David Francey is the overall grand prize winner in the seventh annual International Acoustic Music Awards competition. One of Canada’s most revered singer-songwriters, Francey also captured first place in the competition’s Folk category for “The Waking Hour.” You can see and hear him singing that beautiful song during a festival in Burlington, Ontario last June at davidfrancey.com/franceyvideos.html.

Scottish-born David Francey’s working-class heritage has influenced his music. Traditional folk themes of love and loss, as well as his admiration for the natural beauty of his adopted homeland, also permeate his songs. Francey has been the recipient of three Junos, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the U.S. His songs have been covered by such other notable artists as Tracy Grammer, James Keelaghan, the Del McCoury Band and The Rankin Family. His latest CD, Seaway, a collaboration with Mike Ford (formerly of Moxy Fruvous), was inspired by a two-week voyage they shared aboard a freighter traveling between Montreal and Thunder Bay along the St. Lawrence Seaway. A Quick Q & A with David Francey by Kathy Sands-Boehmer graced the home page of AcousticMusicScene.com last January and is currently archived in the Features section.

The International Acoustic Music Awards competition promotes excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry. Awards were announced in eight categories. In addition to Francey, first-place winners included Joachim Nordensson & Brooke Wandler (Best Group/Duo) for “I Was With You;” Roland Albertson (Best Male Artist) for “Broken;” Kelly Zullo (Best Female Artist) for “Firecracker;” Horseshoe Road (Country/Bluegrass) for “We Don’t Smell the Home Fires Anymore;” Luke Doucet & The White Falcon (AAA/Alternative) for “Thinking People;” Laura Hoover (Acoustic Open Genre) for “The Most Beautiful Fear;” and Tim Farrell (Instrumental) for “Rosewood Alley.”

A panel of music industry judges evaluated entries based on music performance, production, originality, lyrics, melody and composition. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations.