Pony Girl leads the pack of Capital Music nominees
Voting is open and tickets are on sale for fifth edition of Awards, set for May 16
Art rockers Pony Girl, electro-feminist duo Beau Nectar and the soulful big band The Commotions are the leading nominees in the fifth edition of the Capital Music Awards.
For Pony Girl, it’s a big year, with five nominations giving them an edge over the competition. The chamber-pop collective anchored by Pascal Huot and Yolande Laroche is vying for awards in the categories for the year’s best video, single, album, production and songwriter, rewarding the work that went into their Laff it Off release.
The next best shot at an award belongs to the bilingual duo of Beau Nectar, which consists of Eastern Ontario singer-songwriter Marie Clo (a Capital Music Award winner in 2021) and Saskatchewan’s éemi. They’re up for four awards, including best video, newcomer, group and production.
Another four artists have reeled in a trio of nominations, including The Commotions (best album, group and production), rootsy singer-songwriter Mimi O’bonsawin ( best album, solo artist and songwriter), youthful multi-instrumentalist Grey Brisson (best solo artist, songwriter and newcomer) and franco pop-rocker Joly (best album, single and music educator).
The crop of challengers is rounded out by a group of double nominees, including hard rockers F!TH, franco-trad-punk lumberjacks Les Rat d’swompe, uottawa English student/singer-songwriter Hannah Vi and hip hop-tik Tok star Zach Diamond.
Up for a single award in an artist category are balladeer Mikhail Laxton, songstress Jessica Pearson and the East Wind, indie rockers The New Hires, Afro-caribbean R&B darling Jessie Simmons and electro-pop sweetheart Melissa Lamm.
Organized and administered by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC), the awards program also includes industry nods recognizing the top venue and live-music curator. This section sees presenters such as Spectrasonic’s Shawn Scallen and Chamberfest’s Carissa Klopoushak battling for top curator, while the venue competition is a downtown race between Bronson Centre, Club SAW, Live on Elgin, the Rainbow and Red Bird, with suburban basement bar The Brass Monkey also in the running.
New this year are categories for best music educator and best sound engineer, a five-man, zero-woman battle that includes Steve Foley, Nick Schofield and Quest (David Leclerc).
Nominees for the Capital Music Awards come from submissions by OMIC members. Winners in five categories are decided by the public through online voting, while others are determined by a jury.
Cast your vote for the year’s best single, newcomer, video, live-music venue and live-music curator at ottawamic.com. Use the same link to buy tickets to the May 16 ceremony.
The awards will be handed out at Bronson Centre Music Theatre during a gala hosted by Ottawa Juno-winner Angélique Francis, with performances by Francis’ band, along with Pony Girl, Amanda Rhéaume, J. Morris and LEFLOFRANCO.
House-band duties will be handled by The Lionyls under the direction of Commotions bandleader Brian Asselin.