The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. The annual awards in 21 categories were presented during four concerts showcasing many of the talented nominees. More than 100 jurors — located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages — determined the recipients in each category.

A complete list of winners in the 2026 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while recorded livestreams of the concerts and awards presentations may be found, along with more information, online at www.folkawards.ca.

Stan Rogers Traditional Singer Award: Matthew Byrne – Stealing Time

Contemporary Singer of the Year: Julian Taylor – Pathways

Vocal Group of the Year: PIQSIQ – Legends

New Artist of the Year: Claire Morrison – Where Do You Go at Night?

French Songwriter of the Year: Guillaume Arsenault – Les plantes continuent de pousser même quand tu dors – Face B

English Songwriter of the Year: Terra Spencer – Sunset

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year: Rachel Therrien – Mi Hogar II

Solo Artist of the Year: Lennie Gallant – Shelter From the Storms

Indigenous Songwriter of the Year:  TIE — Aysanabee – Edge Of The Earth and Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik (PIQSIQ) – Legends

Album Artwork of the Year: Ru Rose – Revival

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award: Oktoecho – Saimaniq Sivumut

Single of the Year: AHI – Human Kind

Contemporary Album of the Year: AHI – The Light Behind The Sun

Instrumental Composer of the Year: Eric Abramovitz, Rebekah Wolkstein and Drew Jurecka – Schmaltz and Pepper

Producer of the Year: Ben Plotnick for “Every Colour Left” by Loud in the Pines

Instrumental Group of the Year: The Fretless – Glasswing

Ensemble of the Year: Cassie and Maggie – Gold and Coal

Traditional Album of the Year: Matthew Byrne – Stealing Time

Global Roots Album of the Year: Kazdoura – Ghoyoum 

Children’s Album of the Year: Ginalina – All the Earth Speaks

Young Performer of the Year: Max Francis – Home

Good Lovelies, Lucy MacNeil and The Andrew Collins Trio snagged three nominations each, while Derina Harvey, Rum Ragged, Ndidi O, Celidh Cardinal, Burnstick, Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen, Mélisande, and Miles Surawell each received two nominations. They are among 107 nominees from throughout Canada vying for awards in 20 categories to be presented during the CFMA 2025 Awards Weekend, April 3-6, in Ottawa, Ontario – the nation’s capital and where the awards were launched 20 years ago.

Lindsey also cited what he called the important work that CFMA is doing in forging connections between artists. “I spoke with one person who didn’t feel part of a community in the music world, and after the CFMA event earlier this year, they had found their folk family and were energized to keep making great music,” he said.

A complete list of the 2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while more information may be found online at folkawards.ca.

Children’s Album of the Year

• Abigail Lapell – Lullabies
• Bon Débarras – J’m’en viens chez vous!
• Henri Godon – Chants de vacances
• Seeka Sings – I Belong
• Will and Seeka – Will and Seeka: Friends with Everyone

Contemporary Album of the Year

• Abigail Lapell – Anniversary
• Boy Golden – For Jimmy
• Juurini – Aqqutinni
• Kaia Kater – Strange Medicine
• Lynne Hanson – Just A Poet
• Sandra Bouza – A Sound in the Dark

Contemporary Singer of the Year

• Camille Intson (Camie) – POEMS IN THE ASHES
• Derina Harvey (Derina Harvey Band) – Waves of Home
• Jeffery Straker (Jeffery Straker) – Great Big Sky
• Ndidi O (Ndidi O) – Simple Songs for Complicated Times
• Esther Wheaton (Onion Honey) – Foul Weather Friends

English Songwriter(s) of the Year

• Celeigh Cardinal, Brennan Cameron (Celeigh Cardinal) – Boundless Possibilities
• Kellie Loder (Kellie Loder) – Transitions
• Ndidi O (Ndidi O) – Simple Songs for Complicated Times
• Ruth Moody (Ruth Moody) – Wanderer
• Shayna Hayes (Shaina Hayes) – Kindergarten Heart
• Adrian Glynn, Brendan McLeod (The Fugitives) – No Help Coming

Ensemble of the Year

• Good Lovelies – We Will Never Be The Same
• Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen – Home
• Rum Ragged – Gone Jiggin’
• Sultans of String – Walking Through the Fire
• The Fugitives – No Help Coming

French Songwriter(s) of the Year

• Alexandre Poulin (Alexandre Poulin) – La somme des êtres aimés
• Michel Robichaud (Michel Robichaud) – Rallumer l’effort
• Reney Ray (Reney Ray) – L’album Temporaire
• Sara Dufour, Dany Placard (Sara Dufour) – On va-tu prendre une marche?
• Lennie Gallant, Patricia Richard (Sirène et Matelot) – Un monde de dissonances

Global Roots Album of the Year

• Dumai Dunai – Sometime Between Now and Never
• Jason Wilson and Ashara – Ashara
• Lemon Bucket Orkestra – Cuckoo
• Merrie Klazek – Dance Around the Sun
• Okavango African Orchestra – Migration

Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year

• Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers (Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers) – Marks on the Ground
• Jason Burnstick, Nadia Burnstick (Burnstick) – Made of Sin
• Celeigh Cardinal (Celeigh Cardinal) – Boundless Possibilities
• Gabrielle Fontaine (Indian City) – Tomorrow
• Mimi O’Bonsawin (Live in Concert) – Live in Concert

Instrumental Composer(s) of the Year

• Alanna Jenish (Alanna Jenish ) – Daleview
• Karson McKeown, Tom Gammons, Tuli Porcher (Inn Echo) – Hemispheres
• Andrew Collins (The Andrew Collins Trio) – The Rule of Three
• Andre Valerio (Tio Chorinho) – Tempestuoso
• Pastelle LeBlanc (Vishtèn) – Vishtèn Connexions Expansion

Instrumental Group of the Year

• Masmoudi Quartette – Villes Éternelles
• Pipeslinger – The King’s Clothing
• Solidaridad Tango – DISTANCIA
• The Andrew Collins Trio – The Rule of Three
• Tio Chorinho – Tempestuoso

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year

• Jason Fowler (Jason Fowler) – FORELSKET
• Jeremie Groleau (Jeremie Groleau) – Uphill
• Merrie Klazek (Merrie Klazek) – Dance Around the Sun
• Miles Zurawell (Miles Zurawell) – Far Afield
• Shaun Ferguson (Shaun Ferguson) – La Lumière De L’Ombre – L’Ombre De La Lumière

