The Swinging Belles, Mark Bragg and Fortunate Ones are each nominated in five categories for this year’s 2018 MusicNL awards.
The nominees were announced Friday during an event at Fred’s Records in downtown St. John’s.
In making the announcement, the association also made another significant announcement regarding an effort to advance diversity in the province’s music industry, as many believe women and indigenous people are under-represented at local events.
Other multiple award nominees include Ouroboros, The Ennis Sisters and LeRiche with four each, followed by Rum Ragged, Mallory Johnson, Property, Kellie Loder, Carolina East, Glen Collins and Paul Brace, each with three.
Johnson and Carolina East — both first-time solo nominees with highly acclaimed work this year — both got cheers from the crowd in the room when their names were announced in each category.
“This is so exciting,” Johnson said outside Fred’s after the event. “It’s been an awesome year.
“Just to be in the room with so many friends and people in the industry who I’ve loved and looked up to, and to be in the same categories with them ... It’s just a good day.”
Johnson, of Conception Bay South — who was nominated for a MusicNL award in 2005 with her family band the Cormiers — has been working hard in Nashville with some high-profile musicians. Her self-titled, six-song EP is produced by Sammy Keyshaw, a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum country entertainer.
Carolina East has been on Cloud 9 since her debut self-titled album, featuring the single, “That’s Okay,” was released earlier this year and garnering plenty of attention.
“It’s amazing,” she said if her nominations. “All you want is to have your music appreciated and this is an honour.
“It’s been a crazy year and I’m excited to keep going. I’m releasing another album in September, so this is just the start.”
She said she owes a lot to Rob Wells in Toronto and Sobha, who helped co-write her EP.
“They really helped me find my voice and figure out who I needed to be as an artist,” she said.
“Once I figured that out, things just kept going. It’s been a fantastic year.”
MusicNL executive director Glenda Tulk said there were an unprecedented number of applications for industry awards, “which we hope marks a growth in the infrastructure of the music industry in this province,” she added.
The winners will be announced Sunday, Oct. 14, during MusicNL Week, which runs Oct. 10-14 in Twillingate.
MusicNL Week is the association’s annual conference and festival, a week-long series of educational sessions, showcase performances and networking events culminating in the annual awards show.
As part of its new export strategy, MusicNL will offer an export buyers program, which will give local artists an opportunity to connect with guest delegates from across Canada, the United States and the UK.
This announcement of nominated acts signals the beginning of MusicNL member voting, which will decide the winner in each respective category.
Paid members of MusicNL can log into their accounts at www.musicnl.ca to vote. For more general information about MusicNL membership, visit its website or contact [email protected].
As part of MusicNL Week, in an effort to address the problem of unequal representation of women and racially diverse populations, MusicNL announced it is partnering with the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society to host a diversity forum for festival and music presenters. The forum will focus on advancing diverse acts during festivals and performances across the province.
“We are confident that all festivals and events can advance diversity by learning from each other and working together,” Tulk said.
She said the goal of the forum is to create discussion about how to encourage presenters to book more diverse populations with a highlight on women and indigenous artists.
Participants will engage in an effort to evaluate the inherent bias of presenters. A working group will be established to formulate goals that festival organizers and other presenters can strive toward to create more diverse and representative programming in the music industry throughout the province, Tulk added.
John Drover, president of the NL Folk Arts Society said, “Diversity on stage is important and we can undoubtedly do better.”
Groups expected to participate in the forum include the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, George Street Festival, Lawnya Vawnya, Iceberg Alley Performance Tent Concerts and St. Anthony’s Iceberg Festival.
Further details of the forum will be released in the coming months. Those interested in participating can contact MusicNL at 754-2574.
Earlier story:
The Swinging Belles, Mark Bragg and Fortunate Ones each garnered five nominations for this year’s 2018 MusicNL awards.
The nominees were announced today during an event at Fred’s Records in downtown St. John’s.
Other multiple award nominees include Ouroboros, The Ennis Sisters and LeRiche with four each, followed by Rum Ragged, Mallory Johnson, Property, Kellie Loder, Carolina East, Glen Collins and Paul Brace, each with three.
“The MusicNL Awards are an opportunity for the province’s finest artists and music industry professionals to be recognized for excellence in their craft,” MusicNL executive director Glenda Tulk said.
“We’ve had some world-class applicants again this year and we are pleased to honour them.”
Tulk said there were an unprecedented number of applications for industry awards, “which we hope marks a growth in the infrastructure of the music industry in this province.”
The winners will be announced Sunday, Oct. 14, during MusicNL Week, which runs Oct. 10-14 in Twillingate.
MusicNL Week is the association’s annual conference and festival, a week-long series of educational sessions, showcase performances and networking events culminating in the annual awards show.
As part of its new export strategy, MusicNL will offer an export buyers program, which will give local artists an opportunity to connect with guest delegates from across Canada, the United States and the UK.
This announcement of nominated acts signals the beginning of MusicNL member voting, which will decide the winner in each respective category.
Paid members of MusicNL can log into their accounts at www.musicnl.ca to vote. For more general information about MusicNL membership, visit its website or contact [email protected].
The association also made another significant announcement regarding an effort to advance diversity in the province’s music industry.
