Abigail Lapell Leads Nominations for 2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards

The Canadian Folk Music Awards (CFMA) is celebrating a major milestone with its just-released list of nominees. The national awards show for folk and roots music received a record number of submissions for its 20th anniversary edition, and is honouring 107 nominees 20 different categories.

Topping the list with four nods is acclaimed Toronto songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Abigail Lapell, while folk favourites Good Lovelies, Cape Breton's Lucy MacNeil (of Barra MacNeils fame) and bluegrass luminaries The Andrew Collins Trio earn three nominations each. Chiming in with two apiece are Derina Harvey, Rum Ragged, Ndidi O, Ceilidh Cardinal, Burnstick, Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen, Mélisande and Miles Zurawell.

More than 100 jurors from across Canada, representing all provinces and official languages, determine the recipients in each category.

“This year we received a record number of submissions for the Canadian Folk Music Awards,” said CFMA President Graham Lindsey. “It’s an exciting milestone that reflects not only the growth of the CFMA over the past 20 years but also the remarkable strength and resilience of the folk music community.”

The 107 nominees represent a cross-section of urban and rural Canada, with a strong regional, bilingual, and multicultural identity that reflects the diversity and vibrancy of folk music today, Lindsey notes.

All regions of Canada are represented, and the nominated artists reveal a wide range of cultural influences ranging from Indigenous, Acadian, Québécois and African traditions, to modern blues, punk, jazz and more.

“From coast to coast to coast, artists continue to redefine and expand what folk music means, and their dedication has helped foster a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive musical landscape. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, it’s inspiring to see how far we’ve come and how much promise the future holds,” says CFMA Vice President Jocelyne Baribeau.

Ottawa/Gatineau, the birthplace of the Canadian Folk Music Awards, returns to host the 20th Anniversary events, running April 3–6, 2025, with a grand gala and a series of bilingual concerts. Each concert will also include several awards presentations.

Awards Week concerts begin on Thursday April 3, with the Songs & Stories Concert, at Canadian Museum of History. The 20th Anniversary Gala Concert takes place on April 4, at National Arts Centre, followed by the Trad & Global Roots Concert on April 5, at Canadian Museum of History. That same venue hosts the closing event, Folk for Families Concert, on the morning of April 6.

View the full list of CFMA nominees by category here. Info and tickets here.