With three awards each, Allison Russell and Cedric Dind-Lavoie were the big winners in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards that were presented March 31-April 2 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and streamed online. They were among the more than 100 nominees from throughout Canada who vied for awards in 19 categories.
Russell was named English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of her debut solo album, Outside Child, which was chosen as Contemporary Album of the Year. A soulful Nashville-based, Montreal-born Scottish Grenadian Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and activist, she is also a co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago and was part of Po’ Girl.
Wrought with emotion, Outside Child features 11 original songs “about resilience and survival, transcendence and the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family,” says Russell, who faced abuse and trauma during her youth that music has helped her to overcome. She showcased her talents and also served as the weekend closing curator at the 63rd annual Newport Folk Festival.
Here’s a link to view Russell’s short 2021 highlights video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QzDTi2GWjI and one to view the official video for her song “Nightflyer,” the first single off Outside Child.
Dind-Lavoie is a Quebecois multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. As its name suggests, his album Archives is an anthology of archival recordings – in this case field recordings of French-Canadian traditional songs of the 1940s and 1950s, which he accompanies and embellishes with an array of acoustic instruments and sound effects. Recorded last April, Archives also received the 2021 aux prix GAMIQ for Traditional Album of the Year and du prix Aldor creation 2021 du Festival Trad de Montreal.
With Archives, Dind-Lavoie sought to “highlight [and pay tribute to] the quality of these performers, as well as the work of the folklorists who, in a time when there was almost nothing archived, went out into the field to collect these songs, which had to represent a colossal amount of work. In a Facebook post, he referred to his wins as “pretty surreal” and noted that the Oliver Schroer Award recognizing musical innovation especially warms his heart. “What a great idea of a category and a great tribute to this great musician, wrote Dind-Lavoie who, himself, expressed thanks to Corne de brume, Louis Morneau and Marie Pierre Lecault “and to all those shadow singers/musicians who find themselves unknowingly on this album and have to wonder what’s going on from the stars: Benoit Benoit, Joseph Larade, Alphonse Morneau, the Brideau family, Jeanne Savoie, Madeleine Lemieux, Azade Benoit, Eddy Arsenault, Edouard Sanschagran, Henry Poitras.”
Here’s a video link to see Dind-Lavoie accompany a 1957 archival recording of singer Joseph Larade on piano.
The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. More than 100 jurors, located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages determine the recipients in each category. While the awards were presented virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s leading folk music event – including awards concerts and nominee showcases – adopted a hybrid model this year featuring both live and pre-recorded performances that were presented both to an audience at The Guild, a 160-seat venue in Charlottetown, PEI, and via livestream. Chelsey June of the husband-and-wife duo Twin Flames and Benoit Bourque co-hosted the event. While some honorees accepted their awards in-person, others did so via video.
A complete list of 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards winners follows, while more information may be found online at folkawards.ca.
Children’s Album of the Year / Album jeunesse de l’année
• Heart Parade by/par Splash ‘N Boots (Ontario)
Contemporary Album of the Year / Album contemporain de l’année
• Outside Child by/par Allison Russell (Quebec)
Contemporary Singer of the Year / Chanteur contemporain de l’année
• Rob Lutes for/pour Come Around (Quebec)
English Songwriter(s) / Auteur compositeur(s) Anglophone
• Allison Russell for/pour Outside Child (Quebec)
Ensemble of the Year / Groupe de l’année
• Elliott Brood for/pour Keeper (Ontario)
French Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur-compositeur(s) francophone de l’année
• Reney Ray for/pour À l’ouest du réel (Quebec)
Global Roots Album of the year/ Album traditions du monde de l’année
(Note: This replaces the World Album of the Year.)
• Wutiko by/par Elage Diouf (Quebec)
Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year / Auteur compositeur(s) autochtone de l’année
• Chelsey June & Jaaji for/pour Omen (Quebec)
Instrumental Group of the Year / Groupe instrumental de l’année
• Frank Evans & Ben Plotnick for/pour Madison Archives (Ontario)
Instrumental Solo artist of the Year / Instrumentiste solo de l’année
• Cédric Dind-Lavoie for/pour Archives (Quebec)
New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year / Artiste(s) de la relève de l’année
• Allison Russell for/pour Outside Child (Quebec)
Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award / Prix Innovation musicale Oliver Schroer
• Cédric Dind-Lavoie for/pour Archives (Quebec)
Producer(s) of the Year / Réalisateur(s) de l’année
• Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Corne de brume for/pour Archives (Quebec)
Single of the Year / Monoplage de l’année
• “Gospel First Nation” by/par William Prince (Manitoba)
Solo Artist of the Year / Artiste solo de l’année
• Alicia Toner for/pour Joan (Prince Edward Island)
Traditional Album of the Year / Album traditionnel de l’année
• Kitchen Days by/par Braden Gates (Alberta)
Traditional Singer of the Year / Chanteur traditionnel de l’année
• Ewelina Ferenc (of Polky) for/pour Songs From Home (Ontario)
Vocal Group of the Year / Groupe vocal de l’année
• Twin Flames for/pour Omen (Quebec)
Young Performer(s) of the Year / Jeune artiste(s) de l’année
• Isabella Samson for/pour If It’s Not Forever (Nova Scotia)
As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com, the Slaight Music Unsung Hero Award was presented to Genevieve Nadeau. A leading figure in Quebec’s trad music and song scene, Nadeau manages the Quebecois folk group Le Vent du Nord, co-founded and runs La Compagnie due Nord – producing hundreds of concerts annually around the world, and produces CDs and music videos, helped launch the Festival Chants de Vielles, serves on the board of Folquebec, and has been a cultural ambassador for Quebecois music.
The Canadian Folk Music Awards also paid tribute to Grit and Judith Laskin, stalwarts of the Canadian folk music scene and founding board members of the CFMAs.
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