Single of the Year

• “What Would Love Do?” (Alternate Version) – Andrew Allen
• “Train Coming” (featuring Eric Gales) – Angelique Francis
• “Wildflower” – Asiah Holm
• “Same Old Me” – Geneviève Racette
• “Tell Me How” – Loryn Taggart
• “Meaning Well” – Mia Kelly

Solo Artist of the Year

• Abigail Lapell (Abigail Lapell) – Anniversary
• Connie Kaldor (Connie Kaldor) – Keep Going
• Loryn Taggart (Loryn Taggart) – The Lost Art of Pulling Through
• Mélisande (Mélisande) – Rembobine
• Orit Shimoni (Orit Shimoni) – Winnipeg
• Sue Foley (Sue Foley) – One Guitar Woman

Traditional Album of the Year

• Bradley Murphy – BEUL
• Brandon Isaak – One Step Closer
• David Francey – The Breath Between
• La Bottine Souriante – Domino !
• Lucy MacNeil – Angels Whisper
• Rum Ragged – Gone Jiggin’

Traditional Singer of the Year

• Abigail Lapell (Abigail Lapell) – Lullabies
• Fathieh Honari (Gordon Grdina’s The Marrow) – With Fatheih Honari
• Ken Whiteley (Ken Whiteley) – So Glad I’m Here
• Lucy MacNeil (Lucy MacNeil) – Angels Whisper
• Mélisande (Mélisande) – Rembobine

Vocal Group of the Year

• Good Lovelies – We Will Never Be The Same
• La Nef – RED SKY AT NIGHT
• Mikha.elles – Camino de mujeres
• Prairie Comeau – L’emprunt(e)
• summersets – small town story

Producer(s) of the Year

• Jason Burnstick, Nadia Burnstick (Burnstick) – Made of Sin
• Gal George Gjurin (Gal George Gjurin) – How about a kiss?
• Joshua Van Tassel and Christine Bougie (Good Lovelies) – We Will Never Be The Same
• David Boulanger (La Bottine Souriante) – Domino !
• (Marie Onile) – Les mots, l’élan et la chance

Young Performer(s) of the Year

• Amelia Parker – Forwards
• Irish Millie – GRACE
• Mary Frances Leahy – First Light
• Paige Penney – INFINITY
• The Salt Beef Junkies – Somewhere In Between

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries

• Irish Millie – GRACE
• James Hill – Uke Heads
• Jonathan Bélanger – Sur le Boulevard
• Kiran Ahluwalia – Comfort Food
• Nastasia Y – Kyiv Soul
• The Andrew Collins Trio – The Rule of Three

New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year

• Derina Harvey Band – Waves of Home
• Lucy MacNeil – Angels Whisper
• Maggie’s Wake – Maggie’s Wake
• Miles Zurawell – Far Afield
• Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen – Home
• Solidaridad Tango – DISTANCIA

More information on Prince may be found online at williamprincemusic.com. Here’s a link for the official video for “When You Miss Someone,” one of the songs on William Prince’s Stand in the Joy album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxVzg0F4fcU.

Mia Kelly, a singer-songwriter from Gatineau, Quebec who writes and performs in both French and English, was the recipient of two Canadian Folk Music Awards. Kelly, who released her debut album, Garden Through the War, in August 2022, was honored as both New/Emerging Artist of the Year and Young Performer of the Year. She was previously named Emerging Artist of the Year by Culture Outaouais and represented Canada as a finalist at the 2023 Jeux De La Francophonie. Visit her website (miakellymusic.com) to learn more about this young artist and to view a few videos.

The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. The annual awards presentation caps a few days of artist showcases. More than 100 jurors — located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages — determine the recipients in each category.

A complete list of winners in the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards follows, while
more information may be found online at folkawards.ca.

Children’s Album of the Year:
Ginalina for Going Back: Remembered and Remixed Family Folk Songs

Contemporary Album of the Year:
William Prince for Stand in the Joy

Contemporary Singer of the Year:
Suzie Vinnick for Fall Back Home

English Songwriter of the Year:
Jacob Brodovsky for I Love You and I’m Sorry

Ensemble of the Year:
Genticorum for Au Couer de l’aube

French Songwriter of the Year:
Aleksi Campagne & Michelle Campagne (of Aleksi Campagne) for For The Giving/ Sans rien donner

Global Roots Album of the Year:
Sophie Lukacs for Bamako

Indigenous Songwriter of the Year:
Kaeley Jade Wiebe (of Kaeley Jade) for Turpentine

Instrumental Composer of the Year:
Vinta for Beacons

Instrumental Group of the Year:
Queen Kong for Fray

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year:
Aaron Colis for Before Daylight in the Morning

New/Emerging Artist of the Year:
Mia Kelly for Garden Through the War

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award:
Kune for Universal Echos

Producer(s) of the Year: (Tie)
Drew Jurecka and Dan Rosenberg for Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango (Payadora Tango Ensemble)

Jill Barber and Erik P.H. Nielsen for Homemaker (Jill Barber)

Single of the Year:
“When You Miss Someone” (William Prince)

Solo Artist of the Year:
William Prince for Stand in the Joy

Traditional Album of the Year:
Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira for All It Brings

Traditional Singer of the Year:
Mary Beth Carty for Crossing the Causeway

Unsung Hero:
John Clarke

Vocal Group of the Year:
The Bombadills for Dear Friend

Young Performer of the Year:
Mia Kelly for Garden Through the War

To mark its 20th anniversary, the Canadian Folk Music Awards return next year to Ottawa, Ontario — where it all began in 2005.

A Winnipeg, Manitoba-based country-folk singer-songwriter from Peguis First Nation, William Prince previously received a Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2017 for his debut release, Earthly Days, which was also a finalist for Indigenous Music Album of the Year. His album Reliever was among the nominees for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in the Juno Awards of 2021, while he won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and English Songwriter of the Year during that year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards. Prince was also among the nominees for Songwriter of the Year, a coveted award that went to Aysanabee, an indigenous artist who, along with previous Juno Award winner Allison Russell, also paid tribute to the late notable artists Gordon Lightfoot and Robbie Robertson during the awards ceremonies.

Here’s a link for the official video for “When You Miss Someone,” one of the songs on William Prince’s Stand in the Joy album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxVzg0F4fcU

Also In the running for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year were The Returner (Allison Russell), We Will Never Be The Same ((Good Lovelies), Beyond the Reservoir (Julian Taylor), and A Light in the Attic (Logan Staats).

