Open Concept Productions brings together singer-songwriters and other musicians for innovative performances and creative, organic recordings.

Open Concept draws on years of experience and hundreds of shows, blending professionalism with a personal touch and a sense of artistic experimentation.

An Open Concept show is not "just another gig." It's a chance to branch out, to abandon comfort zones, to connect with the spontaneous spirit of live music.

At Open Concept, we put aside the time to work one-on-one with select artists to help them towards their goals as artists in Toronto. We'll spend time working with artists one-on-one every week or with artists in small groups. Our knowledge of the Toronto music scene comes from both a booker's and artist's standpoint. In addition to more conventional CD release parties, songwriter nights, and rock shows, Open Concept has staged a wide range of remarkable performances, such as:

Duelling Pianos Night
My First Guitar
The High School Reunion Show
Songwriters-In-The-Round
Multilingual Songs Night

Tributes to:

Bob Dylan
Leonard Cohen
Tom Petty
Johnny Cash
Joni Mitchell
Neil Young
Sting & The Police
The Last Waltz
George Harrison & John Lennon

Open Concept also produces an annual holiday album, a joyous synthesis of original material and extemporaneous interpretations of seasonal favourites old and new. Open Concept cultivates relationships and connections with a varied cross-section of the musical community in Toronto and across Canada, including such noted artists as:

Shawn Hewitt
Rob Lamothe
MadViolet
Dayna Manning
Evalyn Parry
Alex Slate
Bob Snider
Ember Swift
Clay Tyson
Deep Water Cooling System

Over the years, Open Concept has worked with and built solid relations with venues both large and small. We continue to bring a unique blend of talent and inventiveness to leading Toronto venues, including:

Clinton's
The Drake Hotel
Free Times Cafe
Jeff Healey's
Oasis West
Third Floor Reilly's
Victory Café

Behind the scenes of Open Concept:

The main creative force and founder of Open Concept Productions is Ryan Ayukawa, a former club booker and jack-of-all-arts. He has been around the Toronto arts scene for years and often missed because he's wearing black and blending in with the dark corners of the room. Having started in poetry, he's expanded to independant booking, promoting and hosting events of all kinds, with a nod to the indie music scene. He's booked from the Free Times Cafe through their run as 'best of toronto" in Eye & NOW in 2000, 2001, 2002, and has always managed to fill the club with paying customers while keeping the artists in the loop and happy. For several year's he's also been active in supporting numerous charitable causes, notably the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Matt Osborne Memorial Trust Fund.

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