Niagara Music Awards return, submissions open
First live edition since the start of the pandemic
After a long hiatus, the Niagara Music Awards are making their return.
Submissions are open for the 14th edition of the awards taking place June 2 at a venue yet to be announced. It will be the first awards show since an online-only version in 2020, and the first live show since 2019 at the Niagara Falls Convention Centre.
Organizer Todd Brown said “it was time” for the show to resurface.
“After the whole COVID thing, there was a lot of uncertainty,” he said. “As you know, a lot of preplanning goes into these types of events and you have to book venues months and months in advance.
“Now that everything has settled down and we are confident we can gather together live, we are ready to host a great event.”
Artists can make their submissions at niagaramusicawards.ca. There is no fee to enter.
Categories include punk, folk and hip hop along with album and original song of the year. Submissions are open to artists residing in Niagara. Bands must have at least one member from the region.
Brown said in addition to the live awards show, there will be a week of music events in the region leading up to it.
But gathering the artists together again for an actual awards show was key.
“There is nothing like the feeling of having 1,000 people in a venue from all of the different genres,” he said.
The awards began in 2008 with the first show held at the former
NFCVI high school in Niagara Falls. Winners through the years include country singer Tim Hicks, who has gone on to national stardom.
In 2014, the awards were attended by Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman), who was given a special achievement award.
Brown expects the live show to pick up where it left off five years ago, with a red carpet and between 10 to 12 live performances.
He expects some special guests and surprises to be added to the agenda.
Despite the massive amount of work it entails, Brown said he misses the show and wants to put the spotlight on the “amazing talent pool” in the region again.
“The artists deserve to be recognized for the effort that they make day in and day out, trying to build a career for themselves in music and follow their dreams,” he said. “I’m excited to be back and I’m looking forward to making this season bigger and better than it has ever been.”