Nominees Named for 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards

British Columbia-based folk duo Pharis & Jason Romero tops the list of nominees for 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards with six nominations for their album, Bet On Love. William Prince, a storytelling country-folk singer-songwriter from Peguis First Nation, received five nods for Reliever; and The East Pointers, a spirited Celtic folk trio from Prince Edward Island, were honored with four for Yours To Break. Singer-Songwriters Basia Bulat (Are You In Love?) and Catherine MacLellan (Coyote), along with Canadian Inuk musician Riit (ataataga) each received three nominations; while 11 other artists/acts garnered two nominations apiece. They are among 100 nominees from throughout Canada vying for awards in 19 categories, plus the Unsung Hero Award, to be presented virtually over the weekend of April 9-10, 2021.

Now in its 16h year, the Canadian Folk Music Awards were established to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. Like last year, the awards celebration — which was to have taken place in-person in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island — will, instead, be streamed online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. More information on them will be shared early next year.

two-stage jury process featuring 100 jurors based across Canada and representing all official provinces, territories and languages determine the official recipients in each category. Two new award categories have been established for 2021: Single of the Year (recognizing an artist or group and their producer(s) for a single release recording or an album track that was released as a single) and World Music Album of the Year (which replaces the former awards for World Solo Artist and World Group of the Year).

A complete list of 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while more information may be found online at www.folkawards.ca. You can stream a selection of songs by 2021 CFMA nominees on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2aOsbji9MfCjnVJ6Y3EeI5 and “like” the CFMA Facebook page here for easier access to the livestream when it happens.

Children’s Album of the Year / Album jeunesse de l’année

▪ Broccoli Farm by/par Claire Ness
▪ Goodnight To You All by/par Charlie Hope
▪ Small But Mighty by/par Ginalina
▪ The Mountain Man by/par Spencer Burton
▪ Tous musiciens by/par Henri Godon

Contemporary Album of the Year / Album contemporain de l’année

▪ Are You in Love? by/par Basia Bulat
▪ At the Edge of the World by/par Mike McKenna Jr.
▪ Coyote by/par Catherine MacLellan
▪ Drifters by/par Joe Nolan
▪ Reliever by/par William Prince
▪ Sugar & Joy by/par The Dead South
▪ The Unconquerable Past by/par Stephen Fearing
▪ Yours To Break by/par The East Pointers

Contemporary Singer of the Year / Chanteur contemporain de l’année

▪ Coco Love Alcorn for/pour Rebirth
▪ Basia Bulat for/pour Are You in Love?
▪ Tim Chaisson for/pour Yours To Break
▪ Catherine MacLellan for/pour Coyote
▪ William Prince for/pour Reliever

English Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur compositeur(s) anglophone de l’année

▪ Colo Love Alcorn for/pour Rebirth
▪ Basia Bulat for/pour Are You in Love?
▪ William Prince for/pour Reliever
▪ Pharis & Jason Romero for/pour Bet On Love
▪ Sarah Jane Scouten for/pour Confessions
▪ Julian Taylor for/pour The Ridge

Ensemble of the Year / Groupe de l’année

▪ OKAN for/pour Sombras
▪ Pharis & Jason Romero for/pour Bet On Love
▪ Sultans of String for/pour Refuge
▪ Sussex for/pourThe Ocean Wide
▪ The Dead South for/pour Sugar & Joy

French Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur-compositeur(s) francophone de l’année

▪ Guillaume Arsenault pour/for La partie de moi qui tremble
▪ Raphaël Delahaye pour/for Le sens de la dérive
▪ Marie-Ève Lapierre-Lemoyne pour/for Onze
▪ Flavie Léger-Roy pour/for Ce chapeau est trop grand pour moi
▪ Alexandre Poulin pour/for Nature humaine

Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur compositeur(s) autochtone de l’année

▪ Jason & Nadia Burnstick for/pour Kîyânaw
▪ A.W. Cardinal for/pour Bare Knuckles & Brawn
▪ Leela Gilday for/pour North Star Calling
▪ Riit for/pour ataataga
▪ Crystal Shawanda for/pour Church House Blues

