Category: 2021 nominee

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2021 nominee

Burnstick

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

RADIO SONG SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Burnstick

Some Kind of Hell

It’s folk music that’s brimming with the kind of chemistry that could only come from a husband and wife. Plains-Cree guitarist, Jason Burnstick, and Francophone-Métis singer songwriter, Nadia Gaudet Burnstick are award-winning duo: Burnstick. Two performers whose voices and languages blend together with ease, Burnstick pushes the boundaries of contemporary folk music, weaving together the unique sounds of vintage Weissenborns with intriguing vocal harmonies, while allowing the simplicity of beautiful melodies to shine through. Between their witty banter and delightful stories, it is hard to deny the magic they create as they command the stage with their palpable performances. In 2015, the duo created an award-winning all-original lullaby album that married languages and bridged cultures. Coming back to their folk roots, Burnstick has released its long-awaited debut album, Kîyânaw, featuring thunderous singles “Pay No Mind” and “Some Kind of Hell”, topping the charts of NCI’s Indigenous Music Countdown in Canada. With this album, Burnstick encourages the reclamation of each other’s respective cultures while choosing to be stronger, together.

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2021 nominee

Wabanaki Confederacy

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

POW WOW
TRADITIONAL-CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Wabanaki Confederacy

Honouring Our Languages

The name of our group, Wabanaki Confederacy is a tribute to our alliance we have with the tribes on the East Coast: the Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Abenaki and Penobscot. 2019 was our second year on the Powwow trail as a drum family. Many of these songs were composed and inspired by the great memories we have been fortunate enough to create. Much inspiration came after winning the award for Best Traditional Powwow CD at the Indigenous Music Awards in Winnipeg. None of this could have been possible without the continuous love and support from each and every one of you. Welalioq!! Thank you all – Wab Confedz

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2021 nominee

Stoney Bear Singers

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

POW WOW
TRADITIONAL-CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Stoney Bear Singers

Kepmite’lsultinej: Honour Our People

The Stoney Bear Singers are a Mi’kmaw powwow singing group based out of Unama’ki (Cape Breton Island), Nova Scotia and are one of the most celebrated drum groups in Atlantic Canada. They have been singing their style of powwow since 2002 as young boys learning, to today as family-men and renowned traditional Mi’kmaw song singers.

The Stoney Bear Singers are avid songwriters, influenced by groups such as Eastern Eagle, Northern Cree and Black Bear Singers. As fluent speakers of Mi’kmaq, they honour their language in their songs. They have shared their music at countless Powwows, music festivals and awards shows, and have opened many conferences and meetings in a good way throughout North America.

The Stoney Bear Singers are Michael R. Denny, Sulian Denny, Cyril Julian, Frederick Knockwood, Steven Julian, Keigan Sack, J.R. Isadore, Ryan Martin, Julian Wells, Lloyd Paul, and Kyle McDonald.

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2021 nominee

Quanah Style

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

POP-ALTERNATIVE-ROCK
ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Quanah Style

Quanah Style

Quanah Style is Canada’s most infamous 2-spirit Cree trans recording artist and house music diva. From coast to coast, there are few dance floors who haven’t felt her presence. After a brilliant run of singles on the Toronto-based LGBTQ+ record label Wet Trax, Quanah became a Pride festival fixture, performing her anthemic hits with vogue dance crew House of La Douche. Music videos for songs such as her debut “Beat of My Heart” and the Storyhive award-recipient “Give Me Life” showcase Quanah’s undeniable star quality. Her incredible stage presence, signature vocals, and inspirational story led her to become the subject of several documentaries produced by CBC Arts, World of Wonder Productions, APTN and Vice Magazine. She has also opened for Peaches, Bif Naked, Buffy Sainte-Marie, to name a few.

