Indies Announce 2016 Nominees

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Apr 14, 2016

For the 16h year running, the Indies will be given out in a ceremony during Canadian Music Week, and the nominees for the 2016 instalment of the award show have just been unveiled.
 
Amongst those nominated are Canadian critical darlings and fan favourites like Carly Rae Jepsen, Grimes, Tobias Jesso Jr., City and Colour, Wintersleep, Whitehorse, BADBADNOTGOOD, Jazz Cartier and plenty more.
 
Fighting it out for Album of the Year are Carly Rae Jepsen's EMOTION, Grimes' Art Angels, Majical Cloudz' Are You Alone?, Tobias Jesso Jr.'s Goon and Viet Cong's self-titled album.
 
BADBADNOTGOOD, Metric, the Strumbellas, Whitehorse and Young Empires will face off for Group of the Year, while Jepsen, City and Colour, Grimes, Lights and YOAN will duke it out for the title of Artist of the Year.
 
The Alternative Artist/Group of the Year pits Destroyer, Half Moon Run, Mac DeMarco, the Zolas and Yukon Blonde against each other, while Rock Artist/Group of the Year sees Dilly Dally, Hey Rosetta!, Monster Truck, the Elwins and the Glorious Sons all getting nods.
 
Hardware will also be handed out acknowledging accomplishments in songwriting, contributions from Aboriginal and Francophone artists, and in genres like electronic/dance, pop and rap/R&B. Scroll down to see a complete list.
 
Supported by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the Indies honour both Canadian and international independent music, and this year the event is being presented by Toronto radio station Indie 88.
 
The ceremony is scheduled to take place on May 4 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, and will feature performances from Wintersleep, the Strumbellas, Alberta Cross and the Zolas.
 
The winners are determined by votes from industry professionals and the public, and you can find out how to submit your selections for the most deserving recipients over here.
 
Without further ado, here is the full list of this year's Indies nominees:
 
ALBUM OF THE YEAR  
        
Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion
Grimes - Art Angels
Majical Cloudz - Are You Alone?
Tobias Jesso Jr. - Goon
Viet Cong - Viet Cong
                      
SINGLE OF THE YEAR  
                   
Arkells "Leather Jacket"
Coleman Hell "2 Heads"
Jocelyn Alice "Jackpot"
The Strumbellas "Spirits"
Wintersleep "Amerika"
                      
GROUP OF THE YEAR
                      
BADBADNOTGOOD
Metric
The Strumbellas
Whitehorse
Young Empires
                      
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
 
Carly Rae Jepsen
City and Colour
Grimes
Lights
YOAN
                       
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
 
City and Colour
Hayden
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Whitehorse
Young Empires
                      
ABORIGINAL ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
A Tribe Called Red
Buffy Sainte-Marie
City Natives
Drezus
Tanya Tagaq
                      
ALTERNATIVE ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
Destroyer
Half Moon Run
Mac DeMarco
The Zolas
Yukon Blonde
                      
ELECTRONIC/DANCE ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
A-Trak
Braids
Keys N Krates
Pomo
Purity Ring
                      
FRANCOPHONE ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
Chocolat
Galaxie
La Bronze
Louis-Jean Cormier
Marie-Pierre Arthur
                      
POP ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
Coleman Hell
Dan Talevski
Jocelyn Alice
Ria Mae
Tyler Shaw
                      
RAP/R&B ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
Daniel Caesar
Jazz Cartier
John River
SonReal
Spek Wo
                      
ROCK ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
Dilly Dally
Hey Rosetta!
Monster Truck
The Elwins
The Glorious Sons
                      
SINGER-SONGWRITER ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
Basia Bulat
Dan Mangan
Lindi Ortega
Patrick Watson
The Weather Station
                      
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST/GROUP OF THE YEAR
 
Alabama Shakes
Courtney Barnett
Major Lazer
Mumford & Sons
Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats

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