David Francey is an expressive and revered Scotland-born and southern Ontario-based singer-songwriter and storyteller. Besides his Juno for The Breath Between, Francey is the recipient of three previous Juno Awards for Roots and Traditional Album – Solo: Right of Passage (2008), Skating Rink (2004), and Far End of Summer (2002). He’s also won several Canaian Folk Music Awards, while Penguin Eggs magazine named Skating Rink and Far End of Summer as Album of the Year in 2003 and 2002, respectively. . Francey, who launched his career as a folksinger-songwriter at age 45 – after working as a carpenter and in rail yards for 20 years, is also the winner of the International Acoustic Music Awards (2010), and a recipient of the prestigious SOCAN Folk Music Award and the grand prize in the folk category for the John Lennon Songwriting Awards. Francey has also had his songs covered by such notable artists as Tracy Grammer, James Keelaghan, the Del McCoury Band, and The Rankin Family.

Here’s a link to enjoy a live performance by David Francey of the title track of his album, The Breath Between, a poignant, introspective reminder of the passage of time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LM6Sa-A8r8

Traditional Roots Album of the Year nominees also included Paint Horse (Benjamin Dakota Rogers), Roses (Jackson Hollow), Second Hand (James Keelaghan), and Resilience (Morgan Toney).

A complete list of JUNO Awards winners can be found, along with additional information, online at junoawards.ca.

Alberta-based singer-songwriter John Wort Hannam picked up two awards (Contemporary Album of the Year and Solo Artist of the Year for his album Long Haul). So too did Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves (Traditional Album of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year for Hurricane Clarice) and Toronto-based, genre bending global roots music instrumental group Sultans of String (Global Roots Album of the Year for Sanctuary and Producers of the Year – Chris McKhool and John “Beetle” Bailey). A number of other artists received awards as well.

John Wort Hannan, who previously received a Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Folk Album of the Year, is an acclaimed folk and roots artist who has also been a winner in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition, a three-time grand-prize winner in the Calgary Folk Festival Songwriting Competition (2004, 2007, 2009), the Gold (top) winner in the Folk/Acoustic Category in the 34th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (2018), and a CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award recipient. The troubadour, whose songs often focus on life in Western Canada and the human experience as seen through the eyes of working people has performed throughout North America and beyond – including during the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London, UK. Long Haul is Wort Hannam’s eighth studio album.

Here’s a link to the official video for the title track of John Wort Hannam’s album, Long Haul:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj9cpSFdIJs.

Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves are a banjo and fiddle duo and are leading players in today’s young generation of roots musicians. Although they have been performing together for several years, de Groot is also known for her intricate clawhammer banjo work with Bruce Molsky, while Hargreaves has accompanied Laurie Lewis and David Rawlings with her powerhouse fiddling and teaches bluegrass fiddle at UNC-Chapel Hill. Hurricane Clarice is the duo’s second album. Blending old and new, its musical repertoire comes from field recordings, old hymns and LPs, as well as modern literary sources and their own original compositions.

Here’s a link to view a video of Allison DeGroot & Tatiana Hargreaves performing tunes from Hurricane Clarice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QzPI7Q5h04.

Sultans of String’s wide-ranging musical palette features elements of Spanish flamenco, Celtic reels, Django-inspired jazz, Arabic, Cuban, and South Asian rhythms, and more. Like Wort Hannam, Sultans of String also was honored for its eighth album during the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Released in November 2021, Sanctuary is the second installment in the band’s Refugee Project, which violinist and bandleader Chris McKhool says is “centered around the positive contributions of refugees and new immigrants to Canada” and tells the story of how to communicate with others through the global language of music. McKhool received a 2021 CFMA as Producer of the Year for its predecessor, Refugee. According to McKhool, Sanctuary’s 11 songs speak to the challenges facing the world’s displaced people – their stories, their songs, their persistence, and their humanity.

Here’s a link to view the official trailer for a film about The Refugee Project that screened during the Canadian Folk Music Awards weekend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvVe90RJwb4.

The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. This year’s 104 nominees spanned the country from Leader, Saskatchewan to Papineauville, Quebec, and from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia to Fredericton, New Brunswick. They were chosen for each category via two-stage jury process. More than 100 jurors, located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages determine the recipients in each category.

A complete list of winners in the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while
more information may be found online at folkawards.ca.

Children’s Album of the Year / Album jeunesse de l’année
Folk For Little Folk Volume 1 (Gordie Crazylegs MacKeeman)

Contemporary Album of the Year / Album contemporain de l’année
Long Haul (John Wort Hannam)

Contemporary Singer of the Year / Chanteur contemporain de l’année
Kyle McKearney (Down-Home)

English Songwriter(s) / Auteur compositeur(s) anglophone
Abigail Lapell (Stolen Time)

Ensemble of the Year / Groupe de l’année
The Slocan Ramblers (Up the Hill and Through the Fog)

French Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur-compositeur(s) francophone de l’année
Geneviève Roberge-Bouchard & Alain Barbeau (J’attends encore)

Global Roots Album of the Year / Album traditions du monde de l’année
Sanctuary (Sultans of String)

Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur compositeur(s) autochtone de l’année
Amanda Rheaume (The Spaces In Between)

Instrumental Group of the Year / Groupe instrumental de l’année
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves (Hurricane Clarice)

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year / Instrumentiste solo de l’année
Waymzy (Inchoate)

New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year / Artiste(s) de la relève de l’année
RedFox (Stranger Love)

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award / Prix Innovation musicale Oliver Schroer
Transcestral (Oktoécho)

Producer(s) of the Year / Réalisateur(s) de l’année
Chris McKhool & John ‘Beetle’ Bailey (Sanctuary – Sultans of String)

Single of the Year / Monoplage de l’année
“Sing Me A Song” (William Prince and Serena Ryder)

Solo Artist of the Year / Artiste solo de l’année
John Wort Hannam (Long Haul)

Traditional Album of the Year/ Album traditionnel de l’année
Hurricane Clarice (Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves)

Traditional Singer of the Year / Chanteur traditionnel de l’année
Lizzy Hoyt (The Parting Glass)

Vocal Group of the Year / Groupe vocal de l’année
The McDades (The Empress)

Young Performer(s) of the Year / Jeune artiste(s) de l’année
Fiddelium (Fiddelium)

The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. This year’s nominees span the country from Leader, Saskatchewan to Papineauville, Quebec, and from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia to Fredericton, New Brunswick. They were chosen for each category via two-stage jury process. More than 100 jurors, located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages determine the recipients in each category.

A complete list of 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while here’s a link to a CFMA nominees Spotify playlist. More information may be found online at folkawards.ca.

