The 2011 Canadian Folk Music Awards were presented in Toronto, Ontario on Sunday evening, Dec. 4. Winners were named in 19 categories and a new Unsung Hero award was presented during a gala event at the Isabel Bader Theatre that was hosted by the always entertaining Benoit Bourque and CBC Radio’s Shelagh Rogers.

With four nominations each, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Gunning were the top nominees vying for awards during the seventh annual awards celebration. Cockburn, a prolific singer-songwriter and recipient of 13 Juno Awards, received awards for Contemporary Album of the Year for his 31st studio release (Small Source of Comfort) and Solo Artist of the Year. Gunning was named Traditional Singer of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year. Quebecois trio Genticorum received awards for Traditional Album of the Year (Nagez Rameurs) and Ensemble of the Year. Toronto’s Suzie Vinnick, who released Me ‘n’ Mabel earlier this year, was named Contemporary Singer of the Year, while the Good Lovelies, a harmonic Ontario-based trio, received the evening’s first award as Vocal Group of the Year for its shimmering third album, Let The Rain Fall. Mark Howard and David Travers-Smith shared the award for Producer of the Year for their work on Bright Morning Stars, the latest album by The Wailin’ Jennys.

Good Lovelies

The Creaking Tree String Quartet, an innovative, old-timey and bluegrass-inspired ensemble, was named Instrumental Group of the Year, while Jayme Stone captured Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year. Molly Thomason was named Young Performer of the Year. Singer-songwriter Lynn Miles, traditional Quebecois folksinger Alexandre Poulin, and Eagle & Hawk band founding member Vince Fontaine were honored as English, French and Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year, respectively. Turkish-influenced group Minor Empire was honored as World Group Artist of the Year, while JUNO Award-winning vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia was named World Solo Artist of the Year. The Pushing the Boundaries award was bestowed on Geoff Berner, whose Victory Party album fuses Eastern European klezmer influences with punk-rock attitude. Benoit Archambault’s CD Les pourquoi was named Children’s Album of the Year.

The inaugural Unsung Hero Award, recognizing exceptional contribution to the promotion, preservation and presentation of Canadian folk, roots and world music, was presented to Jane Harbury. A Toronto-based publicist whose involvement in the music industry dates back more than 40 years, she has worked with such artists as the Chieftains, David Francey, Penny Lang, Tom Rush and Ken Whiteley.

A complete list of Canadian Folk Music Award winners follows:

Traditional Album of the Year
Genticorum – Nagez Rameurs

Contemporary Album of the Year
Bruce Cockburn – Small Source of Comfort

Children’s Album of the Year
Benoît Archambault – Les pourquoi

Traditional Singer of the Year
Dave Gunning – a tribute to John Allan Cameron

Contemporary Singer of the Year
Suzie Vinnick – Me ‘n’ Mabel

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year
Jayme Stone – Room of Wonders

Instrumental Group of the Year
The Creaking Tree String Quartet – Sundogs

Vocal Group of the Year
Good Lovelies – Let The Rain Fall

Ensemble of the Year
Genticorum – Nagez Rameurs

Solo Artist of the Year
Bruce Cockburn – Small Source of Comfort

English Songwriter of the Year
Lynn Miles – Fall for Beauty

French Songwriter of the Year
Alexandre Poulin – Une lumière allumée

Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year
Vince Fontaine – Songs for Turtle Island

World Artist of the Year – Solo
Kiran Ahluwalia – aam zameen : common ground

World Artist of the Year – Group
Minor Empire – Second Nature

New/Emerging Artist of the Year
Dave Gunning – a tribute to John Allan Cameron

Producer of the Year
Mark Howard & David Travers-Smith – Bright Morning Stars (The Wailin’ Jennys)

Pushing the Boundaries
Geoff Berner – Victory Party

Young Performer of the Year
Molly Thomason – Beauty Queen

Unsung Hero
Jane Harbury

Established in 2005, the Canadian Folk Music Awards (www.canadianfolkmusicawards.ca) celebrates and promotes the breadth and depth of folk music in Canada.