Congratulations to the Blues JUNO nominees, Sing Pretty Blues Crystal Shawanda, Ooh Yeah! Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, The Medicine Miss Emily, Answer the Call Secondhand Dreamcar and Hear My Heart Steve Marriner.  Matt Andersen was nominated in the Contemporary Roots Recording. The 55th Annual JUNO Awards, produced by Insight Productions (A Blue Ant Studios Company), will air live across Canada at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, CBCMusic.ca/junos and stream globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel. See the complete list of nominees at https://junoawards.ca

ECMAs: The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) have announced the 2026 ECMA nominees for the 38th annual East Coast Music Awards, to be held in Sydney, Nova Scotia, from May 20–24. The Nominees for Blues Release of the Year were Aging Disgracefully – Shatter the Mirror, Angelo Spinazzola – Harp-Centric, Geoff Arsenault – Hired Hand, Jon Hines – Memphis Sun and JP LeBlanc – All In My Blood / Je l’ai dans l’sang. www.ecma.com

Blues rules at Winterfolk Friday Night is Blues Night at Winterfolk:  At 6pm, there’s a workshop called Blues Guitar Styles with Noah Zacharin, Suzie Vinnick and Jesse Greene. There will be sets in the Main Hall from Jesse at 8pm, Swinging Blackjacks at 7pm and Suzie Vinnick at 9pm, as well as a CD release from a new artist with a bluesy bent,  Suzanne Jarvie and appearances by Clela Errington, Tony Quarington. Later in the week-end you can catch Shakura S’Aida, Danny Marks, Toney Springer                and Malagasy bluesman Donné Roberts. Check the schedule at www.winterfolk.com and look for discount codes.

And just up the road, The newly revived Aurora Winter Blues Festival presents Harrison Kennedy, a living legend of soul and blues with a decades long career..

The performance will take place on March 1 at 2:00pm at Aurora Town Square – Davide De Simone Performance Hall, 50 Victoria Street, Aurora. The performance will feature an opening set by Dave Mowat, an accomplished blues performer with a passion for the post-war music of the ’40s and ’50s, he is also former Chief of Alderville First Nation. In partnership with Music Aurora, the newly revived Aurora Winter Blues Festival will feature performances from Jack de Keyzer, Suzie Vinnick, Glenn Marais’ Jook, Dominique Fils-Aimé, and Little Magic Sam, plus a series of free blues workshops over four days from February 26 – March 1, 2026. Tickets for the paid performances at Aurora Winter Blues Festival are on sale now at www.auroraculturalcentre.ca/awbf2026.

Black History Month Showcase: The Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA), brings its annual Black History Month Showcase to the City of Toronto Archives – 255 Spadina Rd, Toronto – on Thursday, February 5, 2026, offering a special day of music, conversation, and cultural celebration rooted in Black Canadian excellence.  The evening showcase highlights live performances from Jully Black, Tanika Charles, Divine Brown, Dru (In Essence), and Liberty Silver, with DJ and production support from Carl Allen. There will be daytime activities and more events throughout the month. Go to https://thecbma.com/ for tix & details.

Grand River Blues Camp Fundraiser! The Grand River Blues Camp has nurtured numerous young bluesicians who have made their way onto some festival stages and even became successful touring artists. They are having their annual fundraiser on Sunday, Feb 22 from 4 pm to 8 pm at the Edelweiss Tavern in Kitchener. Blues Camp Instructors and Alumni will perform. Each August The Grand River Blues Camp offers a four-day Youth Blues Camp, providing an intensive Blues educational experience to improve musical skills, to learn from and play with professional musicians. On the last day of the Camp students perform with peers at the Kitchener Blues Festival. Let’s help them keep the camp affordable for all young musicians! Tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blues-camp-fundraiser-tickets-1979526361635

Meanwhile, Stateside: At the Folk Alliance Conference in New Orleans, a Lifetime Achievement Award went to Taj Mahal who is moving slow but plays just fine – great house band backing him up and playing the walk-on stings. Clifton Chénier was also honoured. During a very bluesy night. Good looking stage set and fine video production. No Canadian content except for an environmental stewardship award to the Edmonton Folk Festival. AD Terry Wickham accepting on video because he chose not to travel to the US in these “uncertain times” (as did many Canadians methinks). Meanwhile in Memphis,  there were far fewer Canadian representatives at the International Blues Challenge. No Canadians in the finals (only 3 acts from Canada came down) and far fewer Canadian blues fans cruising Beale Street.  This year Derrick Dove was the big winner at the International Blues Challenge (best band + best guitarist) and lots of emerging talent alongside some journeymen/women singing “You Got Me Running to Sweet Home Chicago”. Devin C. Williams (runner up in Solo/duo category) is a real rising star. Keep an eye on him