Aboriginal Music Week Hits Manitoba Venues

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The inaugural Aboriginal Music Week (AMW09) kicks on November 3 with five nights of music featuring some of the best and most innovative Aboriginal and Native American acts from across North America. The new festival, which during Manito Ahbee: A Festival For All Nations, includes five evening concerts and three free lunch hour concerts at various Winnipeg venues.

The AMW09 line-up hits just about every genre imaginable, from country to pop to urban. Performers include Nashville-based country superstar Crystal Shawanda, Los Angeles indie pop outfit The Bastard Fairies, Saskatchewan hip-hopper Joey Stylez, Calgary alt.rockers Ghostkeeper, Latin soul artist Quetzal Guerrero from Arizona, Toronto roots/rockers Digging Roots, and Inuit electronica producer DJ Madeskimo. Manitoba acts taking the stage include rapper Wab Kinew, country chanteuse Tracy Bone, songwriter/emcee Sadie, teenage country newcomer Darrelyne Bickel, and singer/songwriters Don Amero, Evan Reeve, and Sonia Eidse.

For those looking to get a little something for their iPods, AMW09 is offering up 11 free mp3s from this year's performers, available for free download from www.aboriginalmusicweek.ca.

AMW09 also features three music business workshops at the Manitoba Music resource centre. The workships feature top industry panelists including music video director Matthew Schilling, award-winning graphic designer Michael Wrycraft, and music supervisor Avi Diamond.

There will also be plenty of music at the 2009 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, which will hand out hardware over two nights. The invite-only First Night takes place November 5 at McPhillips Street Station while MTS Centre once again plays host to the nationally-televised awards gala on November 6. This year's performers include Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tracy Bone, Joey Stylez, Inez, Bitterly Divine, Sierra Noble, Digging Roots, Wayne Lavallee, Charlie Major, and George Canyon.

AMW09 and the APCMAs take place during the Manito Ahbee Festival. Now celebrating its fourth year, Manito Ahbee runs November 4-8 and includes an international competition Powwow, education conference, Métis Soirée, and more.

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