23rd Maple Blues Awards | February 3rd, 2020 | Koerner Hall
23rd Maple Blues Awards
Exclusive Pre-Sale For Charter Members!
TBS Charter Members and Equivalents, make sure to secure your spot in advance during the exclusive pre-sale which starts on June 4 at 7pm! Contact the TBS Office to retrieve your promo code. Unlock the very first and best available seats to the show for 25% discounted tickets anywhere on the hall! Tickets start at only $35!
Pre-sale tickets are available through the Koerner Hall Box Office.
Box Office: TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto-ON M5S 1W2
Phone: 416.408.0208
Email: tickets@rcmusic.ca
Ticket sales go public on Friday, June 21st at 10am!
23rd Annual Maple Blues Awards
Where: RCM’s Koerner Hall (273 Bloor St W, Toronto)
When: Monday, February 3, 2020
Time: 7pm
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.
APPLICATION PROCESS
There is no application process for the Maple Blues Awards. Nominations are drawn from the expertise of the MBA Nominating Panel. Members of the nominating panel are required to be familiar with Canadian blues artist activity and CD releases. Artists are encouraged to service new releases to all blues radio DJs, journalists and industry professionals across Canada to increase their national profile.
Recording/Producer Of The Year. Nominated recordings in this category must be released during the eligibility period: September 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
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 over the previous year. 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.
LOOKING BACK: 22nd ANNUAL MAPLE BLUES AWARDS
The 22nd Annual Maple Blues Awards took place on Monday, February 4, 2019, at Koerner Hall in Toronto.
Some of the best in Canadian Blues were honoured with Maple Blues Awards at the near sold-out 22nd annual Maple Blues Awards on Monday, February 4 at Koerner Hall. Hosted by popular theatre/television actor and blues artist Raoul Bhaneja (of Raoul and The Big Time) along with the The Maple Blues Band, the audience was treated to sizzling performances by Edmonton expat Jenie Thai, Newfoundland’s Earle & Coffin, Ottawa’s Sue Foley (now based in Austin), and Toronto-based guitarist and singer Emily Burgess. Salt Spring Island’s Harry Manx teamed up with MonkeyJunk’s Steve Marriner to preview their new release and Raoul closed the show with the Big Time joined by surprise guest and big winner Colin James for the finale.
Performances from the night and the show are available at TBS Youtube channel.
Click here to see photos from the magical evening:
*Photo credits: Greg King
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 |
| Grant Payne | Nanaimo Blues Society | 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 |
| 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.
©2019 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.