Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees announced!

The Canadian Folk Music Awards announced their nominees for their 13th edition by YouTube livestream today, celebrating this year’s 75 nominees.

This year’s awards take place in Ottawa, Ontario on November 18 and 19, 2017 at the Bronson Centre. For the first time ever, the weekend’s focus events will take shape as two evenings which are open-to-the-public. Combining the most loved events of the Canadian Folk Music Awards’ first twelve years – the vibrant energy of the live music showcases and the awards gala – will capture the true heart of the folk community. Tickets and wristbands are now on sale online at folkawards.ca/tickets/ Tickets and wristbands can also be purchased in person as of September 26, 2017 at The Record Centre (1099 Wellington St W, Ottawa) or Compact Music (785 & 206 Bank Street, Ottawa). More information about the gala performance line-up will be announced shortly.

Click to watch the 2017 nominees video on the folk awards YouTube channel:

Shining the spotlight on up and coming talent (those eligible must be under 19 at the time of the recording), this year’s Young Performer of the Year nominees include:
• Moscow Apartment for Demo
• Quin Etheridge-Pedden for Embark
• Keltie Monaghan for Someone Tell Her
• The Wolfe for The Wolfe
• John Muirhead for Yesterday’s Smile
The New/Emerging Artist of the Year nominees include:
• Hidden Roots Collective for Come Up, Honey
• Silent Winters for Fireworks & a Small Brigade
• Ken Yates for Huntsville
• Braden Gates for Much Rather Be Sleeping
• The Bombadils for New Shoes
Celebrating innovation in creating new folk sounds, The Oliver Schroer Pushing The Boundaries Award category puts a spotlight on:
• Shreem for Celtic Remixing
• Danny Michel for Khlebnikov
• Mélisande [électrotrad] for Les millésimes
• Turkwaz for Nazar
• Tanya Tagaq for Retribution
Songwriting is a key component of folk music. This year’s English Songwriter(s) of the Year nominees are:
• Oh Susanna for A Girl In Teen City
• Stephen Fearing for Every Soul’s a Sailor
• Scott Cook for Further Down The Line
• Ken Yates for Huntsville
• Amelia Curran for Watershed
The French Songwriter(s) of the Year nominees are:
• Patrice Michaud for Almanach
• Luc De Larochellière for Autre monde
• Vivianne Roy, Katrine Noël, Julie Aubé of Les Hay Babies for La 4ième dimension (version longue)
• Philippe B for La grande nuit vidéo
• Catherine Durand for La pluie entre nous
The Aboriginal Songwriter(s) of the Year nominees are:
• Lisa Muswagon for Buffalo and Rabbits
• Julian Taylor, Kinnie Starr, John Parente, Bill Bell of Julian Taylor Band for Desert Star
• Twin Flames for Signal Fire
• Cindy Paul for The Flight
• Desiree Dorion for Tough Street
World Group of the Year:
• MAZ for ID
• Turkwaz for Nazar
• Beyond The Pale for Ruckus
• Twin Flames for Signal Fire
• Kobo Town for Where the Galleon Sank
World Solo Artist of the Year:
• Louis Simão for A Luz (The Light)
• Farnaz Ohadi & The Mashregh Ensemble for Bird Dance
• Kelly Bado for Entre deux
• Briga for Femme
• The Mardom Movement for Maneli Jamal
Traditional Album of the Year:
• Folklife by Jayme Stone
• La grosse maison rouge by André Brunet
• Rove by Còig
• The Original Jenny Whiteley by Jenny Whiteley
• The Willow Collection by Cassie and Maggie
Traditional Singer of the Year:
• Dave Penny for All Turned Around
• Hannah Shira Naiman for Know The Mountain
• Mélisande Gélinas-Fauteux of Mélisande [électrotrad] for Les millésimes
• Maggie MacDonald of Cassie and Maggie for The Willow Collection
• Sarah Jane Scouten for When the Bloom Falls From the Rose
Contemporary Album of the Year:
• Bird’s Nest by The Fretless
• Hide Not Hair by Abigail Lapell
• I Go Where You Go by Tomato Tomato
• Much Rather Be Sleeping by Braden Gates
• Twin Solitude by Leif Vollebekk
Contemporary Singer of the Year:
• Oh Susanna for A Girl In Teen City
• Stephen Fearing for Every Soul’s A Sailor
• Abigail Lapell for Hide Nor Hair
• Lisa LeBlanc for Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?
• Coco Love Alcorn for Wonderland
Instrumental Group of the Year:
• Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy for A Celtic Family Christmas
• The Fretless for Bird’s Nest
• Scott Macmillan & Colin Grant for Good2go
• Beyond The Pale for Ruckus
• MacIsaac and MacKenzie for The Bay Street Sessions
Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year:
• Don Ross for A Million Brazilian Civilians
• Roberto López for Criollo Electric
• Glenn Chatten for Dragonfly
• André Brunet for La grosse maison rouge
• Maneli Jamal for The Mardom Movement
Vocal Group of the Year:
• The Big East for Hungry Ghosts
• The Bombadils for New Shoes
• Twin Flames for Signal Fire
• Coco Méliès for The Riddles
• Cassie and Maggie for The Willow Collection
Ensemble of the Year:
• Mama’s Broke for Count the Wicked
• Silent Winters for Fireworks & a Small Brigade
• 100 mile house for Hiraeth
• The Jerry Cans for Inuusiq
• Cassie and Maggie for The Willow Collection
Solo Artist of the Year:
• Stephen Fearing for Every Soul’s A Sailor
• Zachary Lucky for Everywhere A Man Can Be
• BEYRIES for Landing
• Leeroy Stagger for Love Versus
• Amelia Curran for Watershed
Children’s Album of the Year:
• Chirp Chirp Happy by Jessie Farrell
• Hear The Music by Fred Penner
• Home Is Family by Ginalina
• Pants on Backwards by Stella Swanson and the Rosie Joyfuls
• Zing-E-Zing! by Madame Diva et Micah le jeune voyageur
Producer(s) of the Year:
• Jim Bryson for Oh Susanna’s A Girl In Teen City
• Stephen Fearing and David Travers-Smith for Stephen Fearing’s Every Soul’s A Sailor
• Danny Michel and Rob Carli for Danny Michel’s Khlebnikov
• Joel Plaskett for Bill & Joel Plaskett’s Solidarity
• Amelia Curran and Chris Stringer for Amelia Curran’s Watershed

This year’s Unsung Hero award recipient will be announced on October 12, 2017. This special category award will also be handed out at the CFMA gala events on November 18 and 19th at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa, Canada.