Music News Digest: MusicNL Awards Nominees Announced, Halifax Urban Folk Festival Announces Lineup
Also this week: Another late summer festival, Southside Shuffle in Port Credit, has also unveiled its acts, while the National Music Centre explores Laurel Canyon music era and its connection to Canada.
Mallory Johnson
Awards News
MusicNL has announced the 2025 nominees for the MusicNL Awards.
Topping the list is Mallory Johnson with six noms, followed by Quote The Raven with five nods and XIA-3, Natasha Blackwood, Justin Fancy, and Mick Davis and Thin Love, with four nominations each. Deantha Edmunds, Jake Nicoll, Nico Paulo, Rube & Rake, and Port-Aux-Poutines are among 13 artists nominated in three categories.
In all, there are 177 award nominations across 35 award categories, including three new categories for 2025: songwriter of the year (non-performer), sound on screen award and international touring artist of the year. The awards will be handed out as part of MusicNL Week, taking place in St. John's, Newfoundland from November 12 to 16, along with public performances, a gala and an industry development conference.
Member voting and fan’s choice entertainer of the year voting is now open, both closing on September 1 at 11:59 pm NDT.
- MusicNL Member voting: Members are invited to cast their votes via musicnl.grantplatform.com
- Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year voting: Open to the public, voting can be accessed here.
MusicNL's Honorary Awards will be announced at a later date.
Festivals News
Described as Atlantic Canada’s premiere folk festival, the Halifax Urban Folk Festival is happening from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5. Word is that tickets are selling quickly, reflecting the strength of this year's lineup. It is headed by Americana favourite Rhett Miller, fast-rising Indigenous artist Aysanabee, acclaimed Irish-Canadian folk singer Irish Mythen, New Brunswick rockers The Monoxides, Americana band Pretty Archie, noted singer-songwriters Andre Pettipas, Dave Sampson, Mo Kenney and Charlie A’Court, rootsy songsmith Ray Bonneville and Nick Earle & the Restless Hearts. More info here.
– The 27th annaul Southside Shuffle Blues & Jazz Festival in Port Credit, Mississauga, runs Sept. 5-7. This year's artist lineup features rock alongside blues, roots and jazz acts. Notable names include The Sheepdogs, Big Sugar, Tom Wilson, David Gogo, Steve Strongman, Ira Walker, Pappy Johns Band, Chuck Jackson, Miss Emily, Jat Douglas, Hogtown AllStars and Swamperella. More info here.
Industry News
Music Nova Scotia has named the invited delegates who will be attending Nova Scotia Music Week in Yarmouth/Kespukwitk from October 23-26. This year’s conference will focus on three major themes: opportunity development, mentorship and skill development and queer stories and experiences.
Delegates are coming from Germany, the U.K., Australia, the U.S. and across Canada, representing record labels (Victory Pool, Warner Music Canada, 100 Collective Records, Stomp Records, Twin Fang), festivals (Mariposa, Riverfest Elora, Le Phoque Off, POP Montreal), CBC Music, Guild of Music Supervisors Canada and more. More delegates will be announced as conference programming details are released. Learn more about this year’s invited delegates here.
Regular price delegate passes and festival wristbands are on sale now here. NSMW is also seeking volunteers to assist with the event. Volunteers have access to showcases, conference sessions, and more (subject to venue capacity). To register, sign up here.
– CIMA is now accepting applications to join its business mission to MaMa Music & Convention in Paris. Running Oct. 15-17, MaMa Music & Convention is one of France's leading conferences, hosting 5,000+ delegates from 50 countries for panels, talks, mixers, and showcases in the Pigalle and Montmartre neighbourhoods. Taking place in 12 venues across the city, it offers an opportunity to over 120 artists from across the globe to perform in front of international audiences of music professionals, media, and Parisian attendees.
CIMA will bring a delegation of five music companies who are targeting France in their export strategy. All companies can apply, with preference given to CIMA member companies. This mission is open to labels, managers, publishers, agents, festivals and promoters. Apply here by Sept. 22.
– MusicNL reports that two of its members, Becca Bartlett and Summer Bennett, have been selected to participate in a special mentorship opportunity led by Grammy-winning artist Seal. This initiative is part of a new pilot collaboration with The Person First (formerly the Youth Performance Institute) based in Alpine, New Jersey. Bartlett and Bennett will attend a three-day retreat from Aug. 27 to 29, learning directly from Seal and other educational leaders, gaining valuable insights and tools to help shape and grow their emerging careers.
– National Music Centre has announced a music summit entitled Echoes Across the Border: Laurel Canyon and the Northern Connection, set for on October 4 & 5 at the NMC in Calgary. Presented in partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, it covers an influential period that brought Canadian and U.S. artists together. The event will include speakers from Canada and the U.S., including Rob Bowman, a Canadian Grammy-winning musicologist, music journalist Nicholas Jennings, Eileen Chapman, director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, and Robert Santelli, a Grammy-winning music historian and the executive director of the Archives. The summit will culminate with a live tribute concert featuring artists performing timeless songs from the era. Details TBA.
Artists News
Hamilton's downtown Germania Club is an historic German-Canadian banquet hall that oozes character. Its funky basement space, The Rathskeller, occasionally hosts live music, and I checked out a couple of veteran local singer-songwriters there on Friday. Leading off was Pip (aka Philip Kummel), who has organised a music series there. He premiered a brand new song alongside gently melodic material from his latest albums, Expressway and Every City (he has released 31 albums in all!). Sweet stuff. Sharing the bill was another Hamilton favourite, Jamie Shea. He often records and performs with a full band, The Gentle Reminders, but in this intimate setting, he performed solo, with fluent guitar and harmonica employed on his literate material.
Kummel informs that his music nights are the second and fourth Friday every month, running 7:30 to 9 pm. Upcoming artists include Will Gillespie on Sept. 26. Of note: You can indulge in the city's best schnitzel while catching the music here.
