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

A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Joni Mitchell (pictured), the widely acclaimed Canadian-American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is known for such songs as “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Both Sides, Now,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Help Me,” and “River.”

In the running for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year are Strange Trip Ahead (Mariel Buckley), The Hammer & The Rose (Matt Andersen), Purple Gas (Noeline Hofmann) These Dark Canyons (The Young Novelists), and Further From The Country (William Prince). Traditional Roots Music Album of the Year nominees include I Lost My Heart on Friday (Aerialists), Gold And Coal (Cassie and Maggie), The Moon’s Daughter (Heather MacIsaac), Heal The Divide (Morgan Toney), and Folk Signals (The Southern Residents).

Also of potential interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers are the nominees for Blues Album of the Year. These include Sing Pretty Blues (Crystal Shawanda), Ooh Yeah! (Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne), The Medicine (Miss Emily), Answer The Call (Secondhand Dreamcar), and Hear My Heart (Steve Mariner).

In addition to her Contemporary Album of the Year nomination for Purple Gas, Noeline Hofmann is among the 10 nominees for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. . Among the five nominees for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year are Conditions of Love Vol. 1 (Rose Cousins) and Better Broken (Sarah McLachlan, while Children’s Album of the Year nominees include Little Leaf (Chris McKhool).

In total, there are 248 nominees in the running across 47 categories for Canada’s top music awards. Eight-time JUNO Award-winner Justin Bieber and Tate McRae lead the pack with six nominations each.

Besides several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps/in-the-rounds, open mics and informal jam sessions, the NERFA conference will also feature, informative panel discussions and workshops, one-on-one mentoring and peer & affinity group sessions, communal meals, awards presentations, an exhibit hall, a very special film screening, a reception, communal meals, a community meeting with NERFA’s volunteer board of directors, and lots of opportunities for schmoozing and networking. Singer-songwriters Flamy Grant and Janis Ian (best known for her early hits “Society’s Child” and “At 17”) will keynote the conference on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

Booking gigs may be the primary objective of some performers who attend the conference; and many presenters and folk DJs do scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, building community, and taking advantage of learning opportunities that can help enhance and enrich your professional and personal lives.

The conference’s programming committee, under the leadership of Ron Olesko, a NERFA board member and the creator and director of Folk Music Notebook (a 24/7 online radio station and community hub), has arranged a diverse array of workshops, panel discussions and special events.

“We are excited to present a special pre-release screening of a new film You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine,“ said Olesko. Filmed during a star-studded two-night tribute to the legendary songwriter at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium in October 2022, its national theatrical release is slated for later in November. Prine’s widow, Fiona Whelan Prine, president of Oh Boy! Records and a producer of the film will engage in a Q & A session following the screening. Anna Canoni, president of Woody Guthrie Publications, will give a presentation about her grandfather and the newly released Woody at Home: Woody Guthrie’s Home Recordings, 1951-1952. Buskin & Batteau, Christine Lavin, John Forster, and Carla Ulbrich — who occasionally perform together as the April Fools –will share some very funny folk songs. Also slated is a Friday morning production of Ms. Music: The Jackie Alper Story, a folk musical written and directed by Andy Spence and Sarah Dillon, that honors the late folk music legend in the New York Capital Region and an influential figure in the folk revival.

Also on the conference schedule are the ever-popular On the Griddle instant critique session during which a panel of folk DJs listen to the first 60 seconds of a number of songs and provides snap feedback. Sonny Ochs, a longtime folk DJ and sister of the late troubadour and activist Phil Ochs, will again host a Wisdom of the Elders session. It will feature acclaimed singer-songwriters Janis Ian and Tom Chapin a, along with Terry Thai (Bob Dylan’s first manager and former wife of Dave Van Ronk). Olesko joins Ochs in posing questions to them in a conversational format. A number of workshops and panel discussions designed to help artists and presenters as they try to navigate the challenges currently faced by the folk community are also on the agenda.

