FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PLEASE UPDATE LISTINGS

On Monday January 15th, the 2007 Maple Blues Awards will be held at The Mod Club Theatre (722 College St., Toronto), starting at 8pm. This year marks the tenth year anniversary of the national awards program and their efforts in promoting and recognizing outstanding achievement in blues music. To honour this special occasion ten feature performers from across the country have been invited to perform with the Maple Blues Band at the awards gala presentation. Tickets are $28.00 ($20.00 for TBS members) and are now available at www.ticketpro.ca.

The awards night will be hosted by Vancouver’s Jim Byrnes and will include guest performances by Jim Byrnes, John Campbelljohn, Ndidi Onukwulu & Madagascar Slim, Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley, Harry Manx & Kevin Breit, and Rick Fines & Suzie Vinnick. Online voting for nominees in sixteen categories is currently open to the public and will close at midnight on Friday December 15th. For a complete list of awards, this year’s nominees and voting registration, please visit: www.mapleblues.ca

The gala performers will also be delegates at Blues Summit III, an industry conference bringing together blues festivals, societies, labels, media, musicians and fans. Blues Summit III will take place from January 13-15 at the Delta Chelsea Hotel (33 Gerard St. West) in downtown Toronto. In addition, Blues Summit III will feature panel discussions with industry experts on topics ranging from Blues Festivals and Societies Roundtable discussions, Blues in the Schools, professional development opportunities for artists, and Blues in the Digital World. Representatives from across Canada, the United States, and Europe will be in attendance. Registration information is available at www.torontobluessociety.com.

What: The Maple Blues Awards
Where: The Mod Club Theatre, 722 College St., Toronto
When: Monday January 15, 2007, 8PM

The Maple Blues Awards and Blues Summit III are supported by FACTOR, The Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Government of Canada through the Canadian Music Fund, GALAXIE – CBC’s Continuous Music Network, the SOCAN Foundation, SOCAN, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, KMP Designs Inc., Makeitreal Records, Stony Plain Records, Long & McQuade Musical Instruments, Sam the Record Man, Steve’s Music Store/Pearl Drums, Lee Oskar Harmonicas, Fusion 3 Distribution/Justin Time Records, CBC Radio 99.1, Saturday Night Blues, and St. John’s Music/Yamaha Music Canada.

Media Contact:
Toronto Blues Society
416-538-3885
[email protected]