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2021 nominee

Anachnid

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

POP-ALTERNATIVE-ROCK
ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Anachnid

Dreamweaver

Winner of the SOCAN Foundation Indigenous Songwriter of the year in 2019 and nominated for the Indigenous Artist of the Year at ADISQ in 2020, Anachnid is a multidisciplinary Oji-Cree artist based in Montreal. Her spirit animal, the spider, has eight legs, and she embodies just as many complex personalities on stage and in life: poisonous spirit, young woman in love, caring grandmother…Her debut album, Dreamweaver, released in February 2020, was nominated on the Polaris Long List and for ADISQ’s Anglophone Album of the Year. Anachnid’s music is a hybrid and sensual style of electro-pop, trap, indie, soul and hip hop, with delicate and complex sound textures evocative of her ancestral cultures. She is an essential new voice in the contemporary urban musical landscape. 

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2021 nominee

Twin Flames

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

MUSIC IN THE ARTS

Twin Flames

Grace Too

Multi-award-winning chart topping Canadian Indigenous duo Twin Flames is a husband-wife duo made up of Jaaji, (Inuk and Mohawk) from Nunavik and Chelsey June, Métis (Algonquin Cree). Building bridges across cultures, continents, and styles, Twin Flames brings together a richness of personal history and musical experience. Their songs tell stories of courage and survival written in English, Inuttitut, and French. Honouring their ancestors’ history and representing their Indigenous backgrounds, Twin Flames has become a beloved powerhouse couple well on their way to becoming a Canadian household name. They are UNESCO’s official songwriters for the theme song “Human” written to celebrate 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages. Twin Flames has been nominated for 25 music awards both in Canada and abroad: The couple took home two wins as Aboriginal Songwriters of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2016 and 2017, and Three Native American Music Awards in 2018 and 2019. The duo has performed throughout Canada, US, Australia, France and Greenland.

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2021 nominee

Okara

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

MUSIC IN THE ARTS

Okara

Okara LIVE

OKARA means ‘Story’ in the Mohawk dialect. It is a primarily instrumental, Ottawa/Gatineau-based duo made up of Sandrine Masse-Savard (Huron-Wendat) on viola/drum and David Finkle (Mohawk) on guitar/native flute. Formed in 2019, Okara began writing immediately and effortlessly together having had a history already performing in the big live festival musical improvisational act: ‘Caveman Techno’ as the two native folks in that band. Writing pieces ranging from formal classical to traditional indigenous styles, Okara was performing at festivals, cathedrals, theaters in no time.. One strange challenge of Okara has been finding musical acceptance. The formal classical musical establishment prefer Okara to seemingly not bother playing ‘their’ music (Classical) and just simply bang on drums and shake rattles and wear leather, while the traditional Indigenous community are the opposite and genuinely wonder why we play classical music at all being indigenous folks. We are determined to crack that egg one way or the other because we believe in the work, and also suspect that others will NEED any inroads we are able to make things easier for them down the line. This of course means taking unconventional approaches and performing in unusual settings. But we have found that audiences are seemingly really enjoying it all the same and are happy to be trail blazers with us!

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2021 nominee

Cris Derksen

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

MUSIC IN THE ARTS

Cris Derksen

Indigenous Fashion Week

Juno nominated Cris Derksen is an Internationally respected Indigenous cellist and composer. In a world where almost everything — people, music, cultures — get labelled and slotted into simple categories, Cris Derksen represents a challenge. Originally from Northern Alberta, she comes from a line of chiefs from NorthTall Cree Reserve on her father’s side, and a line of strong Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s. Derksen braids the traditional and contemporary, weaving her classical background and her Indigenous ancestry together with new school electronics to create genre-defying music. As composer Derksen has a foot in many worlds: 2020 Compositions include: BC A History- a 4 part Docs-Series for the Knowledge network. Napi and the Rocks -A Symphonic story commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Same Wave- An 8 Part Choral Piece, commissioned by Camerata Nova Choir, The Triumph of the Euro-Christ an 8 part choral piece commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario And Indigenous Fashion Week a 4 part 45 minute Fashion Music Video. 2019 compositions include: Maada’ookii Songlines- a Mass Choral piece for 250 singers Commissioned by Luminato Festival. Rebellion – a short symphonic piece commissioned by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Iron Peggy – a Theatre piece commissioned by the Vancouver Children’s Festival. A new performance art piece commissioned by the National Art Gallery of Canada, Ikumagiialit. As a performer Derksen performs nationally and internationally, solo and with some of Canada’s finest artists including Tanya Tagaq, Buffy Sainte Marie, Naomi Klein, and Leanne Simpson to name a few. Recent destinations include Hong Kong, Australia, Mongolia, Sweden, and a whole lot of Canada; the place Derksen refers to as home.

