Koerner Hall, January 15th, 2018
20th Annual Maple Blues Awards
The Maple Blues Awards will take place Monday, January 15th, 2018, at Koerner Hall in Toronto
ABOUT THE MAPLE BLUES AWARDS
The Maple Blues Awards is Canada’s national blues awards program. Its goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field. Winners in all categories (excluding the instrumental categories*) are decided by blues fans across Canada. Voting occurs online each November.
Nominating Panel & Steering Committee. The nominees are selected by a distinguished panel of approximately 50 blues experts who form the MBA Nominating Panel. Co-chaired by the steering committee consisting of Terry Parsons, Yanick Theriault, John Valenteyn and Brant Zwicker, the panel includes radio hosts, journalists, and festival organizers regionally distributed across Canada. Members of the Nominating Panel are not eligible for any of the awards.
*Instrumental Categories. Winners in the guitar, harmonica, piano/keyboards, horn, drum, and bass categories are not open for public vote. Instrumental or “craft” categories are determined by a panel of experts drawn from the nominating panel.
The awards program is proudly organized by the Toronto Blues Society.
LOOKING BACK: 19TH ANNUAL MAPLE BLUES AWARDS
Internationally renowned Canadian Blues artists from coast to coast were honoured by their peers at the 19th Annual Maple Blues Awards gala in Toronto January 18th, 2016 as a full house of blues lovers gathered to celebrate Canadian blues at Koerner Hall.
Hosted by radio and television personality Gill Deacon, the 19th annual Maple Blues Awards included outstanding performances from The Maple Blues Band and Maple Blues Award nominees past and present, including David Gogo, Colin Linden, Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, Harrison Kennedy, Cecile Doo-Kingue, and John Campbelljohn.
MAPLES BLUES AWARDS NOMINATING PANEL
The Nominating Panel consists of industry professionals from across Canada who volunteer their time to participate.
| NAME | ORGANIZATION | PROGRAM & STATION | CITY | PROV |
| Vince Almond | CFBX | Kamloops | BC |
| Brant Zwicker* | At the Crossroads (syndicated) | Kamloops | BC |
| William “Billieboy” Lucas | CHLY | Nanaimo | BC |
| Rod Dranfield | White Rock Blues Society | Surrey | BC |
| Brent Morrison | Rockin’ Blues (CJSF | CJMP) | Vancouver | BC |
| Paul Norton | CFRO | CiTR | Vancouver | BC |
| Ron Simmonds | CFRO | Vancouver | BC |
| Cindy McLeod | Calgary Blues Music Association | The Blues Witness (CJSW) | Calgary | AB |
| Cam Hayden | The Friday Night Blues Party (CKUA) | Edmonton | AB |
| Chris Martin | Saturday Night Blues (CBC) | Edmonton | AB |
| Peter North | Dead Ends & Detours (CKUA) | Edmonton | AB |
| Grant Stovel | CJSR | CKUA | Edmonton | AB |
| Jeff Corbett | Redbeard’s Blues (CJTR) | Regina | SK |
| Gord MacAulay | Canadian Blues Alliance | Saskatoon | SK |
| Al Wood | Saskatoon Blues Society | Saskatoon | SK |
| Ronnie Lindsay | Bluesday on Tuesday (CKUW) | Winnipeg | MB |
| Paul Panchezak | Breakfast of Champions (CFMU) | Hamilton | ON |
| Ken Wallis | Blues Blast (The HAWK) | Hamilton | ON |
| Claude Cloutier | Kitchener Blues Festival | Kitchener | ON |
| Bruce Hall | Grand River Blues Society | Kitchener | ON |
| Larry Kurtz | Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival | Orangeville | ON |
| Liz Sykes | Ottawa Blues Society | Ottawa | ON |
| Deborah Cartmer | CFBU | St. Catharines | ON |
| John Booth | CILU Radio | Thunder Bay | ON |
| Bob Halvorsen | Thunder Bay Blues Society | Thunder Bay | ON |
| Julie Hill | Blue Remedy (Radio Regent | Blues and Roots Radio) | Toronto | ON |
| Eric Thom | Freelance Music Journalist | Toronto | ON |
| John Valenteyn* | John’s Blues Picks (Maple Blues) | John Valenteyn’s Blues (CIUT) | Toronto | ON |
| Yannick Lambert | Donnacona Blues Festival | Donnacona | QC |
| Debra Thornington | Ottawa Blues Society | Dawg’On Blues (DAWG) | Gatineau | QC |
| Alexandre Petit | Viree Blues Boreale | Hull | QC |
| John Detcheverry | Cha Cha In Blue (CKUT) | Montreal | QC |
| Daisy Hanna | Montreal Blues Society | Montreal | QC |
| Phil Brisse | Montreal Blues Society | Montreal | QC |
| Randy Renaud | The Black Cat Alley (CHOM) | Montreal | QC |
| Greg Torrington | The Blues (Stingray Music) | Montreal | QC |
| Michel Dubois | Rue D’Auteuil (CKRL) | Quebec | QC |
| Louis Brunet | CKMN | Rimouski | QC |
| Jean Sicotte | Les Productions Kazou | Sutton | QC |
| Bob Mersereau | CBC Radio One | Fredericton | NB |
| Roger Jean | Rosie’s Juke Joint (CHSR) | Fredericton | NB |
| Conrad Mead | 95.7 The Wolf | Fredericton | NB |
| Yanick Theriault | Cigare & Whiskey (CFBO) | Grand Moncton | NB |
| Sandy MacDonald | Freelance Music Journalist | Halifax | NS |
| Gene Bellows | Blues in the Night (VOBB) | Bonne Bay | NL |
| Terry Parsons* | Blind Lemon Radio (CHMR) | St. John’s | NL |
*The panel is led by a steering committee consisting of John Valenteyn, Brant Zwicker, Yanick Theriault and Terry Parsons.
©2017 Toronto Blues Society. Design by Janine Stoll Media.
TBS logo and WBR artwork by Barbara Klunder
The Toronto Blues Society acknowledges the annual support of the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage, and project support from FACTOR< and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada’s Private Broadcasters, The Canada Council for the Arts, the SOCAN Foundation, SOCAN, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.