Children’s Album of the Year / Album jeunesse de l’année:

• Ça suffit pour s’amuser (Hannah Shira Naiman)
• Folk For Little Folk Volume 1 (Gordie Crazylegs MacKeeman)
• Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule (The Oot n’ Oots)
• The Full Circle (The Relative Minors)
• Tuba Blues (My Friend Christopher)

Contemporary Album of the Year / Album contemporain de l’année:

• Cerulean (Ken Yates)
• Down-Home (Kyle McKearney)
• eleven (Madison Violet)
• Hurricane Coming (Shawna Caspi)
• Long Haul (John Wort Hannam)
• Sanctuary (Sultans of String)
• Tongues (Tanya Tagaq)
• Zhawenim (Digging Roots)

Contemporary Singer of the Year / Chanteur contemporain de l’année:

• Angelique Francis (Long River)
• Barney Bentall (Cosmic Dreamer)
• Boy Golden (Church of Better Daze)
• Ken Yates (Cerulean)
• Kyle McKearney (Down-Home)

English Songwriter(s) / Auteur compositeur(s) anglophone:

• Abigail Lapell (Stolen Time)
• Andrew McClelland aka Li’l Andy (The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925-1930))
• John Wort Hannam (Long Haul)
• Matt Patershuk (An Honest Effort)
• Tim Buckley (Frame by Frame)
• Yael Wand (Saltwater Heartwood)

Ensemble of the Year / Groupe de l’année:

• Over The Moon (Chinook Waltz)
• The Dead South (Easy Listening For Jerks – Part 1)
• The Fretless (Open House)
• The McDades (The Empress)
• The Slocan Ramblers (Up the Hill and Through the Fog)

French Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur-compositeur(s) francophone de l’année:

• Anik Bérubé & Natalie Byrns (Les ébranlements)
• Geneviève Roberge-Bouchard & Alain Barbeau (J’attends encore)
• Héra Ménard & Guylaine Saint-Pierre (Fleurs)
• Matt Stern (Rien qu’un animal)
• Sébastien Lacombe (Le chemin des possibles)

Global Roots Album of the Year / Album traditions du monde de l’année:

• III (Ayrad)
• Sanctuary (Sultans of String)
• Thieves of Dreams / Zloději snů (Lenka Lichtenberg)
• Tradisyon (Wesli Louissaint)
• Until When (Jaffa Road)

Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur compositeur(s) autochtone de l’année:

• Adrian Sutherland (When The Magic Hits)
• Amanda Rheaume (The Spaces In Between)
• Berk Jodoin (Half Breed)
• Kyle McKearney (Down-Home)
• ShoShona Kish & Raven Kanatakta Polson-Lahache (Zhawenim)

Instrumental Group of the Year / Groupe instrumental de l’année:

• Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves (Hurricane Clarice)
• Proulx-Demers (Il fera beau demain)
• RanchWriters (RanchWriters)
• Shannon Quinn & Tony Quinn (20 Summers)
• The McDades (The Empress)

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year / Instrumentiste solo de l’année:

• Ellen Gibling (The Bend in the Light)
• John Reischman (New Time & Old Acoustic)
• Kerry Fitzgerald (Bitz & Beatz)
• Mike Stevens (Breathe In The World Breathe Out Music)
• Waymzy (Inchoate)

New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year / Artiste(s) de la relève de l’année:

• Alex Krawczyk (Le Olam)
• Andrew Waite (Andrew Waite)
• Camie (troubadour)
• Cheval (Singer Songwrecker)
• RedFox (Stranger Love)
• Tennyson King (Good Company)

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award / Prix Innovation musicale Oliver Schroer:

• Flash de mémoire (Mélisande [électrotrad])
• Sanctuary (Sultans of String)
• Thieves of Dreams / Zloději snů (Lenka Lichtenberg)
• Transcestral (Oktoécho)
• Zhawenim (Digging Roots)

Producer(s) of the Year / Réalisateur(s) de l’année:

• Brenley MacEachern & Lisa MacIsaac (eleven – Madison Violet)
• Chris McKhool & John ‘Beetle’ Bailey (Sanctuary – Sultans of String)
• Corwin Fox & Yael Wand (Saltwater Heartwood – Yael Wand)
• Katia Makdissi-Warren (Transcestral – Oktoécho)
• The Fretless & Joby Baker (Open House – The Fretless)

Single of the Year / Monoplage de l’année:

• 100 Proof (Julian Taylor)
• À travers mes yeux (Geneviève et Alain)
• Familiar Feeling (Pretty Archie)
• Heavy Heart (Fortunate Ones)
• Hey Boys Sing Us A Song (The Irish Rovers)
• Love you the Best (Quote the Raven)
• Sing Me A Song (William Prince and Serena Ryder)
• Sweet Desperado (Madison Violet)
• Teeth Agape (Tanya Tagaq)

Solo Artist of the Year / Artiste solo de l’année:

• Barney Bentall (Cosmic Dreamer)
• James Keelaghan (Second-Hand)
• Jocelyn Pettit (Wind Rose)
• John Wort Hannam (Long Haul)
• Suzie Ungerleider (My Name Is Suzie Ungerleider)

Traditional Album of the Year/ Album traditionnel de l’année:

• 20 printemps (Le Vent Du Nord)
• 20 Summers (Shannon Quinn & Tony Quinn)
• Hurricane Clarice (Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves)
• Long Time Travelling (Ken Whiteley)
• Up the Hill and Through the Fog (The Slocan Ramblers)

Traditional Singer of the Year / Chanteur traditionnel de l’année:

• Kim Beggs (Steel and Wool)
• Li’l Andy (The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925-1930))
• Lizzy Hoyt (The Parting Glass)
• Michael Darcy (Down to the Roots)
• Mike Bravener (Have You Ever Heard The Story?)

Vocal Group of the Year / Groupe vocal de l’année:

• Le Vent Du Nord (20 printemps)
• Les Rats d’Swompe (Elixir)
• Mama’s Broke (Narrow Line)
• Quote the Raven (Can’t Hold the Light)
• The McDades (The Empress)

Young Performer(s) of the Year / Jeune artiste(s) de l’année:

• Fiddelium (Fiddelium)
• Paige Penney (Fingers Crossed)
• The Fiddlaires (Fiddletainment)
• The Oot n’ Oots (Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule)
• The Receivers (The Receivers)

2021 Artist, album, and Song of the Year winners were selected by FAI’s voting membership from among groups of finalists based on U.S., Canadian, and international industry year-end lists, as well as folk radio airplay. As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com and recounted below, Lifetime Achievement and Spirit of Folk Awards were also presented, as were several other awards.