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2021 nominee

Sandra Sutter

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

METIS ARTIST-GROUP OF THE YEAR

Sandra Sutter

Sandra Sutter

Sandra Sutter is an award-winning Cree Métis recording artist, songwriter and musician who writes, records and performs in multiple genres encompassing roots music; including Native Americana, folk, country, pop, jazz and rock. Raised in a loving non-Indigenous family, Sandra affirmed and embraced her ancestral and cultural roots later in life. Like many displaced Indigenous people, honouring her proud cultural roots is important to a woman whose birth heritage was lost through time and circumstance. Ms. Sutter’s culture influences her every step through life and she has grown into an active and passionate advocate for Indigenous traditions and rights. Her life journey in both the non-Indigenous and Indigenous worlds has given her a unique perspective and opportunity to bring people together through her songs of reconciliation. Sandra’s 2020 Christmas Release, Aurora 12 Songs for the Season, builds on the theme of her truth and reconciliation focused 2017 release, Cluster Stars; sharing stories about the culture, history, challenges , strength, beauty and resilience of Indigenous Peoples. Aurora 12 is a mix of eight original songs; six new pieces and two originals previously released with the Fireside A/B release in 2019. Sixteen Industry nominations in the last three years include a 2018 NAMA (Best Americana) and 2019 IMA award (Best Producer/Engineer). Additional nominations include three YYC Music Awards, one additional IMA, one CFMA, three additional NAMAs, two with Blues and Roots radio, and four ISMAs. Ms. Sutter also received an Esquao Award (Arts) from the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, an Aboriginal Role Model of Alberta (Arts) Award and a WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada Award. Poet, actor and advocate on several boards and committees across Canada, Ms. Sutter lives and breathes the concepts that she thinks, speaks and sings about every day.

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2021 nominee

G.R. Gritt

2021 AWARD NOMINEE

METIS ARTIST-GROUP OF THE YEAR

G.R. Gritt 

G.R. Gritt 

G.R. Gritt is a Juno award-winning, Two-Spirit, Transgender, Francophone, Anishinaabe/Métis artist. After living many years in Yellowknife, they have returned to Sudbury/Robinson Huron Treaty territory where they grew up. This homecoming coincides with a journey that they feel better represents them. With these changes has come a new voice both physically and in the growing magnetism of their songwriting. G.R. Gritt pulls effortlessly from the past to create soulful futurisms with their new sound that elegantly weaves the melodies using vocals, guitar and new electronic elements. They create both intimate and anthemic music that would fit in a folk club, a dance club and anywhere in between.The Northern cities G.R Gritt has lived in, forced them every winter through snow and harsh temperatures to make a choice between isolation and seeking community as a source of warmth. Their music serves as one of these beacons of connection for all who come near it. Welcoming yet truthful, they reclaim space through songs that show that intersectional identity is expansive and not to be divided into parts. By exploring the emotional and cultural core of their heritage as a non-binary, queer, Indigenous artist they create new space and encourage others to do the same. After releasing their first single, “Quiet Years”, November 27, 2020, and their second single, “Doubt It”, February 12, 2021, G.R. Gritt is currently preparing for the release of their full length album, Ancestors, on April 16, 2021 on Coax Records.

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