13th Annual Maple Blues Awards

Nominees and Winners

Congratulations to everyone who won at this year’s Maple Blues Awards! Winner names are highlighted in *BOLD in the nominee list below.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Downchild
Jack de Keyzer
Little Miss Higgins
*Monkey Junk
Shakura S’Aida

ELECTRIC ACT OF THE YEAR

David Gogo
Garrett Mason
Jack de Keyzer
*Monkey Junk
The Twisters

ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR

Big Dave McLean
Braithwaite & Whiteley
Harrison Kennedy
*Harry Manx
Julian Fauth

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Harrison Kennedy
Jim Byrnes
John Mays (Fathead, Maple Blues Revue)
Paul Reddick
*Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk)

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Jolene “Little Miss” Higgins
Roxanne Potvin
Shakura S’Aida
*Suzie Vinnick
Treasa Levasseur

NEW ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR

Blackburn
Blues Delight
Clio & The Blues Highway
Ross Neilsen
Scott McCord & The Bonafide Truth

RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Come Out Swingin’ (NorthernBlues), The Twisters, Producers: Chris & Brandon Isaak
One Dog Barkin’ (Electro-Fi), Harrison Kennedy, Producer: Harrison Kennedy
*Songs From The Road (Stony Plain), Jeff Healey, Producer: Alec Fraser
SugarBird (NorthernBlues), Paul Reddick, Producer: Colin Linden
Tiger In Your Tank (Beefy), Monkey Junk, Producers: Steve Marriner and Monkey Junk

BLUES WITH A FEELING AWARD (Lifetime Achievement)

Alec Fraser
*Chris Whiteley
Danny Brooks
Ellen McIlwaine
Joe Murphy
Ken Whiteley
Michael Fonfara
Paul James
Terry Wilkins
Tom Lavin

B.B. KING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR

John Mayall
Maria Muldaur
*Taj Mahal
Tommy Castro
Watermelon Slim

GUITARIST OF THE YEAR

Garrett Mason
Jack de Keyzer
Steve Dawson (Jim Byrnes)
Steve Strongman
*Tony D (Monkey Junk)

HARMONICA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Carlos del Junco
David Hoerl (The Twisters)
David Rotundo
Jerome Godboo
*Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk)

KEYBOARD/PIANO PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Bill Stevenson (Easley Stevenson Arsenault)
Julian Fauth
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne
Lance Anderson
*Michael Fonfara (Downchild, Maple Blues Revue)

HORN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Al Lerman (Fathead, Maple Blues Revue)
Chris Murphy (Maple Blues Revue)
*Chris Whiteley (Maple Blues Revue)
Johnny Ferreira
Pat Carey (Downchild, Maple Blues Revue)

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

Al Cross
*Bucky Berger (Fathead)
Chris Nordquist
Geoff Arsenault (Easley Stevenson Arsenault)
Tom Bona (Raoul & The Big Time, Maple Blues Revue)

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Alan Duffy (Jack de Keyzer)
*Alec Fraser (Broken Joe, Jeff Healey)
Gary Kendall (Downchild, Maple Blues Revue, Gary Kendall Band)
Keith Picot (The Twisters)
Tom Easley (Easley Stevenson Arsenault)

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Brandon Isaak (The Twisters)
*Chris Whiteley & Diana Braithwaite
Harrison Kennedy
Paul Reddick
Treasa Levasseur