Juried Showcases Slated for Friday and Saturday Nights      

Taking center stage during the conference will be 14 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges from among more than 160 submissions – with each to perform a 15-minute formal showcase set on Friday and Saturday nights – the most coveted performance opportunity at the conference. Showcasing their talents on Friday night will be Phil Henry, Judy Kass, Weary Ramblers, Connie Kaldor, Taylor Abrahamse, Elise Leavy, and Cassie and Maggie. Saturday night’s featured artists include The Levins, Sadie Gustafson-Zook, Beecharmer, Louie Lou Louis, Mystery Loves Company, Paul Colombino, and The Honey Badgers.

Judges for this year’s official juried showcases were Richard Cuccaro (publisher of Acoustic Live! in New York City & Beyond), Aaron Nathans (singer-songwriter and recording artist), and Mary Stewart (artistic director of Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto, Ontario)

On Thursday evening, the conference’s opening night, a Presenters Showcase will feature short performances by 14 artists/acts chosen by select folk DJs and concert & festival presenters. Listed in order of appearance, they are Haunted Like Human, Nico Padden, Christine Baillargeon, Nora Meier, Selena Tibbert, Halley Neal, Mirabelle Skipworth, Marc Apostoides, Sam Edelston, Ben Diamond (AKA Son Stone), Allison Strong, Francesca Panetta, Sam Berquist, and Mark & Jill.

Following the juried and curator’s showcases each evening, a number of presenters, performers and others will host private showcases in first floor hotel rooms that extend from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com will host a series of song swaps in place of its longtime popular Midnight Hoot on Thursday overnight.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com Showcase lineup:

10:30 p.m             Songs of Social Justice: Dan & Faith, Hank Stone

11:00 p.m.            Reggie Harris & Pat Wictor

11:30 p.m.            Long Island Sounds: James O’Malley, Roger Street Friedman

12:00 a.m.             Americana Folk: Lynn Crossett, Susan Kane, Carolann Solebello

12:30 a.m.             Mixed Bag: Miles & Mafale, Arielle Silver

1:00 a.m.                Funny Folk: Mark Allen Berube, Barry Rabin, Carla Ulbrich

1:30 a.m.                Tunes from Texas: Claudia Gibson, Mystery Loves Company

2:00 a.m.              Doug Mishkin, Stuart Markus

NERFA Leaders Share Their Thoughts on the Conference

“We are thrilled about our new location, nore central to our region in a beautiful and spacious hotel that offers ample opportunity for gathering on a single floor, which will encourage interaction and socializing,” Olesko told AcousticMusicScene.com. “It’s perfect for encouraging collaborations and sharing of best practices.”

Echoing his sentiments, Cheryl Prashker, president of NERFA’s board of directors, said:

“I am excited that we have brought the conference to Albany, New York for the first time. The Desmond Hotel is a perfect space for our community that gathers each year to share their music, their knowledge, and their passion for giving to each other. I cannot think of a more important thing at this time.” Expressing gratitude for a music community of which she’s been a part for more than 25 years, she said: “It has shaped who I am as a musician and a person. All I hope to be able to do is offer the young musicians coming up some love and support as they navigate the business of folk music.”

NERFA is one of five North American regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International (folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. Although folks from throughout North America attend its annual conference, NERFA’s geographic boundaries extend from the eastern provinces of Canada south to the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. More extensive information on the organization and its annual conference may be found online at www.nerfa.org and www.nerfaconference.org. The four other North American regions – Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), Folk Alliance Region – West (FAR-West), Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA), and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) already held their 2025 conferences. Folk Alliance International’s next conference is set for January — — in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Editor’s Note: Besides hosting a late-night song swap-style artist showcase during the conference, as I have under the banner of AcousticMusicScene.com most years since the online publication’s inception in 2007, I will be assisting two of my artist PR clients (Lynn Crossett and James O’Malley) and offering some one-on-one mentoring sessions on artist bios and one-sheets, EPKS, social media promotion, and various other aspects of public relations and strategic communications. As president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington (a nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island, NY), I also curated and will co-host a private showcase under its banner on Friday overnight. As a past president and former 15-year board member of NERFA who was not at last year’s conference, I really look forward to this one.

