Music News Digest, Nov. 30, 2023: Snotty Nose Rez Kids, CMAOntario Awards & More

Awards News

The Country Music Association of Ontario has announced the CMAOntario Festival & Awards, presented by Slaight Music, will be held in Mississauga for the first time in 2024, with a return in 2026. The 12th edition of the annual event features a weekend of live music, concerts and activities from May 31-June 2, 2024, with the Awards Show set for June 2at Living Arts Centre. It will be co-hosted by Jason McCoy and Teigen Gayse, with Western Swing Authority returning as the house band. Tix for the awards go on sale at Living Arts Centre on Dec. 1.

- The winners of the prestigious 2023 SOCAN Songwriting Prize have been announced. The winner in the Anglophone category is "Silver Into Rain" by Luna Li (featuring beabadoobee), while the Francophone prize goes to Gab Bouchard and Mathieu Quenneville for "Ton shift est pas fini" by Gab Bouchard. The winners each receive a prize of $10,000. For more on the Prize, read this Billboard Canadafeature.

- On Dec. 19 at a press conference in Charlottetown, Music PEI will announce the nominees for the2024 Music PEI Awards, to be handed out during Music PEI Week , March 6-10, 2024.

Industry News

- CIMA has extended its deadline to apply for its Business & Showcase Mission to FIMPRO 2024 to Dec. 1. The fest and conference is set for Guadalajara, Mexico, Feb. 28-March 4. Apply here

- On Giving Tuesday (Nov. 28), The Tragically Hip and Canada’s music industry charity, The Unison Fund, announced the launch of a limited-edition (175) and exclusive poster designed by Métis designer/illustrator/visual artist Erik M. Grice, available for sale now. All net proceeds from the poster sales will go directly to The Unison Fund, an organization committed to providing emergency financial support and counselling services to those in the Canadian music industry facing hardships.

- Canadian country stars Doc Walker, Jason McCoy and Michelle Wright have announced additional dates on of their first-ever co-headline tour, The Great Canadian Roadtrip. The 2024 tour dates include performances in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Jan. 23-30. The first leg featured a series of Ontario dates that wrapped last month. Itinerary and tix here

- Paquin Artists Agency (PAA), a division of Paquin Entertainment Group and described as Canada’s largest booking agency, is entering into a strategic partnership with Preste Founder & President, Louis Carrière. As part of this expansion, PAA is opening its first office in Montreal, adding to locations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Nashville. Founded in 1999 by Louis Carrière, Preste Spectacles & Tournées is a major entertainment agency in Quebec.

- A memorial service/Celebration of Life for famed Toronto record producer/audio engineer Peter J. Moore was held on Nov. 25 at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto. This was a fitting locale, as this was where Moore’s then-revolutionary recording of Cowboy Junkies’ The Trinity Session took place. That 1983 album brought both the band and Moore international recognition. A large gathering of friends, family, and music biz comrades assembled for the moving event, moderated by musician/engineer John Borra. Those contributing eloquent speeches included Jan Haust (Moore’s longtime collaborator and joint Grammy winner), veteran producer Terry Brown, Moore’s daughter Claire, and filmmaker Bruce McDonald, who worked closely with Moore on the movies Highway 61, Roadkill, and Hard Core Logo. McDonald’s description of his pal as “a rascal and a wizard” is an apt one. RIP Peter J. Moore. A recorded livestream of the event can be viewed here.

Artists News

- On Dec. 9, Colour Film, the acclaimed project of Hamilton singer/songwriter Matthew de Zoete, headlines a show in a refurbished old barn on a farm 15 minutes west of Hamilton, with Sarah Beatty and Sunset Beach in support. Tix are available here, and buyers receive address details in the confirmation email. De Zoete informs Billboard Canada FYI that he'll be previewing songs from an upcoming album.

- Popular Montreal comboBusty and the Bass have just played four US West Coast shows, to be followed by gigs in Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, and Montreal, Dec. 2-8. Dates and tix here. The band recently released a new album, Forever Never Cares.

- Award-winning BC Indigenous hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids are in the midst of an extensive North American Hot Planet tour after a recent signing to Sony Music Canada, which will release their upcoming album. Canadian dates include Toronto on Dec. 8, Hamilton, Oshawa and Kingston (mid-Jan.), and B.C. shows in Feb. Check the sked here.

Snotty Nose Rez Kids - HOT PLANET (Official Video)

- Tomorrow (Dec. 1), The Stephen Stanley Band plays a Toronto show at The Redwood Theatre, with Kate Fenner & Chris Brown opening. Formerly in Lowest Of The Low, Stanley has matured as a superb rootsy singer/songwriter, and he just released a new album, Before the Collapse of the Hive. Highly recommended. Tix on eventbrite.ca. TSSB also plays at Hotel Wolfe Island, Kingston, on Dec. 2.

Hornets