Young People Doing Cool Shit Jan 2026
Featuring Jahlyssa, Jennifer, and Shaneka at Black Canadian Women in Music; Conor Dunnette at OUTTALINE; Gabbie Clarke at Emergency Contact; and Mark O’Keeffe at Universal Music Canada.
GABBIE “GIBS” CLARKE
Emergency Contact • Gabbie is an artist manager and creative producer based in Toronto, where she produced the music video “Father’s House” for JUNO Award-winning artist Ryan Ofei. “Father’s House”
was supported by Prism Prize and recently selected for the "Canadian Music Video Showcase" at the 2025 Toronto International Music Video Festival. Gabbie also produced DijahSB’s “Overtime”.
Gabbie manages two artists: Lockimara and Ania Hoo. “A standout moment for me was managing the release of Ania Hoo’s “Club Venus” single that got the attention of press, blogs and Miss Milan (Official DJ for Doechii),” says Gabbie. “It was a period of intense focus and DIY.” The work paid off when Ania signed a deal with Roc Nation Distribution shortly after.
Gabbie has further produced songwriting camps, promoter for Sojourn Festival, served as an award-winning Audio Editor with Media Girlfriends and Vapor Music. She currently oversees Dylan Sinclair’s digital operations at Five Stone Records. “My goal through [creative project and management service] Emergency Contact is to provide the infrastructure that allows artists to scale their vision without losing their community roots.”
Follow along: @gabbie.gib
CONOR DUNNETTE
OUTTALINE • Conor is the Founder of OUTTALINE, a boutique event production and artist management firm, and the recent winner of the inaugural Emerging Leader Award from The Remix Project, supported by Awesome Music.
Conor’s artist Kyle Wildfern, whose infectious personality has generated recent social media buzz, released his debut album and sold out two headline shows. His mixtape Stolen George will release this April.
OUTTALINE also manages Garçons—“This year the boys are returning with exciting new music that’s inventive and mature,” says Conor. OUTTALINE has been producing events in Toronto since 2017, showcasing more than 100 artists and hosting thousands across 25+ events.
Follow along: @outta.line / outtaline.co
JAHLYSSA, JENNIFER, AND SHANEKA
Black Canadian Women in Music (BCWM) • The three founders of BCWM formed the organization to create opportunities for Black Canadian women and gender-diverse individuals in the Canadians music business to meet, connect, and collaborate through events and an online community.
In their first year, the group grew to 100 members, hosted two mixers and two collaborative events (with The Gift Shop and Cyro Sounds), and worked with 40 sponsors—made up mostly of Black- or women-owned businesses.
“We’ve started a platform not only to make change, but also to create endless opportunities within our network,” they say. 2026 will see BCWM continue to focus on cultivating unique experiences, collaborations, and education.
Follow along and support BCWM: @bcwminmusic
MARK O’KEEFFE
Universal Music Canada • In late 2025, Mark signed his first artist, Ebril, in his new role as A&R Director at UMC. Ebril’s single, "Stranger in You", went viral last summer, generating over 20 million global streams, 1 billion views across UGC, and 250k+ TikTok Creates.
“I’m incredibly proud to be championing Ebril's art alongside our team, expanding the reach of her album, In Copula, to an even wider audience while continuing to support her growth as an artist as we work on her sophomore record.”
Originally from Ireland, Mark relocated to Canada in 2019, joining Universal shortly thereafter. He spent time both in physical operations and marketing, where among other projects he spearheaded the Olivia Rodrigo GUTS Gallery in Toronto.
Mark sees his work as an opportunity to "invest, develop, and build these stories from Canada to the world”, paving the way for domestic artists on the global rise.
Follow along: umusic.ca / @umusic