In the running for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year are Inuusiq (The Jerry Cans), The Weather Station (The Weather Station), Watershed (Amelia Curran), Bone On Bone (Bruce Cockburn), and Medicine Songs (Buffy Sainte-Marie).

Traditional Roots Album of the Year nominees include Jayme Stone’s Folklife (Jayme Stone), What We Leave Behind (The East Pointers), Illusion & Doubt (The Dead South), The Willow Collection (Cassie and Maggie), and Rove (Coig).

The Dead South (a Regina, Saskatchewan-based folk-bluegrass ensemble) and The Jerry Cans (a band from Iqualui, Nunavut, who fuse folk and country music with traditional Inuit throat singing) also are among the five nominees for Breakthrough Group of the Year. Amelia Curran, an award-winning singer-songwriter from St. John’s, Newfoundland, also is among the nominees for Songwriter of the Year — as is Rose Cousins, an award-winning singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia; both are previous JUNO Award recipients.

Medicine Songs by Buffy Sainte-Marie, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for her thought-provoking lyrics and her passionate advocacy for Aboriginal people, also is among the nominees for Indigenous Music Album of the Year. In addition to a music career spanning more than 50 years, Sainte-Marie has been a social activist, educator and philanthropist and has sought to protect indigenous intellectual property and championed indigenous artists and performers. In recognition of those efforts, she received the Alan Waters Humanitarian Award during last year’s JUNO Awards ceremonies.

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

Nova Scotia sibling duo Cassie and Maggie and Nova Scotia-based folk-rock singer-songwriter Stephen Fearing, who topped the list of nominees with four nods each, took home the awards for Traditional Album of the Year (The Willow Collection) and Contemporary Singer of the Year (Every Soul’s A Sailor), respectively, while Danny Michel and Ken Yates each won two awards. They and other winners were among the 75 artists and groups from nine provinces and one territory vying for awards in the competition that was established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the depth and breadth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms.

Michel, a noted musician and producer, received the Oliver Schroer Pushing The Boundaries Award and was named Producer of the Year (along with film composer Rob Carli) for his latest album Khlebnikov, which was written and recorded aboard a Soviet-era Russian ice-breaker during an 18-day arctic expedition through the Northwest Passage. Yates, a native of London, Ontario, was honored as both English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of his album Huntsville, which was named after a song he wrote about a small northern Ontario town a few hours from his hometown.

Cassie and Maggie MacDonald perform a mix of traditional and original Celtic roots music and have been enchanting audiences far and wide with their lively instrumental arrangements, vocal harmonies in both English and Gaelic, infectious energy, driving rhythms and lilting melodies. as well as their percussive step-dancing style. Fearing, a British Columbia native who has moved around quite a bit, is a JUNO Award-winning artist – both on his own in 2007 for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Yellowjacket) and with the trio Blackie and the Rodeo Kings that he launched in 1996 with Colin Linden and Tom Wilson. He also won a CFMA for Songwriter of the Year in 2006 for Yellowjacket and is regarded as one of Canada’s finest living songwriters.

A list of 2017 Canadian Folk Music Awards winners follows, while a previously posted article previewing the awards and containing a list of all the nominees may be viewed at https://acousticmusicscene.com/2017/09/24/canadian-folk-music-awards-nominees-named/.

More information may be found online at www.folkawards.ca.

Young Performer of the Year:
Moscow Apartment for Demo

New/Emerging Artist of the Year:
Ken Yates for Huntsville

The Oliver Schroer Pushing The Boundaries Award:
Danny Michel for Khlebnikov

Traditional Album of the Year:
The Willow Collection by Cassie and Maggie

Traditional Singer of the Year:
Hannah Shira Naiman for Know The Mountain

Contemporary Album of the Year:
Hide Not Hair by Abigail Lapell

Contemporary Singer of the Year:
Stephen Fearing for Every Soul’s A Sailor

English Songwriter of the Year:
Ken Yates for Huntsville

French Songwriter of the Year:
Luc De Larochellière for Autre monde

Aboriginal Songwriter(s) of the Year:
Chelsey June and Jaaji of Twin Flames for Signal Fire

