journal has grown into something I am enormously proud of. It is a place for stories. Not just news. Not just publicity. Not just reviews. Stories, the stories behind the songs, the people behind the music, and the festivals, venues, communities, and characters that make this business what it is.. and increasingly, it has become a place where we can document music history while it is still happening.

That matters to me. Because somewhere down the road, someone may want to know what it was like. Who was there. Who cared. Who kept the lights on. Who gave an artist a chance. Who was standing in the room when something special happened.

That is why I have always believed that music journalism should be more than simply telling people what is new. It should also remember.

This nomination isn't really about me

That's probably the most difficult part of accepting something like this. Because while my name is on the nomination, I don't see it as being about one person. I see it as recognition of a journey, and there have been a lot of people on that journey.

Anne, for starters. Without her support, encouragement, and belief in what I have been trying to build over the years, none of this would look the way it does.

Then there is the incredible team around The Sound Cafe Journal: our writers, contributors, photographers, friends in the music industry, and the artists who continue to trust us with their stories. They all have a piece of this. So does every person who has ever listened to Blues & Roots Radio, read an article in The Sound Cafe Journal, shared something we published, introduced us to an artist, invited us to a festival, or simply said, "Keep doing what you're doing."

Those words carry more weight than people probably realise.

Coming home

There is another reason this nomination feels particularly special. I live in Mississauga. This is home. I didn't grow up here, and I wasn't born here. My journey to Canada was a long and winding one. But somewhere along the way, this city became part of my story. And now, to be recognised by the music community here is incredibly humbling.

I have spent much of my life looking outward, across Scotland, across Canada, across North America, and across the wider music world. But sometimes you don't realise how important the place underneath your feet has become until somebody turns around and says: We see what you're doing.

That's what this nomination feels like. A little bit of recognition from the community I am fortunate enough to call home.

The industry needs people who care

I have never really thought of myself as an "industry person." I've always felt more comfortable being the guy in the corner with a notebook, a camera, a press pass, or a microphone, trying to find the story. But perhaps that's what an industry person actually is: someone who cares. Someone who turns up. Someone who supports artists when there isn't necessarily anything in it for them. Someone who understands that the music industry isn't built solely on the names at the top of the poster.

It is built by thousands of people. And every one of those people matters.

That's why I am particularly proud that this nomination is for Industry Person of the Year. If I have contributed anything over the years, I hope it has been to make the road a little easier for somebody else. To open a door. To shine a light. To tell a story that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. To remind an artist that somebody is listening.

Whatever happens...

Of course, there is an award at the end of this. There will be a winner, applause, photographs, speeches, and a few nervous moments when somebody opens an envelope. And yes, I'd be lying if I said winning wouldn't mean something to me. It would.

But the nomination itself has already given me something. It has made me stop, look back, and realise just how far this journey has traveled. From a young Scottish musician to Canada, to Blues & Roots Radio, to The Sound Cafe, to The Sound Cafe Journal, and to the people and stories I've been lucky enough to encounter along the way. And now, somehow, to an Industry Person of the Year nomination in Mississauga.

Life has a funny way of bringing you full circle.

So, to the Mississauga Music Awards, thank you. Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for recognizing the work. And thank you for recognising something that I have always believed: music isn't just about the people on the stage, it's about everyone who helps make sure the music gets there in the first place.

If my name represents even a small part of that community, then I am incredibly proud. And whatever happens on the night, I'll be there, probably a little overwhelmed, probably wondering how the hell I got here, but most definitely grateful.

Sometimes the greatest recognition isn't winning. Sometimes it's simply being told that the journey mattered.

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The Sound Cafe Journal

Where the story behind the music matters.

Find Out More About Stevie Connor HERE

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Find Out More About The Awards HERE