Music News Digest: Ontario Folk Music & Reggae North Awards, Adam Gontier Returns to Three Days Grace

Awards news

The Ontario Folk Music Awards (presented by Folk Music Ontario) were handed out at Mississauga, ON’s Living Arts Centre on October 6. This year’s winners were The Pairs (CMRRA Song of the Year, for "Annie's Daughter"), Good Lovelies (ACTRA RACS Recording Artist of the Year), The Angelique Francis Band (Performing Artist) and Payadora Tango Ensemble featuring Lenka Lichtenberg and Aviva Chernick (Album of the Year for Silent Tears, The Last Yiddish Tango). Two Estelle Klein Awards went to Samir Baijal (Lifetime Achievement) and Pat O’Gorman and Julie Schryer (Community Builder), and Leah Holtom won the Colleen Peterson Award. Hosted by Janice Jo Lee, the event included performances by Sultans of String, The Angelique Francis Band, Adrian Sutherland, Mimi O’Bonsawin, Payadora Tango Ensemble and Jessica Pearson and the East Wind.

– The inaugural Reggae North Music Awards were held on Sept. 29 at the Rose Theatre in Brampton, Ontario. Nineteen awards were presented to individuals whose music has impacted the reggae and dancehall spaces in Canada. Multiple award winners (two apiece) were Exco Levi, Phenique and Tonya P. Other notable winners included Steele, The Human Rights, Ammoye, J. Stvrr and Kirk Diamond. See the full list here. The launch of Reggae North coincided with an ongoing controversy over the Juno Awards decision (now rescinded) to cancel the reggae category.

– Music Nova Scotia has announced the 2024 Music Nova Scotia Music & Industry Awards Brunch, to be held on Sunday, November 10 (11 a.m.), at Acadia University’s Sheldon L. Fountain Learning Commons in Wolfville. This year’s ceremony will present awards in 21 music and 8 industry categories, and will feature performances by Daniel James McFayden, DeeDee Austin, HARMZ, Pillow Fite, and Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen. Brunch tickets are on sale now here.

Festivals news

– Toronto's North By Northeast (NXNE) festival turns 30 next year. It will run from June 11-15, and applications to perform there are already open here.

– The Huntsville Festival of the Arts has unveiled a strong series of concerts for the fall and early winter season. New Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Tom Cochrane kicked things off on Oct. 6, and he'll be followed by Donovan Woods, Matt Dusk (singing Tony Bennett), George Canyon, Sue Foley, Glass Tiger, Good Lovelies (a Christmas show) and The Strumbellas. Info and tickets here.

Industry news

– CIMA (Canadian Independent Music Association) travels to Sydney, Australia this month for its inaugural showcase and business mission to SXSW Sydney from October 14-20. In attendance for this mission will be eight Canadian companies and five Canadian showcasing acts, who will perform on Oct. 16, after a Meet the Canadians networking reception. Artists performing are country stars Tim Hicks and Jess Moskaluke, Indigenous singer-songwriter Aysanabee, fiery rockers The OBGMs and Ila Barker. At the conference, Canadian delegates will participate in networking sessions, B2B meetings , panels, exclusive events, one on one meetings, and more.

– Long one of Canada's most important indie record labels, Hamitlon-based Sonic Unyon has announced the opening of its third venue in Ontario. The team behind Mills Hardware and Bridgeworks in Hamilton has expanded to Guelph, with the just-opened Sonic Hall. The 230 standing-cap venue is located in the heart of downtown Guelph. The upcoming artist lineup includes The Sadies, Great Lake Swimmers, Cuff the Duke, Tom Wilson, Skye Wallace, Menno Versteeg and Lowest of the Low. More info here.

– Your Voice is Power is the Amazon Music and Amazon Future Engineer’s educational program and remix competition that teaches computer science and coding skills to Canadian middle and high school students using music from Indigenous artists. In the lead-up to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, two Canadian high school students were awarded $5,000 scholarships for their entries in a national remix competition that blends Indigenous music with coding education. Harshita Jindia, a grade 12 student from Calgary, and Diane Kunnuk, a grade 11 student in Igloolik, Nunavut, are the 2024 winners of the competition, judged by a panel of experts including Juno Award winner Aysanabee. As part of their prize, the students will be featured on the Amazon Music billboard at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square. More info here.

– Popular Canadian hard rock band Three Days Grace has announced the official return of its original singer Adam Gontier, with Matt Walst remaining a lead vocalist as well. Gontier recently surprised fans during a performance in Nashville. Further details about new music and touring plans will be forthcoming. Since 2003, Three Days Grace has scored eighteen #1 records at Mediabase Active Rock and seventeen #1s at Billboard/BDS Active Rock. The band consistently averages 13 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and boasts over 5 Billion combined streams.

– After over 20 years in radio, Wendy Boomer has joined 604 Records as the label's Country Division head. Last year, Boomer won a CCMA Award as Country Personality of the Year for her work at Country 92.3 (CKBY-FM), Ottawa/Smiths Falls, and Rogers Radio Country network

– The BraveHearts Gala, benefitting theKristen French Child Advocacy Centre Niagara, returns on Wednesday, October 23, at the Central Community Centre (680 York Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake). The event features a gourmet dinner, an auction and an intimate concert featuring two of Canadian rock’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters,Sam Roberts and Joel Plaskett. A fundraising target of $100K has been set. More info and tickets here.

Artists news

– One of the best-selling American punk bands of all time, The Offspring release a new album, Supercharged, on October 11. It has a strong component, as it was recorded in Vancouver, with hit Canadian producer Bob Rock. Advance first single, "Make It All Right," recently hit #1 on the Billboard Rock & Alternative Airplay chart. 2024 is the 30^th anniversary of Smash, The Offspring's 6x Platinum-selling album, and their single, You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid from their 2008 albumRise and Fallhas entered Spotify’s coveted Billions Club.

– In a career spanning just four years, Hamilton rock 'n rollers The Shakers made quite a splash nationally in the early 1980s. The seminal lineup of Dave Rave, Rick Andrew, Tim Gibbons and Claude Desroches occasionally reunited for shows, but brand new Shakers record Left For Alive is their first album of new material in over 40 years. Last Friday, they launched it with a hometown release show at The Westdale Theatre. Their two sets featured both new songs and favourites from their original era, and had the appreciative crowd dancing in the aisles. The Shakers sound draws upon power pop, British pub rock, rockabilly and vintage rock 'n roll and showcases strong vocal harmonies (especially Rave and Andrew) and fluent guitar riffing from Gibbons. A rousing version of "Let's Shake," a classic by Teenage Head (a band Rave now fronts), was one of many highlights.