Instrumental Group of the Year:
Scott Macmillan & Colin Grant for Good2go

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year:
André Brunet for La grosse maison rouge

Vocal Group of the Year:
Coco Méliès for The Riddle

Ensemble of the Year:
Mama’s Broke for Count the Wicked

Solo Artist of the Year:
Leeroy Stagger for Love Versus

Children’s Album of the Year:
Hear The Music by Fred Penner

Young Performer of the Year:
Moscow Apartment for Demo

New/Emerging Artist of the Year:
Ken Yates for Huntsville

The Oliver Schroer Pushing The Boundaries Award:
Danny Michel for Khlebnikov

World Group of the Year:
Kobo Town for Where the Galleon Sank

World Solo Artist of the Year:
Louis Simão for A Luz (The Light)

Producer(s) of the Year:
Danny Michel and Rob Carli for Danny Michel’s Khlebnikov

Named as Live Ireland Radio’s New Group and Female Vocalists of the Year, as well as Galaxie Radio Rising Stars, and Emerging Artists of the Year by Irish American News, Cassie and Maggie are nominated for the following Canadian Folk Music Awards: Traditional Album of the Year (The Willow Collection), Traditional Singer of the Year – Maggie MacDonald, Vocal Group of the Year, and Ensemble of the Year.

Stephen Fearing – nominated for Contemporary Singer of the Year, Solo Artist of the Year, English Songwriter(s) of the Year, and Producer(s) of the Year for Every Soul’s a Sailor– is a JUNO Award-winning artist – both on his own in 2007 for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Yellowjacket) and with the trio Blackie and the Rodeo Kings that he launched in 1996 with Colin Linden and Tom Wilson. He also won a CFMA for Songwriter of the Year in 2006 for Yellowjacket.

Hailed as “a king amongst minstrels” (Halifax Chronicle Herald) and “a master of the finely-tuned phrase and the perfectly-pitched line” (Maverick Magazine), Fearing is regarded as one of Canada’s finest living songwriters. He also teaches songwriting workshops and has produced recordings for Suzie Vinnick and other artists. Born in British Columbia and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Fearing has moved around over the years and currently resides in Nova Scotia.

Artists receiving nominations in three categories include St. John’s Amelia Curran, Toronto’s Oh Susanna and Ottawa’s Twin Flames.

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. Outstanding achievements will be recognized in 19 categories, Nov. 18-19, along with an Unsung Hero award recipient to be named in October.

“For the first time ever, the weekend’s focus events will take shape as two evenings which are open-to-the-public,” according to Canadian folk Music Awards organizers. “Combining the most loved events of the Canadian Folk Music Awards’ first twelve years – the vibrant energy of the live music showcases and the awards gala – [The events] will capture the true heart of the folk community.” Tickets and wristbands may be purchased online at folkawards.ca/tickets/.

A complete list of 2017 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows. More information may be found online at www.folkawards.ca.

Young Performer of the Year:

Moscow Apartment for Demo
Quin Etheridge-Pedden for Embark
Keltie Monaghan for Someone Tell Her
The Wolfe for The Wolfe
John Muirhead for Yesterday’s Smile

New/Emerging Artist of the Year:

Hidden Roots Collective for Come Up, Honey
Silent Winters for Fireworks & a Small Brigade
Ken Yates for Huntsville
Braden Gates for Much Rather Be Sleeping
The Bombadils for New Shoes

The Oliver Schroer Pushing The Boundaries Award celebrating innovation in creating new folk sounds:

Shreem for Celtic Remixing
Danny Michel for Khlebnikov
Mélisande [électrotrad] for Les millésimes
Turkwaz for Nazar
Tanya Tagaq for Retribution

English Songwriter(s) of the Year:

Oh Susanna for A Girl In Teen City
Stephen Fearing for Every Soul’s a Sailor
Scott Cook for Further Down The Line
Ken Yates for Huntsville
Amelia Curran for Watershed

French Songwriter(s) of the Year:

Patrice Michaud for Almanach
Luc De Larochellière for Autre monde
Vivianne Roy, Katrine Noël, Julie Aubé of Les Hay Babies for La 4ième dimension (version longue)
Philippe B for La grande nuit vidéo
Catherine Durand for La pluie entre nous

Aboriginal Songwriter(s) of the Year:

Lisa Muswagon for Buffalo and Rabbits
Julian Taylor, Kinnie Starr, John Parente, Bill Bell of Julian Taylor Band for Desert Star
Twin Flames for Signal Fire
Cindy Paul for The Flight
Desiree Dorion for Tough Street

World Group of the Year:

MAZ for ID
Turkwaz for Nazar
Beyond The Pale for Ruckus
Twin Flames for Signal Fire
Kobo Town for Where the Galleon Sank

World Solo Artist of the Year:

Louis Simão for A Luz (The Light)
Farnaz Ohadi & The Mashregh Ensemble for Bird Dance
Kelly Bado for Entre deux
Briga for Femme
Maneli Jamal for The Mardom Movement

Traditional Album of the Year:

Folklife by Jayme Stone
La grosse maison rouge by André Brunet
Rove by Còig
The Original Jenny Whiteley by Jenny Whiteley
The Willow Collection by Cassie and Maggie

Traditional Singer of the Year:

Dave Penny for All Turned Around
Hannah Shira Naiman for Know The Mountain
Mélisande Gélinas-Fauteux of Mélisande [électrotrad] for Les millésimes
Maggie MacDonald of Cassie and Maggie for The Willow Collection
Sarah Jane Scouten for When the Bloom Falls From the Rose

Contemporary Album of the Year:

Bird’s Nest by The Fretless
Hide Nor Hair by Abigail Lapell
I Go Where You Go by Tomato Tomato
Much Rather Be Sleeping by Braden Gates
Twin Solitude by Leif Vollebekk

Contemporary Singer of the Year:

Oh Susanna for A Girl In Teen City
Stephen Fearing for Every Soul’s A Sailor
Abigail Lapell for Hide Nor Hair
Lisa LeBlanc for Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?
Coco Love Alcorn for Wonderland

Instrumental Group of the Year:

Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy for A Celtic Family Christmas
The Fretless for Bird’s Nest
Scott Macmillan & Colin Grant for Good2go
Beyond The Pale for Ruckus
MacIsaac and MacKenzie for The Bay Street Sessions

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year:

Don Ross for A Million Brazilian Civilians
Roberto López for Criollo Electric
Glenn Chatten for Dragonfly
André Brunet for La grosse maison rouge
Maneli Jamal for The Mardom Movement

Vocal Group of the Year:

The Big East for Hungry Ghosts
The Bombadils for New Shoes
Twin Flames for Signal Fire
Coco Méliès for The Riddles
Cassie and Maggie for The Willow Collection

Ensemble of the Year:

Mama’s Broke for Count the Wicked
Silent Winters for Fireworks & a Small Brigade
100 mile house for Hiraeth
The Jerry Cans for Inuusiq
Cassie and Maggie for The Willow Collection

Solo Artist of the Year:

Stephen Fearing for Every Soul’s A Sailor
Zachary Lucky for Everywhere A Man Can Be
BEYRIES for Landing
Leeroy Stagger for Love Versus
Amelia Curran for Watershed

Children’s Album of the Year:

Chirp Chirp Happy by Jessie Farrell
Hear The Music by Fred Penner
Home Is Family by Ginalina
Pants on Backwards by Stella Swanson and the Rosie Joyfuls
Zing-E-Zing! by Madame Diva et Micah le jeune voyageur

Producer(s) of the Year:

Jim Bryson for Oh Susanna’s A Girl In Teen City
Stephen Fearing and David Travers-Smith for Stephen Fearing’s Every Soul’s A Sailor
Danny Michel and Rob Carli for Danny Michel’s Khlebnikov
Joel Plaskett for Bill & Joel Plaskett’s Solidarity
Amelia Curran and Chris Stringer for Amelia Curran’s Watershed