A co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago, and formerly part of Po’ Girl, Russell was recognized for her debut solo album, Outside Child. The album was also recently named Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in the Juno Awards and Contemporary Album of the Year in 2022 Canadian Folk Music wards, while she was named English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of it. Outside Child also was nominated for a Grammy for Best Americana album and is among the Americana Honors & Awards nominees for album of the year. Wrought with emotion, its 11 original songs are “about resilience and survival, transcendence and the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family,” says Russell, who faced abuse and trauma during her youth that music has helped her to overcome.

Here’s a link to view the official video for “Nightflyer, one of the tracks on Russell’s award-winning debut album Outside Child: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNJgwj8d9eo.

Social Justice Songwriter Crys Matthews’ “Changemakers” Named “Song of the Year” for 2021

“Changemakers,” the title track of Crys Matthews’ 2021 release, the fourth most-played album of the year on folk radio according to the FAI Folk Charts, was named Song of the Year.

Frequently described as a social justice songwriter, Matthews is a prolific lyricist, composer and multi-instrumentalist whose music blends Americana, blues, bluegrass, folk, funk, and jazz, along with socially conscious themes. Joined by Heather Mae on harmony vocals, she performed “Changemakers” during the International Folk Music Awards Show. Here’s a link to view that performance: https://youtu.be/zVSvYScUtnU?t=6856. And here’s one to view a World One Video recording of the song by JB Nuttle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZbJk-WXaSw.

As the daughter of an A.M.E. preacher, in a small town in southeastern North Carolina, Matthews, who is now based in Nashville, grew up singing in her family’s church and witnessed the power of music from an early age. She won the 2017 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition and also was named the winner of the People’s Music Network’s Social Justice Songs Showcase during that year’s Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference.

“Thank you all so much for all of your love and support in helping to make “Changemakers” the International Folk Music Awards’ Song of the Year,” said Matthews. I could not be more humbled, pleased and overjoyed in having such an important song recognized in that way and that would have never happened if it were not for you – and that’s everyone from the fans who fell in love with that album and listened to it nonstop to, especially, the folk DJs who made sure that that song was in their rotation from the moment it came out well into now and just never let up and just kept showing the album in general so much love, especially “Changemakers,” the title track. I’m so grateful to all of you… This little Aries right here is humbled and in an absolute puddle of love and joy because of all of you.I am so filled with gratitude.”

Jason Mraz, Planet Bluegrass and Mali Obomsawin Honored

Jason Mraz, a multi-platinum Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter known for his positivity and commitment to conservation, ending world hunger, human rights, and LGBTQIA+ issues, received The People’s Voice Award, which is presented to an individual who unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in his/her/their creative work and public careers. Mraz took part in a nonprofit rescue mission in Ghana to liberate children sold into slavery, performed in Myanmar to raise awareness about human trafficking, participated in Farm Aid, visited Antartica to help raise awareness about the environment and climate change, and was present at Standing Rock. His own foundation supports multiple organizations addressing issues to which he is committed and, in 2020, Mraz donated all profits from his Look for the Good album to Black Lives Matter and other groups working toward equality and justice.

Mraz could not be in Kansas City and expressed thanks for the honor via a pre-recorded video. “I was a little shy at first, thinking I’m too young for this award, that I haven’t done or said enough,” he stated. “Then I realized those thoughts and feelings never go away, that nagging thought that I haven’t done enough. But it’s that nagging thought that is indication that we still have energy to give and want to and will,” Mraz continued. “In my few years lapping the planet, I found solace in seeing political and geographic borders dissolve when the lights go down and a concert begins – a clear reminder that we are all just humans connected by stories and/or the energy and vibe of a song… It’s always good to inspire in a song because you never know who’s listening… Thank you for this acknowledgement. It really means a lot.”

Steve Szymanski, vice president and co-founder of Lyons, Colorado-based Planet Bluegrass accepted the Clearwater Award, which is presented to a festival that prioritizes environmental stewardship and demonstrates public leadership in sustainable event production. For more than 30 years, the organization that produces Telluride Bluegrass, Rockygrass Festivals, and Rocky MTN Folks Festival has embraced a “Leave No Trace” ethic and demonstrated environmental leadership by engaging in strategic community-level plans and programs to center the idea of stewardship. Planet Bluegrass is a certified public benefit corporation— a legal entity recognized formally as committed to business practices that are sustainable and beneficial to society and the environment. At each of its respective festivals, Planet Bluegrass incentivizes reuse over recycling. This includes a reusable plate program, annually monitoring and reporting on waste diversion of more than 60% (twice that of the U.S. national average), employing solar power to offset more than 10 tons of CO2 emissions annually, providing composting and compostable bottles, offering free filtered water on site, and donating leftover festival food to local community organizations.

Mali Obomsawin accepted the Rising Tide Award via a pre-recorded video. The award was established in 2021 to celebrate a new generation (under 30) artist who inspires others by embodying the values and ideals of the folk community through their creative work, community role, and public voice. An award-winning Smithsonian Folkways Recordings artist from Odanak Wabanaki First Nation, Obamsawin is a member of the band Lula Wiles, as well as a journalist and the founder and executive director of the Bomazeen Land Trust.

Flaco Jiménez, Nanci Griffith and Swallow Hill Music Recognized for Lifetime Achievement

The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented annually to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures: one Living, one Legacy, and one Business/Academic. This year’s honorees are Conjunto accordionist Flaco Jiménez; the late singer-songwriter and interpreter Nanci Griffith; and folk music organization Swallow Hill Music.

Nanci Griffith, whose music straddled the line between folk and country, a style that she affectionately called “folkabilly,” died on August 13, 2021 at age 68. She was best known for her colorful, narrative tales of small town life that she sang in her warm, crystalline pure voice with a Texas twang. Many of her songs were covered and recorded by other notable artists. An early Kerrville New Folk Winner and a 1995 inductee into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, Griffith was honored by the Americana Music Association with its Lifetime Americana Trailblazer Award in 2008 and received a BBC Radio 2 Folk Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. She released her 18th and last studio album, Intersection, in 2012. Griffith’s1993 Elektra release Other Voices, Other Rooms – featuring interpretations of 17 songs by other songwriters who had inspired her – won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

[Here’s a link to listen to Griffith’s poignant recording of “Love at the Five and Dime”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgGG61nQX0w.]

