Honorary ECMAS to be presented over weekend
The 2020 East Coast Music Awards takes place online and on the air with three separate events this weekend, after the original April 29 to May 3 event in St. John’s was canceled due to the COVID19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the East Coast Music Association also announced the recipients of this year’s honorary ECMAS, most of which will be presented during the 2020 ECMA Pre-awards Show on Facebook and Youtube on Friday at 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Newfoundland’s Man of a Thousand Songs, the late Ron Hynes, as part of the Saturday evening CBC-TV broadcast and CBC Gem stream at 9 p.m.
Hynes, a six-time ECMA winner, will also be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on Saturday, and receive a special tribute featuring Joel Hynes, Lennie Gallant, and the reunited vocal group Shaye, featuring Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle and Tara Maclean.
“Up until his passing, Ron Hynes was passionate about his craft, and many songwriters from Newfoundland looked up to him as an inspiration to their art,” said Vanessa Thomas, executive director of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, about the author of iconic island songs like Sonny’s Dream and Atlantic Blue. “With his trademark broadbrimmed hat and love for his province, his impact on the culture and artists of Newfoundland is unmatched.”
The 2020 Honorary East Coast Music Awards also include the Directors’ Special Achievement Award, which will be presented to global singing star Measha Brueggergosman for both her tremendous talent as a singer of classical and popular song, and her advocacy for music education and Canadian literature.
In keeping with the original St. John’s setting for the 2020 ECMA weekend, three honorary awards for Newfoundland entities will also be presented during the pre-awards show on Friday afternoon. Trailblazing Newfoundland folk band Shanneyganock will receive a Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award for bringing the province’s rich folklore around the globe, from the Middle East to the North Pole, and inspiring the music for the Broadway hit Come From Away.
Television and concert promoter Tony Murray will receive the Industry Builder Award for his efforts towards getting Newfoundland and Labrador performers on stages big and small as well as producing shows for the ECMA, Musicnl and the NLAC Awards.
The Musician’s Achievement Award will go to one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s leading traditional performers and promoters: fiddler and member of the Order of Canada, Kelly Russell. A prominent member of pioneering bands Figgy Duff, the Wonderful Grand Band, the Irish Descendants and Kelly Russell & the Planks, the busy artists also released over 30 albums on his Pigeon Inlet Productions label between 1979 and 1997.
The weekend will also see the announcement of the recipients of five Stompin’ Tom Awards, presented to musicians and industry figures who helped build the Atlantic Canadian music community, during CBC’S Weekend Morning radio shows on Saturday.