Canadian Musician - November/December 2018 | Page 16

CALENDAR... goes to... THE CHANGES award MARK YOUR Jeremy Dutcher Wins 2018 Polaris Music Prize Canadian Music Week is accepting submissions for artist showcases for its 2019 edition, which will take place from May 6-12 in Toronto. The applica- tion deadline is Jan. 7, 2019. Perform- ing artists will receive complimentary registration to CMW’s Music Summit, as well as a two-year membership to the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Music and reduced hotel rates. Each year, the CMW festival and conference brings together thousands of industry insiders from Canada and around the world, including talent buyers, booking agents, festival programmers, music publishers, A&R reps, managers, music supervisors, and more. For more information, go to ww.cmw.net. Shania Twain Leads CCMA Award Winners Canada’s country music industry cel- ebrated its best and brightest in early September with the CCMA Awards in Hamilton, ON. The televised show on the CBC saw host Shania Twain awarded with Top Selling Album of the Year, Top Selling Canadian Album of the Year, the CCMA Generation Award, and the Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award. Other major win- ners included Jess Moskaluke winning Album of the Year for Past the Past, Meghan Patrick winning Female Artist of the Year, Dallas Smith winning Male Artist of the Year, and The Washboard Union winning Group or Duo of the Year. The Reklaws won the Rising Star award and James Barker Band’s “Chills” was named Single of the Year. For more information and a full list of winners, go to www.ccma.org. WCMA Brings BreakOut West to Kelowna The Western Canadian Music Alliance brought its 16 th annual BreakOut West industry con- ference, showcase festival, and the Western Canadian Music Awards to Kelowna, BC from Oct. 10-14, 2018. Awards honourees included Terry Jacks, who received the 2018 Heritage Award, and CARAS President Allan Reid, who was presented with the 2018 Kevin Walters Industry Build- er Award. Attica Riots were awarded Recording of the Year. Kelowna-born rock band Grapes of Wrath were inducted into the Western Canadian Music Awards Hall of Fame while “Home for a Rest” by Spirit of the West was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. This year, BreakOut West featured 70 Canadian speakers, presenters, and mentors, 41 LITTLE DESTROYER PERFORMING AT BREAKOUT WEST international delegates – the highest number of international delegates to date – 25 con- ference sessions, 600-plus one-on-one meetings, 65 showcasing musical acts, and three networking events. Additionally, in partnership with the Keychange Initiative, the event achieved gender parity this year across its festival and conference speaker programming. For more information, including a full list of award winners, go to www.breakoutwest.ca. 16 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N CMW 2019 Accepting Artist Showcase Submissions BLEEKER AT CMW Jeremy Dutcher won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize for his album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa. “Psiw-te npomawsuwinuwok, kiluwaw yut. All my people, this is for you,” said Dutcher, a member of the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, at the gala. “I do this work to honour those who have gone before and I lay the footprints for those yet to come… Canada, you are in the midst of an Indigenous renaissance. Are you ready to hear the truths that need to be told? Are you ready to see the things that need to be seen?” On Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, Dutcher used 100-year-old wax cylinder recordings of tradi- tional Wolastoq songs, a nearly-extinct Indigenous language, combined with his own operatic and orchestral musical interpretations. The prize, presented by CBC Music, goes to the best Canadian album of the year based on artistic merit without regard to genre, sales history, or label affiliation. Dutcher’s victory came with a $50,000 reward while the nine other Short List nominees each received $3,000 courtesy of Slaight Music. For more information, go to www. polarismusicprize.ca.