Success in the music industry often hinges on being at the right place at the right time. Saskatoon's Jordan Cook learned this first-hand during his 2012 tour in the United States and Western Europe. A small concert on a cold Chicago night led to invitations for his band, Reignwolf, to play at some of the best-known music festivals in the world.

"When we played Chicago, there was a lot of buzz going on. You never know if people are going to show up on weeknights, especially in December, but that show was lined up out the door. The venue was even surprised. They weren't expecting it to get that crazy. The promoter from Lollapalooza heard about it and we got the call following the show with an offer to play the festival," Cook says. "This has been a dream of mine since I was a kid!"

The tour also led to invitations to play at the Governor's Ball Music Festival in New York, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, and the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Texas. Once promoters heard the band was booked for Lollapalooza, Reignwolf received an invitation to play at the Voodoo Music and Art Experience Festival in New Orleans. "You get on at Lollapalooza and people take notice. It's amazing what word of mouth can do," says Cook.

In his application for the Culture on the Go grant that funded the tour, Cook wrote that the project would be a success if the band generated more attention along the east coast and booked more shows during festival season. "It has exceeded what we thought it was going to be. This has been unbelievable," he says. "Without the grant, there was no chance we would have been able to go on a tour for that long. It opened the window for so many things that we're doing now. I am very thankful."

On the heels of a whirlwind of summer festival performances, Reignwolf plans to release new music in the fall of 2013.

Culture on the Go is funded through an agreement with the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport.

Above: Reignwolf. Photo: Mat Hayward.