Canadian Folk Music Awards Announce 2017 Winners

Danny Michel, Fred Penner, Ken Yates, Stephen Fearing, Moscow Apartment and Leeroy Stagger are among the winners

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Nov 20, 2017

After revealing its nominees back in September, the 2017 Canadian Folk Music Awards were held this weekend at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa. Now, the names of this year's winners are out.

Twenty awards were handed out over two bilingual gala events. Ontario singer-songwriter Danny Michel came away with a pair of awards, winning both the Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award and the Producer of the Year Award alongside collaborator Rob Carli.

Other winners included Fred Penner, Ken Yates, Cassie and Maggie, Mama's Broke, Moscow Apartment, Gerry Strong, Leeroy Stagger, Stephen Fearing, Twin Flames, Kobo Town, Louis Simāo and more.

You can find the full list of nominees and winners below, with the winner of each category in bold.

The gala was hosted by musicians Jean Hewson and Benoit Bourque, and featured performances from MAZ, Twin Flames, Beyond the Pale, BEYRIES, Kobo Town, Danny Michel, Cassie and Maggie, Braden Gates, Coco Méliès, Scott MacMillan & Colin Grant, Oh Susanna and Stephen Fearing.

Canadian Folk Music Awards 2017 Winners:

Young Performer of the Year:


Moscow Apartment - Demo
Quin Etheridge-Pedden - Embark
Keltie Monaghan - Someone Tell Her
he Wolfe - The Wolfe
John Muirhead - Yesterday's Smile

New/Emerging Artist of the Year:

Hidden Roots Collective - Come Up, Honey
Silent Winters - Fireworks & a Small Brigade
Ken Yates - Huntsville
Braden Gates - Much Rather Be Sleeping
The Bombadils - New Shoes


The Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award:

Shreem - Celtic Remixing
Danny Michel - Khlebnikov
Mélisande [électrotrad] - Les millésimes
Turkwaz - Nazar
Tanya Tagaq - Retribution

English Songwriter(s) of the Year:

Oh Susanna - A Girl In Teen City
Stephen Fearing - Every Soul's a Sailor
Scott Cook - Further Down The Line
Ken Yates - Huntsville
Amelia Curran - Watershed

French Songwriter(s) of the Year:

Patrice Michaud - Almanach
Luc De Larochellière - Autre monde
ivianne Roy, Katrine Noël, Julie Aubé of Les Hay Babies -  La 4ième dimension (version longue)
Philippe B - La grande nuit vidéo
Catherine Durand - La pluie entre nous

Aboriginal Songwriter(s) of the Year:

Lisa Muswagon - Buffalo and Rabbits
Julian Taylor, Kinnie Starr, John Parente, Bill Bell of Julian Taylor Band - Desert Star
Twin Flames - Signal Fire
Cindy Paul - The Flight
Desiree Dorion - Tough Street

World Group of the Year:

MAZ - ID
Turkwaz - Nazar
Beyond The Pale - Ruckus
Twin Flames - Signal Fire
Kobo Town - Where the Galleon Sank

World Solo Artist of the Year: 

Louis Simão - A Luz (The Light)
Farnaz Ohadi & The Mashregh Ensemble - Bird Dance
Kelly Bado - Entre deux
Briga - Femme
The Mardom Movement - Maneli Jamal


Traditional Album of the Year:

Jayme Stone - Folklife
André Brunet - La grosse maison rouge 
Còig - Rove  
Jenny Whiteley - The Original Jenny Whiteley 
Cassie and Maggie - The Willow Collection

Traditional Singer of the Year:

Dave Penny - All Turned Around
Hannah Shira Naiman - Know The Mountain
Mélisande Gélinas-Fauteux of Mélisande [électrotrad] - Les millésimes
Maggie MacDonald of Cassie and Maggie - The Willow Collection
Sarah Jane Scouten - When the Bloom Falls From the Rose

Contemporary Album of the Year:

The Fretless - Bird's Nest 
Abigail Lapell - Hide Not Hair 
Tomato Tomato - I Go Where You Go 
Braden Gates - Much Rather Be Sleeping 
Leif Vollebekk - Twin Solitude

Contemporary Singer of the Year:

Oh Susanna - A Girl In Teen City
Stephen Fearing - Every Soul's A Sailor 
Abigail Lapell - Hide Nor Hair
Lisa LeBlanc - Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?
Coco Love Alcorn - Wonderland
 
Instrumental Group of the Year:

Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy - A Celtic Family Christmas
The Fretless - Bird's Nest
Scott Macmillan & Colin Grant - Good2go
Beyond The Pale - Ruckus
MacIsaac and MacKenzie - The Bay Street Sessions

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year:

Don Ross - A Million Brazilian Civilians
Roberto López - Criollo Electric
Glenn Chatten - Dragonfly
André Brunet - La grosse maison rouge
Maneli Jamal - The Mardom Movement
 
Vocal Group of the Year:

The Big East - Hungry Ghosts
The Bombadils - New Shoes
Twin Flames - Signal Fire
Coco Méliès - The Riddles
Cassie and Maggie - The Willow Collection

Ensemble of the Year:

Mama's Broke - Count the Wicked
Silent Winters - Fireworks & a Small Brigade
100 mile house - Hiraeth 
The Jerry Cans - Inuusiq
Cassie and Maggie - The Willow Collection

Solo Artist of the Year:

Stephen Fearing - Every Soul's A Sailor
Zachary Lucky - Everywhere A Man Can Be
BEYRIES - Landing
Leeroy Stagger - Love Versus
Amelia Curran - Watershed

Children's Album of the Year:

Jessie Farrell - Chirp Chirp Happy
Fred Penner - Hear The Music
Ginalina - Home Is Family 
Stella Swanson and the Rosie Joyfuls - Pants on Backwards
Madame Diva et Micah le jeune voyageur - Zing-E-Zing!

Producer(s) of the Year:

Jim Bryson - Oh Susanna's A Girl In Teen City
Stephen Fearing and David Travers-Smith - Stephen Fearing's Every Soul's A Sailor
Danny Michel and Rob Carli - Danny Michel's Khlebnikov
Joel Plaskett - Bill & Joel Plaskett's Solidarity
Amelia Curran and Chris Stringer - Amelia Curran's Watershed

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