22nd Annual Maple Blues Awards

Nominees and Winners Event Details Nominating Panel

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

*Colin James
Dawn Tyler Watson
MonkeyJunk
Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar
Sue Foley

ELECTRIC ACT OF THE YEAR

*Colin James
JW-Jones
MonkeyJunk
Paul DesLauriers Band
Sue Foley

ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR

*Big Dave McLean
Earle & Coffin
Michael Jerome Browne
Rob Lutes
Tim Williams

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

*Colin James
Harrison Kennedy
Jon Knight (Soulstack)
Matt Andersen
Rob Lutes

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

*Angel Forrest
Crystal Shawanda
Dawn Tyler Watson
Samantha Martin
Sue Foley

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Cootes Paradise
Dan Doiron
Deb Rhymer
Elliott & The Audio Kings
*Emily Burgess

RECORDING/PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

*Colin James – Miles to Go (True North); Producers: Colin James & Dave Meszaros
Jack de Keyzer – Checkmate (Blue Star); Producer: Jack de Keyzer
Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar – Run to Me (Gypsy Soul); Producer: Darcy Yates
Sue Foley – The Ice Queen (Stony Plain); Producer: Mike Flanigan
Sugar Brown – It’s A Blues World (Self); Producer: Sugar Brown

B.B. KING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR

*Buddy Guy
Ghost Town Blues Band
Mavis Staples
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
Shemekia Copeland

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

*Colin James
David Vest
Ken Kawashima (Sugar Brown)
Samantha Martin / Curtis Chaffey
Sue Foley

BLUES WITH A FEELING AWARD (LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD)

Alec Fraser
Brent Parkin
Danny Brooks
*Ellen McIlwaine
Joe Murphy
Ken Whiteley
Michael Fonfara
Michael Jerome Browne
Tom Lavin

GUITARIST OF THE YEAR

Colin James
Jack de Keyzer
Jack Semple
Steve Hill
*Sue Foley

HARMONICA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Carlos del Junco
Guy Bélanger
Harpdog Brown
Roly Platt (Matt Minglewood)
*Steve Marriner (MonkeyJunk)

PIANO/KEYBOARD OF THE YEAR

*David Vest
Jenie Thai
Jesse O’ Brien
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne
Michael Kaeshammer

HORN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Chris Whiteley
Jon Wong
Mat “Moose” Mousseau (Ben Racine Band)
Richard Thornton (Jack de Keyzer)
*Shirley Jackson

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

Gary Craig (Colin Linden, Steve Dawson)
*Lindsay Beaver
Matt Sobb (MonkeyJunk)
Sam Harrisson (Paul DesLauriers Band)
Tom Bona

BASSIST OF THE YEAR

Gary Kendall (Downchild & Mighty Duck Blues Band)
Keith Picot (Brandon Isaak)
*Laura Greenberg (JW-Jones)
Leigh-Anne Stanton (Wicked Grin)
Russell Jackson (Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne)

BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR!

We are thrilled to announce The Hornby Island Blues Society as the

Blues Booster of the Year award recipient, a very special Maple Blues Award honouring outstanding contribution to the Canadian blues music industry.

The volunteer-driven organization hosts the Hornby Island Blues Week and Music Camp every May on beautiful Hornby Island, BC. Their mandate is to bring blues performers to the island to create a greater awareness of Canadian blues music and of the depth that Canadian musicians have to offer.

Celebrating their 20th year, The Hornby Island Blues Society will be honoured with the Blues Booster of the Year award at the 22nd annual Maple Blues Awards in Toronto on February 4.

Event Details

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 22ndannual 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), 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 Gallery

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.