The 40th annual JUNO Awards were presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), March 26 and 27 in Toronto. Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Neil Young was the big winner, while Nova Scotia-based Old Man Luedecke and Quebec-based group Le Vent du Nord captured awards for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year Solo and Group, respectively.

Young, who was named Artist of the Year and the recipient of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award, also was recognized for Adult Alternative Album of the Year (Le Noise). As one of Canada’s most respected and influential artists from the past 40 years — along with Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell and The Band — Young also was paid homage to during a televised Sunday night all-star tribute featuring such young, up-and-coming artists as Sarah Harmer, Justin Rutledge, Serena Ryder and The Sadies. The tribute also saluted Toronto, this year’s host city, where each of the artists first made their mark and where the first JUNOs were presented in 1970. Young, who began performing in the 1960s, is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s also a co-founder of Farm Aid and of a school that educates children with serious speech and physical impairments.

For Old Man Luedecke, an emotive singer-songwriter and old-time claw hammer-style banjo player, this year’s JUNO Award for My Hands are on Fire and other Love Songs was the second he received in that category. Luedecke, who records for Black Hen Music in Canada, also was cited for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year: Solo in 2009 for his previous recording, Proof of Love.

It was also the second time that Le Vent du Nord was bestowed with a JUNO for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year: Group, having previously received one in 2003 for its debut release Maudite Moisson. A lively and prolific Quebecois quartet of talented singers and multiinstrumentalists, whose repertoire includes both traditional folk and original compositions, Le Vent du Nord was recognized this year for Le Part du Feu, an album that also made a number of top 10 lists for 2009 and 2010. The Borealis recording artists also were named Ensemble of the Year in the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Awards last November.

To view video excerpts of live performances from Le Vent du Nord’s award-winning album and more, simply click on this link:http://www.leventdunord.com/english/pages/videos.php