Swallow Hill Music is a Denver, Colorado-based nonprofit music organization that provides music education, outreach, programming, and concerts for more than 138,000 people annually. Focused on diverse music traditions on stage and in the classroom, Swallow Hill’s organizational values promote inclusiveness. Its school offers music education to all ages, while Swallow Hill also hosts open stages and jams that are open to members and non-members alike. Its community and school outreach programs (including assemblies, field trips and in-school and after-school enrichment activities) have reached thousands of students in the Denver metro area.

Six Individuals Receive Spirit of Folk Awards

Spirit of Folk Awards honor and celebrate people and organizations actively involved in the promotion and preservation of folk music through their creative work, community building, and demonstrated leadership. Recipients included Eugene Rodriguez (musician, educator, documentary producer, and founder of Los Cenzontles — both as a band and as a nonprofit music academy and community space for Latinx artists, youth, and families in the San Francisco Bay area); Lilli Lewis (composer, producer, performing artist, and vice president & head of A &R for Louisiana Red Hot Records); Gaelyn Lea (musician, disability rights activist, co-founder and vice president of RAMPD – Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities, 2016 NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner, and an in-demand speaker); Erin Benjamin (president & CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association, and formerly a singer-songwriter, label owner, and the first executive director of Folk Music Ontario); Amado Espinoza (Bolivian-American multi-instrumentalist, composer and instrument maker, and co-founder of Resonation Music and Arts — using educational programming to inspire curiosity and respect for world cultures through music, dance, and storytelling); and Shain Shapiro (Sound Diplomacy founder and CEO, whose work has influenced more than 75 cities and countries to invest in music and culture).

In addition to the awards, Angela Page (host of Folk Plus on hydro-powered WJFF 90.5 FM Radio Catskill in Jeffersonville, New York since the early 1990s) and Dr. Jonathan Overby (a DJ and Wisconsin Public Radio host who is also an internationally recognized ethnomusicologist and scholar) were inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame.

Folk Alliance International (folk.org) is a Kansas City, Missouri-based nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. Founded in 1989 to connect folk music leaders aiming to sustain the community and genre, it is currently led by Aengus Finnan, who steps down as its executive director next month. “It’s been the personal and professional honor of my life to serve this community and this organization,” he said during the awards show. Finnan, himself, was honored the previous week with the SERFA Founders’ Award during the annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Editor’s Note: As a Folk Alliance International board member, it was my pleasure to join my friend and board colleague Rosalyn Dennett, executive director of Folk Music Ontario, in presenting the Spirit of Folk Awards to Amado Espinoza and Gaelynn Lea.

A soulful Nashville, Tennessee-based, Montreal-born Scottish Grenadian Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and activist, Allison Russell is also a co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago and was part of Po’ Girl. Outside Child is her debut solo album and was also recently chosen as Contemporary Album of the Year in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards, while she was named English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of it.

Wrought with emotion, Outside Child features 11 original songs “about resilience and survival, transcendence and the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family,” says Russell, who faced abuse and trauma during her youth that music has helped her to overcome. She is also among the nominees for both Album and Artist of the year in the International Folk Music Awards to be presented by Folk Alliance International on May 18 in Kansas City, Missouri on the opening night of its annual conference.

Maria Dunn is a Scotland-born, Edmonton, Alberta-based singer-songwriter who describes herself as a storyteller through song and accompanies herself on both guitar and accordion. She writes melodic, often socially aware, songs about ordinary people, while her music fuses Celtic folk with elements of bluegrass and country.

Joyful Banner Blazing is Dunn’s first release in four years and her seventh in a career spanning more than 20 years. Produced by Sharon Johnson of the Juno Award-winning band The McDades (as were her six previous independent releases), Joyful Banner Blazing celebrates resilience, grace, gratitude, solidarity, joy, and the love that fires our actions to make the world a better place. Thrice nominated for Junos, Dunn won an Edmonton Music Prize for her previous album, 2016’s Gathering. Her songs have been recorded Niamh Parsons and The Outside Track, among others, while one of them (“God Bless Us Everyone”) appears in the Rise Again songbook.

A complete list of Juno Awards winners can be found, along with additional information, on line at junoawards.ca.

Russell was named English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of her debut solo album, Outside Child, which was chosen as Contemporary Album of the Year. A soulful Nashville-based, Montreal-born Scottish Grenadian Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and activist, she is also a co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago and was part of Po’ Girl.

Wrought with emotion, Outside Child features 11 original songs “about resilience and survival, transcendence and the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family,” says Russell, who faced abuse and trauma during her youth that music has helped her to overcome. She showcased her talents and also served as the weekend closing curator at the 63rd annual Newport Folk Festival.

Here’s a link to view Russell’s short 2021 highlights video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QzDTi2GWjI and one to view the official video for her song “Nightflyer,” the first single off Outside Child.

Dind-Lavoie is a Quebecois multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. As its name suggests, his album Archives is an anthology of archival recordings – in this case field recordings of French-Canadian traditional songs of the 1940s and 1950s, which he accompanies and embellishes with an array of acoustic instruments and sound effects. Recorded last April, Archives also received the 2021 aux prix GAMIQ for Traditional Album of the Year and du prix Aldor creation 2021 du Festival Trad de Montreal.

With Archives, Dind-Lavoie sought to “highlight [and pay tribute to] the quality of these performers, as well as the work of the folklorists who, in a time when there was almost nothing archived, went out into the field to collect these songs, which had to represent a colossal amount of work. In a Facebook post, he referred to his wins as “pretty surreal” and noted that the Oliver Schroer Award recognizing musical innovation especially warms his heart. “What a great idea of a category and a great tribute to this great musician, wrote Dind-Lavoie who, himself, expressed thanks to Corne de brume, Louis Morneau and Marie Pierre Lecault “and to all those shadow singers/musicians who find themselves unknowingly on this album and have to wonder what’s going on from the stars: Benoit Benoit, Joseph Larade, Alphonse Morneau, the Brideau family, Jeanne Savoie, Madeleine Lemieux, Azade Benoit, Eddy Arsenault, Edouard Sanschagran, Henry Poitras.”

Here’s a video link to see Dind-Lavoie accompany a 1957 archival recording of singer Joseph Larade on piano.

The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. More than 100 jurors, located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages determine the recipients in each category. While the awards were presented virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s leading folk music event – including awards concerts and nominee showcases – adopted a hybrid model this year featuring both live and pre-recorded performances that were presented both to an audience at The Guild, a 160-seat venue in Charlottetown, PEI, and via livestream. Chelsey June of the husband-and-wife duo Twin Flames and Benoit Bourque co-hosted the event. While some honorees accepted their awards in-person, others did so via video.