Instrumental Group of the Year / Groupe instrumental de l’année

▪ Beòlach for/pour All Hands
▪ Emilyn Stam & John David Williams for/pour Honeywood
▪ Gordon Grdina’s The Marrow for/pour Safar-E-Daroon
▪ Jessica Deutsch & Ozere for/pour Traces
▪ Rhizome for/pour Double capture

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year / Instrumentiste solo de l’année

▪ Marc Atkinson for/pour Solo
▪ Benjamin Barrile for/pour Esperando el Alba
▪ Gordon Grdina for/pour Prior Street
▪ Nick Hornbuckle for/pour 13 or So
▪ Natalie MacMaster for/pour Sketches

New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year / Artiste(s) de la relève de l’année

▪ Noah Derksen for/pour America, Dreaming
▪ Marie-Ève Laure for/pour Onze
▪ Maya Rae for/pour Can You See Me?
▪ Emily Rockarts for/pour Little Flower
▪ Rum Ragged for/pour The Thing About Fish
▪ Emily Triggs for/pour Middletown

Producer(s) of the Year / Réalisateur(s) de l’année

▪ Dave Clarke & Bill Garrett for/pour Coming Home (Steel Rail)
▪ Roy Forbes for/pour Edge of Blue (Roy Forbes)
▪ Marc Jenkins for/pour Bet On Love (Pharis & Jason Romero)
▪ Dayna Manning for/pour Morning Light (Dayna Manning)
▪ Chris McKhool & John ‘Beetle’ Bailey for/pour Refuge (Sultans of String)

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award / Prix Innovation musicale Oliver Schroer

▪ Aerialists for/pour Dear Sienna
▪ Mélisande [Électrotrad] for/pour Les myriades
▪ Riit for/pour ataataga
▪ The East Pointers for/pour Yours To Break
▪ The Henrys for/pour Paydirt

Single of the Year / Monoplage de l’année

▪ “K’eintah Natse Ju” by/par Leela Gilday (Producer / Réalisateur: Hill Kourkoutis)
▪ “Some Kind of Hell” by/par Burnstick (Producers / Réalisateurs: Jason & Nadia Burnstick)
▪ “The Spark” by/par William Prince (Producers / Réalisateurs: Scott Nolan, Dave Cobb)
▪ “Wintergreen” by/par The East Pointers (Producer / Réalisateur: Gordie Sampson)
▪ “Yellowknife” by/par Craig Cardiff (Producer / Réalisateur: Craig Cardiff)

Solo Artist of the Year / Artiste solo de l’année

▪ Catherine MacLellan for/pour Coyote
▪ Lynn Miles for/pour We’ll Look For Stars
▪ William Prince for/pour Reliever
▪ Riit for/pour ataataga
▪ Julian Taylor for/pour The Ridge

Traditional Album of the Year / Album traditionnel de l’année

▪ All Hands by/par Beòlach
▪ Bet On Love by/par Pharis & Jason Romero
▪ Crowing Ignites by/par Bruce Cockburn
▪ Debout! by/par Le Diable à Cinq
▪ The Lost Tapes by/par Ian & Sylvia

Traditional Singer of the Year / Chanteur traditionnel de l’année

▪ Mike Bravener for/pour Depends Upon The Pay
▪ Kevin Harvey for/pour Hand me Down Blues
▪ Mark Manning for/pour The Thing About Fish
▪ Lou Natale for/pour Workin’ the Mystery
▪ Pharis Romero for/pour Bet On Love

Vocal Group of the Year / Groupe vocal de l’année

▪ Beauséjour for/pour Beauséjour
▪ Big Little Lions for/pour Inside Voice
▪ Kennedy Road for/pour A Little Fight Left Yet
▪ Pharis & Jason Romero for/pour Bet On Love
▪ The Barrel Boys for/pour Mainline

World Album of the Year / Album de musiques du monde de l’année

▪ Africa Without Borders by/par Okavango African Orchestra
▪ Kora flamenca by/par Zal Sissokho
▪ La Serena by/par Aviva Chernick
▪ Patria by/par Mazacote
▪ Sombras by/par OKAN

Young Performer(s) of the Year / Jeune artiste(s) de l’année

▪ Maya Rae for/pour Can You See Me?
▪ Moscow Apartment for/pour Better Daughter
▪ Paige Penney for/pour Watch Out For Your Step
▪ Quin With One N for/pour Out of the Blue
▪ The Gilberts for/pour The Gilberts: One