About Maple Blues Awards
16th Annual Maple Blues Awards – Koerner Hall – Jan 21, 2013
About Nominees Tickets Maple Blues Band Performers Tickets Press Archive Wiki
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Internationally Renowned Canadian Blues Artists Honoured with Maple Blues Awards
Ottawa’s MonkeyJunk, Toronto’s Suzie Vinnick and Hamilton’s Steve Strongman Win Multiple Awards
(January 21, 2013) Toronto, ON – Internationally renowned Canadian Blues Artist from Coast-to-Coast were honoured by their peers at the 16th Annual Maple Blues Awards gala in Toronto last night as a sold out crowd of blues lovers gathered to celebrate Canadian blues at Koerner Hall.
Ottawa’s MonkeyJunk and its members took home three awards, including, Electric Act of the Year, Harmonic Player of the Year (Steve Marriner) and Drummer of the Year (Matt Sobb). Hamilton guitar slinger Steve Strongman also received three awards including Songwriter of the Year, Recording of the Year for his recent release “A Natural Fact” and Guitar Player of the Year. Now based in Toronto, Saskatoon native Suzie Vinnick won awards for Acoustic Act of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.
Nova Scotia’s Matt Minglewood was honoured with the Blues With a Feeling (Lifetime Achievement Award). Minglewood’s extensive career as a blues performer, spanning nearly four decades, makes him widely considered to be a Canadian music icon. John Valenteyn, a founding member and tireless volunteer of the Toronto Blues Society received the Blues Booster of the Year award, a very special Maple Blues Award honouring outstanding contribution to the Canadian blues music industry, presented by internationally recognized blues artist and Maple Blues Award winner Shakura S’aida and former Toronto Blues society vice president, “Blues Doctor” Julie Hill. Mrs. Laureen Harper wife of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, alongside blues guitarist Jack de Keyzer, presented the awards for Harmonica Player of the Year to Steve Marriner and Horn Player of the Year to Jon Wong.
Hosted by Raoul Bhaneja, a Toronto actor and musician most noted for his work performing Shakespeare’s Hamlet solo and his blues band Raoul and the Big Time, the Maple Blues Awards included outstanding performances from Maple Blues Award nominees past and present, including Matt Minglewood, Nanette Workman, Carlos del Junco, Harrison Kennedy, Suzie Vinnick, Steve Strongman and The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, all backed by gala house band, The Maple Blues Band.
Winners of the 16th Annual Maple Blues Awards
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Colin James
ELECTRIC ACT OF THE YEAR
MonkeyJunk
ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR
Suzie Vinnick
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Matt Andersen
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Suzie Vinnick
NEW ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Steve Kozak
RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“A Natural Fact” Steve Strongman, Producer Rob Szabo
BLUES WITH A FEELING (Lifetime Achievement)
Matt Minglewood
BB KING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Tedeschi Trucks Band
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steve Strongman
HARMONICA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steve Marriner
PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Vest
HORN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jon Wong
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Matt Sobb
BASSIST OF THE YEAR
Gary Kendall
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Steve Strongman
BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR
John Valenteyn
For more information contact:
Sarah French
Sarah French Publicity
416-566-4188 | sarah@sarahfrenchpublicity.com
Jordan Safer
Toronto Blues Society
416-538-3885 | info@torontobluessociety.com
The 16th Annual Maple Blues Awards will be held at Koerner Hall in Toronto on Monday January 21, 2013. The annual gala event, celebrating Canada’s top blues musicians will, as always, feature the popular Maple Blues Band, along with the finest blues musicians and special guests from across Canada. This show will feature an intermission mid way and the after party will begin once the awards have been presented, right in the Koerner Hall lobby featuring Chuck Jackson. This year’s show features performances by Suzie Vinnick, Carlos del Junco, Steve Strongman, Nanette Workman, Matt Minglewood, The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, Harrison Kennedy and your host Raoul Bhaneja!
Get your tickets Now directly from the Koerner Hall box office:http://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/maple-blues-awards / 416-408-0208
Contact the Toronto Blues Society office for the Charter Member Discount Code.
