Awards presented in Charlottetown

N.S. artists capture eight of 12 categories; The East Pointers from P.E.I. also win

Nova Scotia musicians took home the most hardware at the 36th East Coast Music Awards in Charlottetown, capturing eight of the 12 honours.

Five of the winners who received awards during the ceremony at the Delta Confederation Ballroom in Charlottetown on May 2 hail from the province’s mainland with the remaining three coming out of Cape Breton.

Two P.E.I. performers picked up awards: The East Pointers and Jenn Grant, who also hails from Nova Scotia.

AWARDS

The first group of 2024 winners include:

African Canadian artist of the year: Maggie Andrew (N.S.)

Album of the year: Neon Dreams - Love Child Baby Dolphin (N.S.)

Director’s Special Achievement Award: Bruce Guthro (Cape Breton)

Francophone recording of the year: Julie Aubé - Contentement (N.B.)

TD fans’ choice entertainer of the year: Derina Harvey Band (N.L.)

TD fans’ choice video of the year: 2nd Generation - “Kina’mu”, Directed by Matthew Ingraham (Cape Breton)

Group recording of the year: The East Pointers - Safe in Sound (P.E.I.)

Indigenous artist of the year: Morgan Toney (Cape Breton)

R&B/soul recording of the year: KAYO - Trip (N.S.)

Rock recording of the year: Good Dear Good - Arrival Morgan Tony received his fourth ECMA award in the indigenous artist of the year category during the 2024 ECMA Awards Night on May 2. The event was held at the Delta Prince Edward Convention Centre in Charlottetown. He said winning this award feels amazing and he hopes it inspires other indigenous youth to pursue their passion for music.

VIVIAN ULINWA • SALTWIRE

(N.S.)

Solo recording of the year: Tim Baker - The Festival (N.L.)

Songwriter of the year: Jenn Grant (P.E.I./N.S.)

PERFORMED

Six of the winners – The East Pointers, Baker, KAYO, Andrew, Grant and Toney – performed at the show, along with Newfoundland's Rum Ragged and P.E.I.'s Tara MacLean, Émilie Landry and Lennie Gallant.

The event was hosted by singer-songwriter Rose Cousins

and CBC music host Damhnait Doyle.

Three classical awards will be handed out during a showcase event on May 4 at St. Paul’s Church, and the remaining 25 music, industry and honorary awards will be presented on May 5, starting at 11 a.m., at the P.E.I. Convention Centre. That show will be livestreamed at ECMA.com.

In between, the ECMA features several dozen smaller concerts and musical showcases, with available on the event website.

VIVIAN ULINWA • SALTWIRE Tim Chaisson, left, and Jake Charron of the East Pointers won group recording of the year during the ECMA award ceremony held May 2 at the P.E.I. Convention Centre in Charlottetown. The award was presented by Premier Dennis King. Charron told SaltWire how special the award is to them and how winning this category in their home province is a big deal.

VIVIAN ULINWA • SALTWIRE Maggie Andrew, an artist from Nova Scotia, won her rst ECMA award for African Canadian artist of the year during the award nights at the Delta Prince Edward Convention Centre on May 2 in Charlottetown. She said getting nominated nd was a huge recognition of her craft and winning the category meant a lot to her.