As part of MusicNL Week, in an effort to address the problem of unequal representation of women and racially diverse populations, MusicNL announced it is partnering with the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society to host a diversity forum for festival and music presenters. The forum will focus on advancing diverse acts during festivals and performances across the province.
“We are confident that all festivals and events can advance diversity by learning from each other and working together,” Tulk said.
She said the goal of the forum is to create discussion about how to encourage presenters to book more diverse populations with a highlight on women and indigenous artists.
A working group will be established to formulate goals that festival organizers and other presenters can strive toward to create more diverse and representative programming in the music industry throughout the province, Tulk added.
John Drover, president of the NL Folk Arts Society said, “Diversity on stage is important and we can undoubtedly do better.”
Groups expected to participate in the forum include the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, George Street Festival, Lawnya Vawnya, Iceberg Alley Performance Tent Concerts and St. Anthony’s Iceberg Festival.
Further details of the forum will be released in the coming months. Those interested in participating can contact MusicNL at 754-2574.
The full list of awards and nominees include:
Alternative Artist of the Year
Adam Baxter
Mark Bragg
Paul Brace
Property
The Combine
Weary
Celtic Traditional Artist of the Year
Brad Tuck
Jordan Harnum
Mike Sixonate
Rosemary Lawton
Rum Ragged
Country Artist of the Year
Carolina East
Mallory Johnson
Shanda Hopkins
Sherry Ryan
Spare Time
Electronic Artist of the Year
Alex Byrne
Game Boy
Event of the Year
41st Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival
Feile Seamus Creagh (Irish Newfoundland Traditional Music Foundation)
Labrador Creative Arts Festival
Lawnya Vawnya 8
Trails, Tales and Tunes
FACTOR Album of the Year
Fortunate Ones — Hold Fast
Mark Bragg — Winter
Mick Davis & Thin Love — Touch The Moon
Ouroboros — Kitchuses
The Ennis Sisters — Keeping Time
The Swinging Belles — Superstar Sibling Detective Agency
The Telegram/Central Voice Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year
Chessclub
LeRiche
Mark Bragg
Ouroboros
The Kubasonics
The Swinging Belles
The Anchor Inn Female Artist of the Year
Carolina East
Kellie Loder
Mallory Johnson
Rosemary Lawton
Rozalind MacPhail
Sherry Ryan
Folk/Roots Artist of the Year
Dave Whitty
LeRiche
Quote the Raven
Rube & Rake
Rum Ragged
The Ennis Sisters
Graphic Artist of the Year
Aaron Bishop
Kevin Tobin
Kyle McDavid
Group of the Year
Fortunate Ones
Ouroboros
Property
Rum Ragged
The Ennis Sisters
The Swinging Belles
Industry Professional of the Year
Dean Stairs
Mary Beth Waldram
Michelle Robertson
Robert Buck
Roger Lockyer
Tom Cochrane
Instrumental Artist/Group of the Year
Ouroboros
Rozalind MacPhail
Wade Tarling
Classic Hits Coast 101.1 FM Jazz/Blues Artist of the Year
Dave Mundy and the Best Kind
Earle and Coffin
Florian Hoefner
Glen Collins
The Swinging Belles
DC Design House Male Artist of the Year
Dave Whitty
Florian Hoefner
Glen Collins
Mark Bragg
Michael Hanrahan
Paul Brace
Media Person of the Year
Andrew Boyd
Dillon Collins
Greg Smith
Jason Richard Lacour (J-Lac)
Tom Cochrane
Wendy Rose
Long & McQuade Music Educator of the Year
Adam Baxter
Kyle McDavid
Melanie O’Brien
Rozalind MacPhail
Brett Vey
Wade Tarling
The Nickel Music Video of the Year
Fortunate Ones — Northern Star, director Jason Levangie
Ian Foster — New Rush For An Old Town, director Jerry Stamp
Land of the Lakes — Zamboni, director Danielle Hamel
LeRiche - Under Covers, director Charlotte Rabate
The Combine - Victory Road, director James Kean
Waterfront Fire - Head Full Of Fumes, ssdirector Andrew Boyd, Ben Thistle and JordanCoaker
Outstanding Company of the Year
Atlantic Disc & DVD
Bakeapple Productions
Canadian As
Kilbride Music
The Citadel House
The Newfoundland Herald
Pop Artist of the Year
Fairgale
Fortunate Ones
Kellie Loder
Olivia Jones
Streel
Rap/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
ChessClub
JYAY
Lee Fitz
Reggie Morales
Rising Star of the Year
Carolina East
LeRiche
Mallory Johnson
Property
Rube & Rake
Weary
Molson/Coors Rock Artist of the Year
Gene Phillips
Joel Thomas Hynes
Mick Davis and Thin Love
Newspaper Fashion Show
Silver Wolf Band
Waterfront Fire
Ron Hynes SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
Kellie Loder
Mark Bragg
The Ennis Sisters
Fortunate Ones
The Swinging Belles
Side Musician of the Year
Glen Collins
JYAY
Maria Cherwick
Paul Brace
Rozalind MacPhail
Wade Tarling
Venue of the Year
Garrick Theatre
Corner Brook Rotary Arts Centre
The Black Sheep
The Ship
Woody Point Heritage Theatre
Captain’s Pub
Volunteer of the Year
Arlene Churchill
Dee Dee Lannon
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