National music award thrills Rheaume
Ottawa singer-songwriter honoured along with Shari Ulrich and Coig
Ottawa singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume, British Columbia artist Shari Ulrich and the Cape Breton ensemble Coig were among the artists thrilled to join the winners’ circle at the 10th-anniversary edition of the Canadian Folk Music Awards on Saturday.
The thrill may have been sweetest for Rheaume, who was the hometown favourite in the Aboriginal category, even though her Juno-nominated album, Keep a Fire, faced tough competition from Animism, the Polari-swinning entry by Tanya Tagaq.
“I did not expect that, being in the same category as so many amazing artists and friends,” said a happy and surprised Rheaume, who accepted the award with her songwriting partner, Ottawa musician John MacDonald. “This whole album was about looking back into my family’s past and learning about where I came from, discovering and honouring my native roots. This is a true honour.”
Ulrich was the night’s only multiple winner, taking home the awards for English songwriter of the year and vocal group of the year. Her album, Everywhere I Go, earned the songwriting award, while a gospel-bluegrass project recorded with the High Bar Gang, a West Coast supergroup that also includes Barney Bentall and Colin Nairn, earned the vocal group award.
“Of any award I could ever get, this means the most to me,” Ulrich said about the songwriting award, explaining that the album was created upon the urging of her daughter. “This album means the most for me. And to be in the company of my friends that I love and respect so much is incredible. As we all know, it’s all about the song.”
Later in the evening, the members of Coig, from Cape Breton, were stunned to pick up the award for traditional album of the year. “We didn’t think we’d win, so we went for a beer but they shut the bar down,” confessed fiddler Chrissy Crowley, just after blurting out that she may have peed her fancy dress amid the excitement.
Other winners included Kacy & Clayton, who earned the award for young performer of the year; Quebec electrotrad singer-songwriter Mélisande, named traditional singer of the year; Moustafa Kouyata & Romain Malagnoux, declared the best world group; and Quique Escamilla, crowned best world solo artist.
New Brunswick’s Lennie Gallant took home the award for solo artist of the year, and although he forgot who he should have been thanking, he remembered to plug his show at the Black Sheep Inn on Sunday afternoon.
Speaking of the Wakefield watering hole, owner Paul Symes was given the award for innovator of the year, in recognition of the “tenacity, vision and innovation” required to establish a venue outside the city. His daughter, Kelly Symes, accepted the award on his behalf. “He’s at work,” she explained. “Like he has been every Saturday night for the past 20 years.”
In another Ottawa-centric moment, singer-songwriter Ian Tamblyn gave a funny and poignant tribute to his friend, 80-year-old Harvey Glatt, who received the Unsung Hero award for his decades of support to the Canadian folk music scene. As Tamblyn said, “Wherever there is music, Harvey and (his wife) Louise will be there supporting it.”
Many of the musicians were not available to accept their awards in person, often because folk music involves a lot of travelling, as Lynn Miles so eloquently expressed in her song, This is My Road. Among the absentees were Fred Penner, Matt Andersen, Jayme Stone, Tanya Tagaq, Andrew Collins, the Fretless and Bros. Landreth.
The awards were handed out during a down-to-earth gala at Ottawa’s Bronson Centre. While there’s no excess of showbiz glamour in Canada’s folk-music world, the awards ceremony was a well-paced and lighthearted affair, thanks to the banter of hosts Shelagh Rogers and Benoit Bourque and concise, two-song performances by Lynn Miles, Finest Kind, Good Lovelies, Lennie Gallant and more. A closing segment featuring the Québécois traditional music of De Temps Antan made for a rousing finale.