2015 Western Canadian Music Award Winners Announced

September 20, 2015, Victoria, BC: It’s been an incredible weekend of music in Victoria with BreakOut West and Rifflandia Festival coming together to produce the most music Victoria has ever seen in one weekend! “Our volunteers, staff, artists, delegates, partners and sponsors have done so much to make this year’s BreakOut West a memorable experience for all. Victoria has been a welcoming host, Rifflandia has been a fantastic partner, and we look forward to continuing to develop opportunities and relationships created this weekend, into the future. Thank you everyone who helped make these last 4 days a great success!”, says Western Canadian Music Alliance Executive Director Robyn Stewart. Rifflandia’s Festival Director Nick Blasko remarked, “It’s been an absolute pleasure having BreakOut West partner with Rifflandia this year. The event brought a diversity to our festival and a significant amount of international and national music industry members to our city, showing them what an amazing pool of talent we have and what a dynamic city we live in. Thank you to everyone at BreakOut West and Rifflandia for making this a weekend to remember for Victoria and all who came to both world class events.”

The conference and festival weekend lead up to the 2015 Western Canadian Music Awards, presented tonight at McPherson Playhouse. The Awards Show was hosted by CBC’s Grant Lawrence, a 5-time-WCMA-hosting-champ, honouring all 2015 WCMA Nominees and the individual winners, along with feature presentations, live performances, and reflections on the last year in western Canadian music. The audience took in moving performances from Tanya Tagaq, The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, Joe Silva, Annette, Jesse Roper, Sarah MacDougall, The Wet Secrets and the 2015 Hall of Fame inductees NoMeansNo, presented by the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent in Recordings (FACTOR). The winners of the Western Canadian Music Awards are as follows:

2015 Western Canadian Music Award Winners

Aboriginal Recording of the Year, presented by APTN: Tanya Tagaq – Animism (MB)

Blues Recording of the Year: The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer – A Real Fine Mess (BC)

Children’s Recording of the Year, presented by Bolen Books: *TIE* Fred Penner – Where In The World (MB) & Raffi – Love Bug (BC)

Classical Composition of the Year, presented by Canadian Music Centre: Cobalt – Jocelyn Morlock (BC)

Classical Recording of the Year: Ysaÿe Sonatas For Solo Violin – Karl Stobbe (MB)

Country Recording of the Year, presented by CCMA: Ridley Bent – Wildcard (MB)

Electronic/Dance Recording of the Year, presented by UnionElectronic: Kiesza – Hideaway (AB)

Francophone Recording of the Year, presented by Musicaction: Annette – Papillon Amiral (SK)

Independent Album of the Year, presented by Stingray Music: The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer – A Real Fine Mess (BC)

Instrumental Recording of the Year: Five Alarm Funk – Abandon Earth (BC)

Jazz Recording of the Year: Jill Barber – Fool’s Gold (BC)

Metal/HardMusic Recording of the Year: Shooting Guns – WolfCop Soundtrack (SK)

Pop Recording of the Year, presented by Rifflandia: BESTiE – No Bad Days (BC)

Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year: Def3 – Wildlif3 (SK)

Rock Recording of the Year, presented by Radio Starmaker: 36? – where do we go from here? (AB)

Roots Duo/Group Recording of the Year: Twin Peaks – Trouble (BC)

Roots Solo Recording of the Year: Sarah MacDougall – Grand Canyon (YT)

Songwriter(s) of the Year, presented by SOCAN: Dan Mangan, Gordon Grdina, Kenton Loewen, John Walsh “Vessel” – Dan Mangan + Blacksmith From the Album Club Meds (BC)

Spiritual Recording of the Year: Tanya Tagaq – Animism (MB)

Urban Recording of the Year: Dawn Pemberton – Say Somethin’ (BC)

World Recording of the Year: Tanya Tagaq – Animism (MB)

On Saturday, September 19 BreakOut West presented the Industry Awards Brunch at the Delta Ocean Pointe Hotel, hosted by The PEAK 102.7’s Tamara Stanners and James Sutton. The event included performances from WCMA nominees Jill Barber and Andino Suns, and a moving tribute to the late Derek Bachman, former Executive Director of SaskMusic. The 2015 Kevin Walters Industry Builder was awarded to BC’s Nettwerk Music Group (Terry McBride, Mark Jowett and Ric Arboit and Dan Fraser), and the Heritage Builder Award was presented to the incredibly dedicated John Shields, Senior Program Manager for The Q and The Zone @ 91.3 in Victoria.

2015 Western Canadian Music Industry Awards Winners:

Agency of the Year: Paquin Artists Agency (MB)

Album Design of the Year: Roberta Hansen – Steve Bell – Pilgrimage (MB)

Engineer of the Year, presented by the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology: Ryan Worsley/Echoplant Sound – Dear Rouge, Van Damsel, Greg Drummond, Little India, Derrival, Red Vienna, Windmills (BC)

Independent Record Label of the Year: Mint Records (BC)

Live Music Venue of the Year, presented by Music Canada Live: West End Cultural Centre (MB)

Manager of the Year, presented by Music Managers Forum: Gilles Paquin – Paquin Entertainment Group (MB)

Producer of the Year, presented by Yigeda Lighting and ABT Innovations: Jesse Zubot – Tanya Tagaq – The Sands (BC)

Talent Buyer of the Year: Atomique Productions Ltd. (BC)

Video of the Year, presented by MuchFACT: Sage McBride and Dylan Siggers – “Sing to the Night Album” From The Album Sing to the Night By Shred Kelly (BC)

About BreakOut West:

BreakOut West is an annual gathering to celebrate, develop and support the best of western Canadian music. Western Canadian artists are developing sustainable careers of national and international scope, and BreakOut West is an integral component of this development. Through the annual conference and festival, industry from around the world and western Canadian artists are given the opportunity to discover, educate, network and grow. The weekend culminates in the Western Canadian Music Awards, showcasing and honoring the talent contained in the “left half” of Canada.

The 13th annual BreakOut West and Western Canadian Music Awards was hosted in Victoria, BC, September 17-20, 2015. The festival, gala and conference ran concurrent with Rifflandia Festival, bringing together strengths of both events in hosting some of the best in western Canadian talent and increasing opportunities for artists. The conference featured over 125 active industry buyers and mover-shakers participating through group discussions, panels, and round table sessions, allowing participants to consult with industry professionals in addition to showcasing their music.

The Western Canadian Music Alliance, Capital Regional Music Awards Society and the Host Committee wish to thank everyone involved in making this year’s event a memorable and unique occurrence for Vancouver Island. For a full list of those to thank, please refer to breakoutwest.ca/partners.

NT5