Manitoba Artists & Industry Earn 26 Western Canadian Music Award Nods

Posted on

Indian City

There will be plenty of chances to celebrate Manitoba talent when the Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) make their way to Victoria this fall. The 2015 nominees were revealed at the official media conference at Victoria’s McPherson Playhouse and at simultaneous announcements across Western Canada, including Winnipeg’s event at Manitoba Music. Manitoba artists and industry earned 26 nominations in 17 categories for the 13th annual celebration of music from the western provinces and territories. The hardware will be handed out at a gala event on September 20.

With four WCMA nominations this year, acclaimed throat singer and composer Tanya Tagaq is looking to add to her impressive list of accolades, which already includes a 2015 JUNO Award and the Polaris Music Prize for her album, Animism. Tagaq is up for Independent Album of the Year as well as nods in the Aboriginal, World, and Spiritual Recording of the Year categories. Animism was also one of the works cited for BC-based Engineer of the Year nominee Sheldon Zaharko and Producer of the Year nominee Jesse Zubot.

Pop/rock group Indian City and rock outfit Dee Erin Band took two more spots in the list of Aboriginal Recording of the Year nominees, for their respective albums, Colors and Broken Road. Manitoba acts also dominate this year’s Spiritual Recording of the Year category, with nods going to world-travelling troubadour Matt Epp for his latest, Luma; JUNO winner Steve Bell for his 25th anniversary retrospective, Pilgrimage.

Other artistic award nominees include local music legend Big Dave McLean for Blues Recording of the Year; last year’s WCMA Hall of Fame inductee Fred Penner for Children's Recording of the Year; violinist Karl Stobbe for Classical Recording of the Year; Ridley Bent for Country Recording of the Year; Joe Silva for Electronic/Dance Recording of the Year; newcomer Laura Enns for Pop Recording of the Year; and Alfa for Urban Recording of the Year.

Manitoba’s industry entrepreneurs and music companies are ready to shine at the industry awards, which will be handed out September 19, landing 10 nominations. This year’s nominees for Manager of the Year include Paquin Entertainment Group's Gilles Paquin (Del Barber, Bachman & Turner, Buffy Sainte-Marie), Tim Jones of Pipe & Hat (Mise En Scene, The Noble Thiefs, The Revival, Sc Mira), and Might Cypress Talent’s Stu Anderson (The Bros. Landreth). Paquin Entertainment Group added its 12th nod for Agency of the Year. Paintbox Recording’s Michael Falk landed a nod for Engineer of the Year for his work with Heartbeat City, Alfa, Tracy Dahl, Ghost Twin, and Les Jupes.

The West End Cultural Centre and The Park Theatre are both vying for Live Music Venue of the Year, with Jason Hooper (West End Cultural Centre) and Julien Desaulniers (Festival du Voyageur) earning nods for Talent Buyer of the Year.

Already a JUNO winner this year for her work on Steve Bell’s Pilgrimage, Roberta Hansen is up for Album Design of the Year, along with Neil Dyck and Lee Froese for Jess Reimer’s The Nightjar and The Garden. The artwork for Tim Neufeld and The Glory Boys’ The Joy also landed a design nod for BC’s Josh Mitchinson and Fuel Party.

The awards gala is the pinnacle event of BreakOut West, which will be held September 17-20, 2015. The event features a conference and music festival with 60 showcasing acts in addition to the two awards shows. BreakOut West presents an incredible opportunity for emerging and established artists to be a part of the Western Canadian music community. Participating artists and other music professionals have the chance to meet key industry stakeholders creating the opportunity for a new wave of exciting industry developments from record deals to international tours.

For a complete list of 2015 WCMA nominees, please visit breakoutwest.ca.

2015 Western Canadian Music Awards - Manitoba Nominees

ABORIGINAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Dee Erin Band - Broken Road
Indian City - Colors
Tanya Tagaq - Animism

BLUES RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Big Dave McLean - Faded But Not Gone

CHILDREN'S RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Fred Penner - Where In The World

CLASSICAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Karl Stobbe - Ysaÿe Sonatas For Solo Violin

COUNTRY RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Ridley Bent - Wildcard

ELECTRONIC/DANCE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Joe Silva - Memory Fade

INDEPENDENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Tanya Tagaq - Animism

POP RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Laura Enns - Nothing to Prove

SPIRITUAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Matt Epp - Luma
Steve Bell - Pilgrimage
Tanya Tagaq - Animism

URBAN RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Alfa - Harmattan

WORLD RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Tanya Tagaq - Animism

Industry

AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Paquin Artists Agency

ALBUM DESIGN OF THE YEAR
Roberta Hansen - Pilgrimage by Steve Bell
Neil Dyck/Lee Froese - The Nightjar and The Garden by Jess Reimer

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Michael Falk - Heartbeat City, Alfa, Tracy Dahl, Ghost Twin, Les Jupes

LIVE MUSIC VENUE OF THE YEAR
The Park Theatre Cafe
West End Cultural Centre

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Gilles Paquin (Paquin Entertainment.Group)
Stu Anderson (Mighty Cypress Talent)
Tim Jones (Pipe & Hat)

TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR
Jason Hooper (West End Cultural Centre)
Julien Desaulniers (Festival du Voyageur)

Read more news