Nine Nominations for Manitoba Acts As Winnipeg Gets Ready to Welcome the Canadian Folk Music Awards

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There will be plenty to celebrate when the Canadian Folk Music Awards make their first visit to Manitoba next month. Eight Manitoba acts have been nominated for nine awards at the sixth annual celebration of folk, roots, and traditional music from across Canada. The CFMAs will be handed out at a gala event on November 20 at the historic Pantages Playhouse in Winnipeg.

This year’s Manitoba nominees run the gamut from seasoned folk veterans to relative newcomers, including six first time nominees.

Banjo virtuoso Daniel Koulack leads the Manitoba nominees with two nods, his first, for Instrumental Group of the Year and the Pushing the Boundaries award for his release with Saskatoon fiddler Karrnnel, Fiddle & Banjo.

Other local acts making their CFMA debut include: acclaimed singer/songerwriter Nathan Rogers for Contemporary Singer of the Year, Manitoba-born, Montreal-based singer Geneviève Toupin for French Songwriter of the Year, Francophone children’s performer Madame Diva for Children’s Album of the Year, and Traditional Singer of the Year nominee Woody Holler and His Orchestra.

Juno Award-winning singer/songwriter trio The Wailin’ Jennys has a nod for its third full-length, Live At The Mauch Chunk Opera House, recorded live in Pennsylvania. The Jennys previously landed nominations for their 2006 release, Firecracker.

For the second year in a row, Eagle & Hawk has landed a nomination for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year for its newest album, The Great Unknown. Country singer/songwriter Tom Racine is up for an award in the same category for his debut, Three Mile Junction.

The awards gala will feature a diverse evening of stellar Canadian talent, including: multi-instrumentalist David Essig; guitar-slinger Madagascar Slim; multiple 2010 CFMA nominee, The Once; Halifax fingerpicker Don Ross; Blackie & The Rodeo Kings mainstay Stephen Fearing; dynamic singer/songwriter Annabelle Chvostek; bluegrass band Shearwater, and legendary activist/folksinger Heather Bishop. The evening will be hosted by CBC Radio personality Shelagh Rogers and Juno Award-winning veteran entertainer Benoit Bourque.

Founded in 2005, the CFMAs recognize Canada’s outstanding writers, producers and performers of folk music, and the artists who are expanding the genre in innovative and exciting ways. The CFMAs also present a variety of special events running November 19-21, including nominee showcase performances and workshops.

The Winnipeg Host Committee put in a successful bid to host the CMFAs in 2008 and has continued to work closely with the CFMAs to produce November’s events. The Committee, which was responsible for bringing the Juno Awards to Winnipeg in 2005, consists of several local music industry professionals and stakeholders, including Manitoba Music executive director Sara Stasiuk, Winnipeg Folk Festival executive director Tamara Kater, Winnipeg Folk Festival artistic director Chris Frayer, Manitoba Homecoming 2010 executive director Kevin Walters, Manitoba Film & Music manager of music programs Jason Smith, arts management consultant with the Department of Culture, Heritage, and Tourism Sam Baardman, Manitoba Music program manager Sean McManus, West End Cultural Centre artistic director Mike Petkau, and Dominic Lloyd.

Find out more about the Canadian Folk Music Awards at www.folkawards.ca.

2010 CANADIAN FOLK MUSIC AWARDS – MANITOBA NOMINEES

CHILDREN’S ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Madame Diva – Madame Diva

TRADITIONAL SINGER OF THE YEAR
Woody Holler and His Orchestra - Western Skies

CONTEMPORARY SINGER OF THE YEAR
Nathan Rogers - The Gauntlet

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Daniel Koulack and Karrnnel - Fiddle & Banjo

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Wailin' Jennys - Live At The Mauch Chunk Opera House

FRENCH SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Geneviève Toupin - Geneviève Toupin

ABORIGINAL SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Eagle & Hawk - The Great Unknown
Tom Racine - Three Mile Junction

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
Daniel Koulack and Karrnnel - Fiddle & Banjo

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