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 winners of the Sixteenth Annual Maple Blues Awards will be announced at the Annual Maple Blues Awards Gala in Toronto. This very special evening is Canada’s national annual celebration of homegrown blues talent and this year it will be hosted by Raoul Bhaneja. It’s also a night of great music by the Maple Blues Band, comprised entirely of Maple Blues Awards winners and nominees.
The awards program is proudly organized by the Toronto Blues Society. Check out videos from last year’s awards show here.
The nominees are selected by a distinguished panel of some 50 blues experts. Co-Chaired by the steering committee consisting of Deborah Cartmer, Yves Trottier, Paul Norton, and Gord MacAulay, 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.
Voting opens Saturday, October 27 at midnight ADT & closes Saturday, December 8 at midnight PST.
The Nomination Panel consists of industry professionals from across Canada:
| Brant Zwicker | At the Crossroads | Kamloops, BC |
| Vince Almond | CFBX | Kamloops, BC |
| “Billieboy” Lucas | CHLYfm | Nanaimo, BC |
| Earl Krushelnicki | Blues Underground Network | Prince George,BC |
| Paul Norton | CFRO, CITR | Vancouver, BC |
| Ron Simmonds | CFRO 100.5 Blues in the Dark | Vancouver, BC |
| Rod Dranfield | White Rock Blues Society | Surrey, BC |
| Jim Burnett | CFRO/CITR | Vancouver, BC |
| Peter North | CKUA | Edmonton, AB |
| Grant Stovel | CKUA | Edmonton, AB |
| Al Wood | Saskatoon Blues Society | Saskatoon,SK |
| Gord MacAulay | Canadian Blues Alliance | Saskatoon, SK |
| John Scoles | Winnipeg, MB | |
| Ronnie Lindsay | CKUW | Winnipeg, MB |
| John Valenteyn | CIUT-FM | Toronto, ON |
| Julie Hill | Radio Regent | Toronto, ON |
| Vince Vitacco | “Everyday I Have the Blues” CHRY 105.5 FM | Toronto, ON |
| Eric Thom, | Music Writer | Toronto, ON |
| Brad Wheeler | Music Writer | Toronto, ON |
| Larry Kurtz | Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival | Orangeville, ON |
| Stew Laing | Stew’s Blues | Stratford, ON |
| Tim Holek | Freelance Journalist | Chatham, ON |
| Denis Burns | Great Lakes Blues Society | London, ON |
| Deborah Cartmer | CFBU 103.7 FM | St. Catharines, ON |
| John Davis | Canal Bank Shuffle Blues Festival | Niagara, Ontario |
| Paul Panchezak | “Breakfast of Champions” CFMU-FM | Hamilton, ON |
| Bruce Hall | Grand River Blues Society | Kitchener, ON |
| Claude Coutier | Kitchener Blues Festival | Kitchener, ON |
| Willy A | FM 98.5 | Waterloo, ON |
| Liz Sykes | Ottawa Blues Society | Ottawa ON |
| James Doran | Choose The Blues Productions | Kenmore, ON |
| Phil Hordy | Thunder Bay Blues Society | Thunder Bay, ON |
| Jean-Pierre Petit | ”L’Hôtel Du Blues” CKUT 90.3 FM | Montreal, QC |
| Michel Dubois | “Rue D’Auteuil”, CKRL FM 89.1 | Quebec City,QC |
| Randy Renaud | “The Black Cat Alley” CHOM-FM | Montreal |
| Yves Trottier | 101.9 DAWG FM | Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC |
| Alexandre Petit | Viree Blues Boreale | Hull, QC |
| Irene Ippersiel | Montreal Blues Society | Montreal, QC |
| Louis Brunet | CKMN-FM 96.5 | Rimouski, QC |
| Jean Sicotte | Les Productions Kazou | Sutton, QC |
| Yannick Lambert | Festival de Blues de Donnacona | Donnacona, QC |
| John Detcheverry | Cha Cha Cha In Blue, CKUT FM 90.3 | Montreal, QC |
| Bob Mersereau | CBC music reporter | Fredericton NB |
| Sandy MacDonald | Freelance music writer | Halifax, NS |
| Dale Schimpf | East Coast Blues Society | NS |
| Denis Parker | Music NL | St. John’s, NL |
| Terry Parsons | CHMR 93.5 FM | St. John’s, NL |
