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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.

The awards program is proudly organized by the Toronto Blues Society. 

The nominees are selected by a distinguished panel of some 50 blues experts. Co-Chaired by the steering committee consisting of Yves Trottier, 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.

Winners in all categories, except the instrumental categories, will be selected by blues fans across Canada. Winners in the  guitar, harmonica, piano/keyboards, horn, drum, and bass categories will be determined by the Nominating Panel.

APPLICATION PROCESS

There is no *application* for the Maple Blues Awards. Nominations are drawn from the expertise of the nominating panel suggestions. Members of the nominating panel are required to be familiar with Canadian blues artist activity and CD releases.  Artists are encouraged to service CDs to all blues radio djs, journalists and industry professional to increase their national profile.

Entertainer Of The Year: Group or artist who showed the most overall success in the previous year. This could include a combination of live performances, touring, airplay, media coverage, and public acceptance.

New Artist Or Group Of The Year: Group or individual, new to the national blues scene, who has made considerable advances artistically and/or commercially during the eligibility period. The nominee should be performing under its/his/her name on a regular basis and must not have been nominated in any Maple Blues Awards category previously. The award recognizes the group or individual.

THE NOMINATION PANEL

The Nomination Panel consists of industry professionals from across Canada: