Capital Music Week brings music-industry seminars and networking events, plus plenty of ways for the public to join the fun.

Capital Music Week has undergone a dramatic transformation this year as part of an effort to cultivate more musical activity in a greater swath of the city.

In addition to shifting its dates from spring to fall, the scope of the event has expanded with new programming and more venues, from Almonte to Orléans, added to the schedule.

Of course, it’s still a music-industry shindig and schmooze fest organized by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition to lead up to the big celebration of Ottawa-area talent that is the Capital Music Awards, now in their seventh year.

Also being toasted is the international success of Ottawa-based artists such as pop hitmaker Jamie Fine and platinum-selling heartthrob Tyler Shaw.

On the business side, the industry events include an indie music-biz conference, networking parties and the return of Canada After Dark, Ottawa’s nightlife forum, featuring a keynote address by Ariel Palitz, the nightlife mayor of New York City.

But also on tap are events of wider interest to fans, creatives and culture seekers, including several that are free of charge.

Here are five highlights you can catch from Oct. 2-10:

This Ottawa 200 project matched eight established Ottawa-area photographers, including Quest, Ming Wu, Curtis Perry and Sean Sisk, with an emerging photographer, and assigned each pair a café. Their mission was to create a gallery of photos that document an aspect of the city’s music scene. See the results during October at several locations, including Art House Café, Drip House and five Happy Goat cafés.

Ottawa’s largest pipe organ stars in a show that combines the growing fields of immersive entertainment and site-specific installations. On Oct. 8, the instrument at Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre, a grand, former United church with a domed ceiling, will be part of musician Kim Farris-Manning’s arsenal of keyboards during a performance with multidisciplinary artist Kwende Kefentse, who will be creating and layering loops of sound and video in real time. They say it’s a “new way to experience one of Ottawa’s most distinctive heritage spaces.” Tickets are $30, available at showpass.com.

Seeing the stars at Capital Music Week means looking up after the sun goes down. Yes, the night sky is part of this nightlife discussion, thanks to the folks at the Ottawa firm Lightbahn. They’re hosting a free introductory session of night-sky observation led by astronomers from the Royal Astronomical Society of Ottawa, who are hoping to see Saturn through their telescopes. The first in a night-sky series, it takes place on the Wood terrace at the National Arts Centre at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 7. Rain date is Oct. 8. More info at nac-cna.ca.

Ottawa resident Kalle Mattson is not only one half of the musical duo Summersets, but he’s also a songwriting prof at Carleton University. Join the mild-mannered Juno-nominated singer-songwriter at a Bank Street pub for a free workshop on songwriting and lyrics, drawn from the courses he teaches to upper-level university students. You’ll learn the fundamentals, including the five core lyric categories and key songwriting concepts, and try it yourself during hands-on exercises. It’s at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at Irene’s Pub, 885 Bank St. RSVP at frontdoorplus.com

The centrepiece of Capital Music Week is the awards show, which has improved its production quality by leaps and bounds over the last few years. This year’s edition returns to the city’s biggest soft-seater, the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall, and includes a red-carpet arrival for the 60 nominees in 13 categories. Hosting the spectacle are pop-rocker Tyler Shaw and jazz chanteuse Kellylee Evans. Expect a night of hip hop, dance, francophone pop and more, plus a grand finale featuring a rendition of Ottawa’s official 200th-anniversary anthem, Heart of This Place. Tickets are just $15, available at nac-cna.ca.

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

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