[BluesBud]

News from last night's Maple Blues Awards

COAST TO COAST BLUES ARTISTS HONOURED WITH MAPLE BLUES AWARDS

Ottawa’s MonkeyJunk, Toronto’s Suzie Vinnick and New Brunswick’s Matt Andersen Win Multiple Awards
(January 17, 2012) – Canadian Blues Artist from Coast-to-Coast were honoured by their peers at the 15th Annual Maple Blues Awards gala in Toronto last night as a crowd of blues lovers gathered to celebrate Canadian blues at Koerner Hall.


Ottawa’s MonkeyJunk took three awards, including, Electric Act of the Year, Recording of the Year and Drummer of the Year (Matt Sobb). New Brunswick’s Matt Andersen left with awards for Entertainer of the Year, Acoustic Act of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. Now based in Toronto, Saskatoon native Suzie Vinnick won awards for Songwriter of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. MonkeyJunk, Andersen and Vinnick have each had a very successful year with national and international touring and extensive radio airplay, giving exposure to their own talents and further promoting Canadian blues artists as leaders in the industry.


Long-time Toronto talent buyer Randy Charlton and blues scholar Rob Bowman presented the Blues With a Feeling (Lifetime Achievement Award) to veteran entertainer and guitarist Paul James. James has been performing for over four decades and is considered to be a Canadian music icon. Toronto Blues Society President Derek Andrews and Montreal Blues Society President Brian Slack presented the Blues Booster of the Year award, a very special Maple Blues Award honouring outstanding contribution to the Canadian blues music industry, to Liz Sykes, President of the Ottawa Blues Society.


Other highlights include British Columbia’s Sabrina Weeks & Swing Cat Bounce taking the New Artist of the Year Award, presented by performers and Maple Blues Award nominees Bill Johnson and Rita Chiarelli. Other notable presenters of Maple Blues Awards were Stony Plain Records Holger Petersen, Andrew Galloway of Electro-Fi Records, Borealis Records Grit Laskin, SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste, and CRTC Vice-Chairman Tom Pentefountas.


Hosted by internationally recognized blues artists Shakura S’aida and Treasa Levasseur (both of whom gave stunning performances at the gala) the Maple Blues Awards included outstanding performances from Maple Blues Award nominees past and present, including Nova Scotia’s Joe Murphy, last year’s Blues With A Feeling Award winner Rita Chiarelli, Toronto’s Fathead, long time blues fixture Bill Johnson from Victoria, B.C., Ottawa’s MonkeyJunk, as well as the awards gala house band, The Maple Blues Band.

WINNERS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL MAPLE BLUES AWARDS



ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Matt Andersen

ELECTRIC ACT OF THE YEAR
Monkey Junk


ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR
Matt Andersen


MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Matt Andersen

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Suzie Vinnick


NEW ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Sabrina Weeks & Swing Cat Bounce

RECORDING OF THE YEAR
To Behold, MonkeyJunk


BLUES WITH A FEELING (Lifetime Achievement)
Paul James


BB KING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gregg Allman


GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steve Strongman

HARMONICA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Carlos del Junco


PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne


HORN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chris Whiteley


DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Matt Sobb


BASSIST OF THE YEAR
Alec Fraser


SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Suzie Vinnick


BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR
Liz Sykes