A foundation to honour the legacy of [email protected] morning show host Dylan Willows has been launched
The Dylan Willows Foundation for Music will support young and emerging musicians with mentorship, education and opportunities. Whether it’s helping someone record their first demo, learn the ropes of the music business, or take the stage for the first time.
“We are filled with pride, knowing this is for Dylan and everything he stood for,” the Dylan Willows Foundation for Music team said in the social media post about the launch. “But we are equally filled with sorrow, knowing he isn’t here beside us to see it come to life.”
Dylan Willows’ battle with uveal melanoma on June 6, 2024. He was 45. He survived an initial battle with the eye cancer 20 years prior.
Willows was the morning show host for The Zone@913 for 17 years. He was a co-founder of the Vancouver Island Cultural Festival (VIC Fest) that ran from 2011 to 2014. He was also part of an ownership group that purchased Sugar Nightclub and ran the venue as Capital Ballroom from 2016 to 2019. Music was a huge part of his life.
The foundation has launched an online auction that closes Monday September 29, 2025. Some of the items up for auction include a private concert with Jesse Roper at Swans Penthouse, a guitar signed by numerous Zone artists, Festival packages for on Vancouver Island festivals including Rifflandia, the Phillips Backyard, Song & Surf and Sunfest and gift cards to some Dylan’s favourite restaurants.
Their first event will be ‘The Music Lab’. It will provide emerging artists with an intimate, hands-on music creation experience and career-focused mentorship. Attendees will spend time with leading industry producers to explore the fundamentals of music production, including programming, multitracking, and workflow techniques. The weekend long event will also have sessions led by professionals in artist management, grant writing, marketing, and distribution. Applications for The Music Lab will open October 1, 2025.
Direct donations are also accepted at the foundation’s website dwfoundation.ca
