Acclaimed Montreal-born singer-songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen, Halifax, Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter Rose Cousins, and Ontario-based alt-country band Elliott Brood were named as winners in the 42nd Annual Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys). The awards were presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) in Regina, Saskatchewan over the weekend.
Leonard Cohen, whose 12th studio album, Old Ideas, was released early last year and topped the charts in his native Canada as well as in many European countries, was named both Artist and Songwriter of the Year.
Now 78, Cohen released his first album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen, more than 45 years ago, after moving to the U.S. Through the years he has received a bevy of awards, honors and accolades. Notable among them are a 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and earlier induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Canadian Folk Music Walk of Fame. The influential artist also was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor. Last year, Cohen won the inaugural PEN Award for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence and was the subject of a second published biography entitled I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen, by Sylvie Simmons.
Rose Cousins received the Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Solo for We Have Made a Spark, her third full-length studio release. The album topped the Roots Music Report folk radio charts for a number of weeks early last year and was among NPR Music’s top 10 folk and Americana albums of the year. 
Born and raised on Prince Edward Island, Cousin, who is now active in the music communities in both Halifax and Boston, has made quite a spark in recent months. She was named Contemporary Singer of the Year in the 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards last November (an honor she also received in 2010) while she took home three East Coast Music Awards last month for Folk Recording of the Year, Solo Recording of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. The latter award was in recognition of “Go First,” a piano ballad on the album that was also heard on an episode of the popular TV show Grey’s Anatomy last month.
Elliott Brood, a trio comprised of Mark Sasso, Casey LaForet and Stephen Pikin, won the Juno for Roots & Traditional album of the Year – Group for its September 2011 release, Days into Years. The band, whose members are now based in Hamilton and Toronto, released its first album, Ambassador, in 2005 and followed that up three years later with Mountain Meadows.
Other notable Juno Award winners included Mumford & Sons (International Album of the Year for Babel) and Lorraine Klaasen (World Music Album of the Year for Tribute to Miriam Makeba).
Like/Follow Us!