Nov 18, 2012

Last night, in my home province of New Brunswick, the city of Saint John played host The Canadian Folk Music Awards.

I already know what you’re thinking, “What are the Canadian Folk Music Awards?”

And I would respond with, “Good question, I’ve never heard of them either.”

So, I figured, why don’t we discover them together!

Obviously, Canadians are well known for their folk music, heck, sometimes I feel like we invented the singer/songwriter, you know? Now in its eighth year, The Canadian Folk Music Awards celebrates Canada’s best folk musicians, recordings and producers in 18 different categories ranging from World Group of The Year and Contemporary Singer of The Year to Traditional Album of the Year and Vocal Group of The Year.

If you’re looking to add some new music to your rotation, I always use these little-known award shows as introduction to music that I’ve never heard of before. In the search for exciting music, why not start with the best!

Here are the winners at this year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Ensemble of The Year
The Fretless

Children’s Album of the Year
Henri Godon

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year
Trent Freeman

Best Instrumental Group
The Fretless

Vocal Group of The Year
The Once

Solo Artist of the Year
Michael Jerome Browne

French Songwriter of the Year
Mes Aïeux

Contemporary Singer of The Year
Rose Cousins

English Songwriter of the Year
Catherine MacLellan

Young Performer of the Year
Lucas Chaisson

Pushing the Boundaries
Sagapool

Traditional Singer of the Year
Lenka Lichtenberg

New/Emerging Artist of the Year
Pharis & Jason Romero

World Group of the Year
Sultans of String

Producer of the Year
Rob Szabo

Traditional Album of the Year
Metis Fiddler Quartet

Contemporary Album of the Year
The Deep Dark Woods