Nominees for the Maple Blues Awards Released

The Toronto Blues Society unveiled the list of nominees for the 20th edition of the Maple Blues Awards. Held in Toronto every January, the awards are presented to the winners in fifteen distinct categories. Quebec artists have, in recent years, fared very well. This year could yield another bumper crop of awards heading east on the 401.

The Paul DesLauriers Band leads the way with five nominations. Angel Forrest is right behind with four nods. Steve Hill follows with two nominations, as do Cécile Doo-Kingué and Dawn Tyler Watson. Other Quebec musicians nominated are: Stephen Barry, Michael Jerome Browne, as well as Frankie Thiffault and Mat 'Moose' Mousseau of the Ben Racine Band.

The voting period opens on November 2nd, closing up on December 1st. The full list of nomines is below.

Congratulations to all the nominees.

Toronto, ON - October 31 -- Canadian blues artists from coast to coast have been honoured with nominations for the 20th annual Maple Blues Awards, being held on January 23rd at Koerner Hall in Toronto.

Leading the way with multiple nominations are Quebec’s The Paul DesLauriers Band and its members with five nominations, followed by Angel Forrest with four. Ontario’s MonkeyJunk and its members also received four nominations while Toronto/Texas-based The 24th Street Wailers, British Columbia’s David Gogo and Harpdog Brown each received three nominations.

There are several first-time nominees including 17-year old newcomer Spencer MacKenzie, Andre Bisson, Blue Moon Marquee, Debra Power, and Mark Crissinger for New Artist of the Year. There are several acts from across the country that each received two nominations. A full list of nominees is below.

The nominees, selected by a panel consisting of industry professionals from across Canada, are recognized both for their talent as well as their contribution to the growing Canadian blues music scene.

The 20th annual Maple Blues Awards will be hosted by award-winning multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, sideman and producer Steve Marriner of MonkeyJunk, and will feature performances by a half dozen nominees from all parts of Canada, all backed by the all-star Maple Blues Band led by Gary Kendall.

Tickets for the Maple Blues Awards, held at the Royal Conservatory's Koerner Hall in Toronto, are on sale now for $45 - $80 and can be purchased at The Weston Family Box Office, located in The Royal Conservatory building at 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto, by phone at RCM box office (416) 408-0208 or online at The Royal Conservatory. TBS Members, Nominees and Blues Summit Eight Delegates can purchase best available seats for $35.

Voting will open November 1 at 11:59pm Newfoundland Daylight Time (10:29pm EST). Blues fans can vote online for their favourite blues musicians in the eligible categories until December 1. Register at The Twentieth Annual Maple Blues Awards.