RECIPIENT
MARS BONFIRE
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT & HALL OF FAME AWARD
The Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame Award goes to an individual that resides or resided, works or worked in the Durham Region and made a substantial and prolonged impact on the music community. The impact helped to develop and strengthen the Durham Region music community.
The DREAMS! Music Awards 2025 Lifetime Achievement & Hall of Fame Award was awarded Mars Bonfire
Born Dennis Eugene McCrohan in Oshawa, Ontario, Mars Bonfire found his love for music early, spending time at the Jubilee Pavilion Ballroom where his father worked. Surrounded by live swing bands and dancers, he became captivated by the power of music and dreamt of becoming a musician.
Though initially encouraged to pursue psychiatry, Bonfire’s passion led him to join a local Oshawa band, which evolved into The Sparrow and later signed with Capitol Records. The band played legendary venues across Ontario and Yorkville Village before moving to New York and signing with Columbia Records. Eventually drawn west, they landed in Los Angeles during the height of the psychedelic era.
It was there that Bonfire found his true voice as a songwriter. Inspired by his solo travels across California, he penned one of rock’s most enduring anthems, “Born to Be Wild.” The song captured the spirit of freedom, rebellion, and the open road—and cemented his legacy in rock history.
Today, Mars Bonfire is celebrated not only for his musical achievements, but for the timeless spirit his work continues to inspire.
MUSIC INDUSTRY LEADER OF THE YEAR
The Music Industry Leader Award goes to an individual or team of individuals who reside or work in the Durham Region. The individual(s) are recognized for their impact, through work and inspiration, in the Durham Music community that helps to strengthen and elevate the music community, and music commerce.
The DREAMS! Music Awards 2025 Music Industry Leader of the Year Award was awarded to Will McGuirk
Will McGuirk is a journalist, writer, instructor, consultant, publisher, and cultural organizer whose career has spanned nearly four decades in Durham Region and beyond. Born in Dublin, Ireland, and emigrating to Oshawa in 1984, McGuirk began working with Torstar in 1985, initially for Oshawa This Week and later for The Toronto Star, where he contributed as both a compositor and a columnist for 28 years.
Passionate about amplifying local music and arts, he launched the fanzine Wooly Tuque in 1991, chronicling the rise of Oshawa’s indie scene (Crown Lands, Dizzy, and Daniel Caesar), and later contributed columns to durhamregion.com. Over the years, he has curated lineups, booked shows, and organized festivals, including Shwaltz, Art of Transition, Plan B, and Convergence. He is also the host of two Bell Fibe TV shows, Renaissance Man and The Upstairs Basement, and currently manages Kops Records in Oshawa.
His long-standing contributions to arts and culture have been widely recognized. McGuirk is the founder of Slowcity.ca, a digital magazine documenting the creative pulse of Durham, and has been instrumental in the development of venues and collectives that continue to shape the region’s cultural identity.
His accolades include the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Oshawa Canada 150 Medal, and the Art of Transition Creative Award. He has served on the Oshawa Cultural Leadership Council, the Public Arts Task Force, and the executive committee of the Oshawa Music Awards.
McGuirk’s legacy lies in his tireless advocacy for the music and arts community, blending journalism, curation, and activism to inspire growth and recognition both locally and nationally.
RECIPIENT
WILL MCGUIRK
