The winners of the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards were announced during a gala event in Edmonton this past weekend, and musicians like Amelia Curran from Newfoundland and Catherine MacLellan from PEI came out on top.
Curran, who released They Promised You Mercy in late 2014 on Six Shooter Records, took home the award for Contemporary Singer and English Songwriter of the Year. And MacLellan, releasing her debut album The Raven’s Son in 2004, has toured internationally and her music has been a perennial fixture at the top of Canada’s Roots Music Charts, winning acclaim from international media including the Austin Chronicle, The Boston Globe, BBC Radio, Maverick Magazine and Q Magazine. She won for Contemporary Album and Solo Artist of the Year.
Here is a complete list of winners:
Ensemble of the Year: Big Little Lions – A Little Frayed, A Little Torn
Young Performer of the Year: Rebecca Lappa – Tattered Rose
Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year: Adrianna Ciccone – The Back of Winter
Pushing the Boundaries: Kevin Breit – Ernesto and Delilah
World Artist of the Year: Kiran Ahluwalia – Sanata: Stillness
World Group of the Year: Lemon Bucket Orkestra – Moorka
New/Emerging Artist of the Year: The Young Novelists – Made Us Strangers
Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year: Digging Roots – For The Light
French Songwriter of the Year: Louis-Jean Cormier – Les grandes artères
Traditional Singer of the Year: Michael Jerome Browne – Sliding Delta
Producer of the Year: Jenn Grant – Compostela
Instrumental Group of the Year: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy – ONE
Contemporary Singer of the Year: Amelia Curran – They Promised You Mercy
English Songwriter of the Year: Amelia Curran – They Promised You Mercy
Vocal Group of the Year: Fortunate Ones – The Bliss
Traditional Album of the Year: Matthew Byrne – Hearts & Heroes
Children’s Album of the Year: The Swinging Belles – More Sheep, Less Sleep
Contemporary Album of the Year: Catherine MacLellan – The Raven’s Sun
Solo Artist of the Year: Catherine MacLellan – The Raven’s Sun
Photo: Amelia Curran