… Juno joy in Hamilton
CALGARY — It took six tries, but veteran Hamilton blues singer Harrison Kennedy finally has a Juno for his mantelpiece.
Kennedy, who turned 74 last month, won the Juno for blues album of the year Saturday night at a gala awards banquet attended by some 1,200 music industry insiders at the Calgary Convention Centre.
The Hamilton native, who first found international success more than 45 years ago with the Detroitbased soul group Chairmen of the Board, had been nominated in the blues category five previous times. Saturday marked his first victory, winning for his album “This Is From Here.”
“You make me feel all right,” Kennedy sang from the podium as he accepted the award. “I didn’t expect to win this thing because it’s been six times.”
Later Kennedy explained to reporters that his family settled in Ontario after fleeing slavery in the United States. That, he said, made gaining recognition in his home country all the more sweet.
“This is the most nervous I’ve ever been, because it means so much to me,” Kennedy told reporters.
“I’ve always been proud of the fact that I’m a Canadian. A lot of it has to do with the fact that my great-grandparents ran from a country to get here. That’s always been part of the history in my house. So to win this award … it’s fantastic.”
Burlington-raised Melissa McClelland, who performs with her husband Luke Doucet as the roots-rock duo Whitehorse, also took home her first Juno, winning in the adult alternative category for the album “Leave No Bridge Unburned.”
McClelland, who started her singing career performing in Hamilton clubs like The Casbah, thanked her parents who had come to Calgary from Burlington to attend the Juno banquet and watch Whitehorse perform Sunday night during the nationally televised awards show.
“My parents, my sister and my sister-in-law flew out for this,” McClelland said.
“It’s really nice to have them here … When I was 16 or 17, I would go to The Casbah every Monday night for the open (microphone) night and play the three new songs I had written that week. My parents would drive me there, sit in the front and cheer me on. They have been incredibly supportive of this crazy life that I’ve decided to lead.”
Folk icon Buffy Sainte-Marie won two awards Saturday for aboriginal album of the year and contemporary roots album of the year for “Power in the Blood,” released by Waterdown-based True North Records.
“Thank you to True North Records who got this album heard,” Sainte-Marie, 75, said as she accepted the contemporary roots album award. “Thank you (True North owner), Geoff Kulawick.”
See more Juno coverage and award photos online at thespec.com