A complete list of 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards winners follows, while more information may be found online at folkawards.ca.

Children’s Album of the Year / Album jeunesse de l’année

• Heart Parade by/par Splash ‘N Boots (Ontario)

Contemporary Album of the Year / Album contemporain de l’année

• Outside Child by/par Allison Russell (Quebec)

Contemporary Singer of the Year / Chanteur contemporain de l’année

• Rob Lutes for/pour Come Around (Quebec)

English Songwriter(s) / Auteur compositeur(s) Anglophone

• Allison Russell for/pour Outside Child (Quebec)

Ensemble of the Year / Groupe de l’année

• Elliott Brood for/pour Keeper (Ontario)

French Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur-compositeur(s) francophone de l’année

• Reney Ray for/pour À l’ouest du réel (Quebec)

Global Roots Album of the year/ Album traditions du monde de l’année
(Note: This replaces the World Album of the Year.)

• Wutiko by/par Elage Diouf (Quebec)

Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur compositeur(s) autochtone de l’année

• Chelsey June & Jaaji for/pour Omen (Quebec)

Instrumental Group of the Year / Groupe instrumental de l’année

• Frank Evans & Ben Plotnick for/pour Madison Archives (Ontario)

Instrumental Solo artist of the Year / Instrumentiste solo de l’année

• Cédric Dind-Lavoie for/pour Archives (Quebec)

New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year / Artiste(s) de la relève de l’année

• Allison Russell for/pour Outside Child (Quebec)

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award / Prix Innovation musicale Oliver Schroer

• Cédric Dind-Lavoie for/pour Archives (Quebec)

Producer(s) of the Year / Réalisateur(s) de l’année

• Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Corne de brume for/pour Archives (Quebec)

Single of the Year / Monoplage de l’année

• “Gospel First Nation” by/par William Prince (Manitoba)

Solo Artist of the Year / Artiste solo de l’année

• Alicia Toner for/pour Joan (Prince Edward Island)

Traditional Album of the Year / Album traditionnel de l’année

• Kitchen Days by/par Braden Gates (Alberta)

Traditional Singer of the Year / Chanteur traditionnel de l’année

• Ewelina Ferenc (of Polky) for/pour Songs From Home (Ontario)

Vocal Group of the Year / Groupe vocal de l’année

• Twin Flames for/pour Omen (Quebec)

Young Performer(s) of the Year / Jeune artiste(s) de l’année

• Isabella Samson for/pour If It’s Not Forever (Nova Scotia)

As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com, the Slaight Music Unsung Hero Award was presented to Genevieve Nadeau. A leading figure in Quebec’s trad music and song scene, Nadeau manages the Quebecois folk group Le Vent du Nord, co-founded and runs La Compagnie due Nord – producing hundreds of concerts annually around the world, and produces CDs and music videos, helped launch the Festival Chants de Vielles, serves on the board of Folquebec, and has been a cultural ambassador for Quebecois music.

The Canadian Folk Music Awards also paid tribute to Grit and Judith Laskin, stalwarts of the Canadian folk music scene and founding board members of the CFMAs.

Both performers and organizers look forward to connecting with audiences directly across a stage and online, and a mix of live and video performances will be presented in what will be the CFMAs first hybridized event. “I am proud that 2022 will see the CFMAs return, safely and with great care, to in-person shows,” said Graham Lindsey, co-president of the Canadian Folk Music Awards. “We will combine live and virtual performances in our free live stream of all events to ensure everyone unable to travel to PEI feels part of the event. We are doing a lot to make this a special show for all, whether joining us virtually or in Charlottetown.”

Although The Guild can only accommodate 160 people, many more are expected to view the musical celebration streaming free of charge via the CFMA website (folkawards.ca and prixfolk.ca) on the CFMA Facebook page and YouTube channel. Chelsey June of the duo Twin Flames and Benoit Bourque co-host the bilingual awards concerts. There will be six nominee performances each night during the Awards Concerts and an additional 10 during the Tradworks and Songwriter Nominees showcases.

Here’s the performance schedule:

Thursday, March 31 @ 6:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. ADT: Songs and Stories – Songwriters Nominee Showcase

Friday, April 1 @ 6:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. ADT: Awards Concert Show (Night 1)

The Fugitives (British Columbia), Elage Diouf (Quebec), Nicolas Boulerice (Quebec), Rob Lutes (Quebec), Polky (Ontario), and Twin Flames (Ontario)

Saturday, April 2 @ 12 p.m. EDT/ 1 p.m. ADT: Tradworks – Traditional Music Nominee Showcase
(featuring Celtic, Quebecois, English, Appalachian and Canadian mountain music)

Saturday, April 2 @ 6:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. ADT: Awards Concert Show (Night 2)

Dana Sipos (British Columbia), Eliana Cuevas (Ontario), Morgan Toney (Nova Scotia), Bouches Bees (Quebec), Ian Tamblyn ((Ontario), and Alicia Toner (Prince Edward Isle)

The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. This year’s nominees span the country from Whitehorse, Yukon to Cambellton, New Brunswick, and from Banff, Alberta to Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were chosen for each category via two-stage jury process. More than 100 jurors, located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages determine the recipients in each category.

A complete list of 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while more information may be found online at folkawards.ca. And here’s a link to view a recording of the 2022 CFMA nominee announcement made last September 28.

Children’s Album of the Year / Album jeunesse de l’année

• Campfire Time! by/par Peter Lenton aka Peter Puffin’s Whale Tales (AB)
• Falling in Africa by/par Garth Prince (AB)
• Believe in Your Magic by/par Penny Pom Pom (BC)
• Heart Parade by/par Splash’N Boots (ON)
• Think About the Wild by/par Remy Rodden (YT)

Contemporary Album of the Year / Album contemporain de l’année

• XO, 1945 by/par Ryland Moranz (AB)
• All This Time Running by/par Craig Cardiff (ON)
• Solar Powered Too by/par Rick Fines (ON)
• Voyageur In Song by/par David Leask (ON)
• Outside Child by/par Allison Russell (QC)
• À l’ouest du réel by/par Reney Ray (QC)
• Come Around by/par Rob Lutes (QC)
• Encounter by/par BEYRIES (QC)

Contemporary Singer of the Year / Chanteur contemporain de l’année

• Kelly Bado for/pour Hey Terre (MB)
• Terra Spencer for/pour Chasing Rabbits (NS)
• Craig Cardiff for/pour All This Time Running (ON)
• Denise Flack for/pour Good Water (ON)
• Rob Lutes for/pour Come Around (QC)

English Songwriter(s) / Auteur compositeur(s) anglophone

• Scott Cook for/pour Tangle of Souls (AB)
• Noah Reid for/pour Gemini (ON)
• Rick Fines for/pour Solar Powered Too (ON)
• Allison Russell for/pour Outside Child (QC)
• Ian Tamblyn for/pour A Longing for Innocence (QC)
• Rob Lutes for/pour Come Around (QC)

Ensemble of the Year / Groupe de l’année

• The Hello Darlins for/pour Go By Feel (AB)
• The Fugitives for/pour Trench Songs (BC)
• Elliott BROOD for/pour Keeper (ON)
• OKAN for/pour Espiral (ON)
• Whitehorse for/pour Modern Love (ON)

French Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur-compositeur(s) francophone de l’année

• Émilie Landry for/pour Arroser les fleurs (NB)
• Anne-Sophie Doré-Coulombe for/pour Nos maisons (QC)
• Flavie Léger-Roy for/pour Les trous dans les coeurs (QC)
• Guillaume Beaulac for/pour Guillaume Beaulac (QC)
• Reney Ray for/pour À l’ouest du réel (QC)

Global Roots Album of the year/ Album traditions du monde de l’année
(Note: This replaces the World Album of the Year.)

• El Currucha by/par Eliana Cuevas (feat. Aquiles Báez) (ON)
• Espiral by/par OKAN (ON)
• Songs From Home by/par Polky (ON)
• VelkomBak by/par Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra (QC)
• Wutiko by/par Elage Diouf (QC)

Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur compositeur(s) autochtone de l’année

• Phyllis Sinclair for/pour Ghost Bones (AB)
• Morgan Toney for/pour First Flight (NS)
• David Laronde for/pour I Know I Can Fly (ON)
• Chelsey June & Jaaji for/pour Omen (QC)
• Laura Niquay for/pour Waska Matisiwin (QC)

Instrumental Group of the Year / Groupe instrumental de l’année

• Amber & Zebulun for/pour South of North, East of West (ON)
• Shane Cook & The Woodchippers for/pour Be Here for a While (ON)
• Frank Evans & Ben Plotnick for/pour Madison Archives (ON)
• Bùmarang for/pour Echo Land (QC)
• Oktopus for/pour Créature (QC)

Instrumental Solo artist of the Year / Instrumentiste solo de l’année

• Adam Young for/pour Yearbook (NS)
• Maneli Jamal for/pour Soul Odyssey (ON)
• Cédric Dind-Lavoie for/pour Archives (QC)
• Dave Clarke for/pour The Healing Garden (QC)
• Olivier Demers for/pour À l’envers d’un monde (QC)

New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year / Artiste(s) de la relève de l’année

• The Hello Darlins for/pour Go By Feel (AB)
• Oxlip for/pour Your Mother Was A Peacock (BC)
• Noah Reid for/pour Gemini (ON)
• Polky for/pour Songs From Home (ON)
• Allison Russell for/pour Outside Child (QC)
• David Lafleche for/pour Everyday Son (QC)

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award / Prix Innovation musicale Oliver Schroder

• Decoration Day for/pour Makeshift Future (ON)
• Speaker Face for/pour Crescent (ON)
• Briga for/pour Territoire (QC)
• Allison Russell for/pour Outside Child (QC)
• Cédric Dind-Lavoie for/pour Archives (QC)
• Rosier for/pour Légèrement (QC)

Producer(s) of the Year / Réalisateur(s) de l’année

• David Travers-Smith, Fernando Rosa, Annabelle Chvostek for/pour String of Pearls (ON)
• Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland for/pour Modern Love (ON)
• Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Corne de brume for/pour Archives (QC)
• Quinn Bachand for/pour Légèrement (QC)
• Rob Lutes, Rob MacDonald for/pour Come Around (QC)

Single of the Year / Monoplage de l’année

• Still Waters by/par The Hello Darlins (feat. Matt Andersen) (AB)
• Never Mind The Weather by/par Big Little Lions (BC)
• Gospel First Nation by/par William Prince (MB)
• Everything Reminds Me by/par The Deep Dark Woods (NS)
• Yellow Snow by/par Andrea Bettger (NT)
• Elmira (Remix) by/par The East Pointers (feat. Lonely Kid) (PEI)
• Pontoise by/par Rosier (QC)
• The River by/par Loryn Taggart (QC)

Solo Artist of the year / Artiste solo de l’année

• Dana Sipos for/pour The Astral Plane (BC)
• William Prince for/pour Gospel First Nation (MB)
• Laura Smith for/pour As Long As I’m Dreaming (NS)
• Maneli Jamal for/pour Soul Odyssey (ON)
• Rick Fines for/pour Solar Powered Too (ON)
• Alicia Toner for/pour Joan (PEI)

Traditional Album of the year / Album traditionnel de l’année

• Kitchen Days by/par Braden Gates (AB)
• Alive by/par Fred Eaglesmith & Tif Ginn (ON)
• Be Here for a While by/par Shane Cook & The Woodchippers (ON)
• Le bonhomme Sept Heures / The Bonesetter by/par Grosse Isle (QC)
• Les sessions du Vices & Versa – 15th Anniversary by/par David Boulanger (QC)

Traditional Singer of the year / Chanteur traditionnel de l’année

• Ray Schmidt for/pour Sold Out at the Ironwood (AB)
• Pat Chessell for/pour The Road Not Taken (BC)
• Ewelina Ferenc for/pour Songs From Home (ON)
• Nicolas Boulerice for/pour Maison de pierre – Confiné au voyages (QC)
• Sophie Lavoie for/pour Le bonhomme Sept Heures / The Bonesetter (QC)

Vocal Group of the year / Groupe vocal de l’année

• The Fugitives for/pour Trench Songs (BC)
• The Gilberts for/pour Tell Me (NS)
• Whitehorse for/pour Modern Love (ON)
• Les Bouches Bées for/pour Les trous dans les coeurs (QC)
• Twin Flames for/pour Omen (QC)

Young Performer(s) of the year / Jeune artiste(s) de l’année

• Paige Penney for/pour When All is Said and Done (NL)
• Isabella Samson for/pour If It’s Not Forever (NS)
• Hannah Thomas for/pour Christmas Don’t Be Late (ON)
• Irish Millie for/pour Thirteen (ON)
• The Broken Bridges for/pour The Porch Sessions (ON)