Meet the 2025/2026 BESPOKE Mentees
Please help us congratulate our 2025/2026 BESPOKE mentee cohort! Read their bios below to get to know these music professionals who are breaking barriers and making a difference all over Canada. They will be matched with experienced mentors in music management who will meet with them in one-on-one professional development sessions over the next five months. Their spot on the mentee cohort also includes a bursary and a free membership with us. MMF Canada is excited to support Canada’s next generation of Music Managers and self-managed artists.
BESPOKE Mentorship Program 2025/2026 is presented in partnership with City of Toronto’s music office. Made possible with the support of Ontario Creates. We acknowledge the financial support of FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.
Learn more about the BESPOKE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM program here.
Meet the mentees
Gabbie
BIO: Gabbie is a multidisciplinary creative artist manager, publicist, and producer with over a decade of experience in music and entertainment. Her career spans from an early role at Bell Media to her current position as a Promotions/Media Relations Specialist for accounts like Indie88 and CBC Radio.
Managing artists Ania Hoo and Lockimara, Gabbie leverages a strong production background. While a Music Director at 1080AM Met Radio, she produced the first music video for Juno-nominated Dijah SB using a $10k grant. She later worked in audio engineering at Vapor Music and won four national awards as a lead audio editor for the podcast 'Strong and Free' with Media Girlfriends.
Her artist management successes include securing features for Ania Hoo's "Club Venus" on BBC 1Xtra and coordinating a $15k MVP Prism Prize grant for Juno-winner Ryan Ofei's music video. Gabbie subsequently co-ran and curated the Warner’s Kinfolk BPM Songcamp. She uses her extensive media, production, and artist relations experience to strategically build sustainable careers for emerging musical talent.
Tess Ray Houston
BIO: Tess Ray Houston is a Red River Métis music industry professional and creative based in Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg, MB). They are the founder of Midnight Bannock (MBNK), an artist management and creative consulting agency rooted in empowerment, collaboration, and amplifying underrepresented voices. With over a decade of experience across the arts, Tess combines business strategy with creative perspective to support artists in career development, branding, and storytelling.
Before launching Midnight Bannock, Tess worked with musicians in nonprofit and contract roles, and further developed their practice through programs with Indigenous Music Office, Canada's Music Incubator, Women in Music, and Music Manager's Forum. Their multidisciplinary background spans film, visual arts, and performance, with acting credits on national productions such as the CSA-nominated Crave/APTN series Don’t Even. Today, Tess draws on this wide-ranging experience to help artists build cohesive, authentic identities across stage, screen, and social media.
Ekelle
BIO: Ekelle is a rapper, singer and songwriter from Toronto. who rhymes about what she knows best: her real-life experience! Key music themes include money, sensuality, drama, and identity through her own unique flow and perspective. Her genre of choice is a style she created called Hood Pop - Popular music with a street edge combining elements of hip-hop, pop music, and R&B.
Her 2023 song ‘Flo’ received acclaim as one of Complex’s ‘Best Canadian Tracks of the Week’ received editorial placement from Spotify, and was played on Vibe 105 and Flow 98.7 as well as various college and community stations. As an artist at Cymba Music Publishing Ekelle has garnered placements with Hudson and Rex (2022, 2023), The Stanley Cup Finals (2022), a ZARA France mobile ad (2022), and Popularity Papers (2023). She is currently working on her next album.
Mizzy Mejia
BIO: Mizzy Mejia has worked in the music industry for over 20 years, supporting artists and building infrastructure across BC and Canada. He operates TALA Music and Consulting, as well as Timbre Concerts. His experience spans event and festival production, artist and project management, songwriting, producing, consulting, workshops, and grant writing. As a former touring artist, he understands industry gaps and works to create practical solutions. Mizzy directly manages Jeremy Parkin, Day Day, Pîsim Sb, and Eli Rattlesnake, while also supporting many emerging artists through a “pay it forward” and “each one, teach one” approach rooted in equity and access. He has generated over $730,000 in grants for clients, co-wrote and produced Hayley Wallis’ #1 single “Solo”, and served as General Manager of Land Back Records. Mizzy has produced festivals including Turtle Island Fest, Happyland, and Breakout Festival, and is currently mentored by David McCulloch (Timbre Concerts) to expand into talent buying.
Merv xx Gotti
BIO: Merv xx Gotti is an award-winning Asian Canadian singer-songwriter best known for his solo dream-folk project, Guitar Songs. After extensive touring and two consecutive years showcasing at SXSW in 2024 and 2025, Merv xx Gotti released his debut studio album, Guitar Songs: A Thesis On Low Efficiency Emotional Excavation. Its first single, Jiujitsu, was named one of CBC’s Top 100 Canadian Songs of 2024 and received airplay on more than 21 CBC stations as well as a dozen campus radio stations across Canada and the United States, marking the largest syndication pickup for a Saskatchewan song in the past five years.
Merv xx Gotti has toured widely across North America and abroad, performing at leading international showcase festivals including SXSW, Reeperbahn, and M for Montréal, as well as premier Canadian folk festivals such as SaskJazz Fest, Folk On The Rocks, and Mariposa Folk Festival. He has also shared the stage with Canadian icons Chantal Kreviazuk, Great Lake Swimmers, and Aysanabee.
This year, he won Music Professional of the Year at the Saskatchewan Music Awards and was nominated for SK Arts’ Arts of Celebration Award for Established Artists and Arts Leaders.