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 some 53 blues experts who form the MBA Nominating Panel. Co-chaired by the steering committee consisting of Cindy McLeod, Brent Morrison, Yanick Theriault, 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.
The Maple Blues Award winners will be announced on February 12, 2023 at the LIVE Maple Blues Award Show in Toronto.
*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 Maple Blues Awards program is proudly organized by the Toronto Blues Society.
Toronto Blues Society has received valuable input from the members of the Canadian blues community regarding the Maple Blues Awards procedures and voting process – and have developed policies and protocol to ensure the Maple Blues Award system is responsive and evolving. Please note the following rules:
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. The list of the Panel members can be found on our website (bottom of this page) with a link to their organizations.
Recording/Producer Of The Year. Nominated recordings in this category must be released during the eligibility period: September 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
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.
The Nominating Panel consists of industry professionals from across Canada who volunteer their time to participate.
Click here to download the communication sheet for the Panel.
First Name | Last Name | Organization | Town | Prov |
Al | Forrie | Hornby Island Blues Society | Hornby Island | BC |
Brant | Zwicker* | At the Crossroads, syndicated | Kamloops | BC |
Brent | Morrison | Rockin’ Blues, CJSF | Vancouver | BC |
Grant | Payne | CHLY | Nanaimo | BC |
Paul | Norton | One O’Clock Jump, CFRO | Code Blue, CiTR | Vancouver | BC |
Rod | Dranfield | White Rock Blues Society | Surrey | BC |
Brent | Morrison | Rockin Blues Show | Vancouver | BC |
Cora | Price | Fraser Valley Blues Society | Chilliwack | BC |
Vince | Almond | Blues Boogie & Bop on CFBX | Kamloops | BC |
Chris | Martin | CBC Saturday Night Blues | Edmonton | AB |
Cindy | McLeod | Calgary Blues Music Association | Calgary | AB |
Holger | Petersen | CBC Saturday Night Blues, CKUA | Edmonton | AB |
Cam | Hayden | CKUA | Edmonton | AB |
Al | Wood | Saskatoon Blues Society | Saskatoon | SK |
Andrew | Galloway | Electro-Fi Records | Toronto | ON |
Bruce | Hall | Grand River Blues Society | Kitchener | ON |
Claude | Cloutier | Kitchener Blues Festival | Kitchener | ON |
Deborah | Cartmer | CFBU | St. Catharines | ON |
Eric | Thom | Freelance Music Writer | Toronto | ON |
Jan | MacDonald | Downtown Kingston Limestone City Blues Festival | Kingston | ON |
John | Emms | Freelance Music Writer | Timmins | ON |
Julie | Hill | Calling All Blues, CIUT FM | Toronto | ON |
Ken | Wallis | Blues Source Canada, The Hawk | Hamilton | ON |
Lee | Evans | Blueswater Blues Show, 91.3 FM | Hanover | ON |
Liz | Sykes | Ottawa Blues Society | Ottawa | ON |
Lori | Murray | Music By The Bay Live | Uxbridge | ON |
Nick | Harding | Photographer | Wasaga Beach | ON |
Paul | Panchezak | Breakfast of Champions, CFMU McMaster Radio | Hamiton | ON |
Rick | Clarke | Bruce County Blues Society/Lighthouse Blues Festival | Kincardine | ON |
Stevie | Connor | The Sound Cafe Magazine | Blues & Roots Radio | Mississauga | ON |
Daisy | Hanna | Montreal Blues Society | Montreal | QC |
Dave | Brennan | Ottawa Blues Society | Gatineau | QC |
David | McCabe | Montreal Blues Society | St-Urbain Premier | QC |
Debra | Thornington | Ottawa Blues Society | Gatineau | QC |
John | Detcheverry | Cha Cha Cha In Blue, CKUT | Montreal | QC |
Louis | Brunet | CKMN-FM 96,5 | Rimouski | QC |
Yannick | Lambert | Donnacona Blues Festival | Donnacona | QC |
Yanick | Theriault* | Plus 90.7 FM (cfbo rebrand ) | New Brunswick | NB |
Cathy | Prothro | East Coast Blues Society | Dartmouth | NS |
Bruce | Morel | Music Marketing International Inc. | Dartmouth | NS |
*The panel is led by a steering committee consisting of Cindy McLeod, Brent Morrison, Brant Zwicker and Yanick Theriault.