MUSIC NEWS: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015
Canadian Folk Music Awards recipients announced at Edmonton gala
The recipients of this year's Canadian Folk Music Awards were announced Sunday evening during a gala at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre.
Newfoundland's Amelia Curran took home Contemporary Singer and English Songwriter of the Year for her album ``They Promised You Mercy.''
PEI's Catherine MacLellan won Contemporary Album and Solo Artist of the Year for her album ``The Raven's Sun.'' while Edmonton local Rebecca Lappa brought home the Young Performer of the Year award for her album ``Tattered Rose.''
Ontario's Kiran Ahluwalia was awarded World Solo Artist of the Year for ``Sanata: Stillness,'' and Ontario fiddler Adrianna Ciccone won Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year for her album The Back of Winter.
Ensemble of the Year went to Comox Valley, BC's Big Little Lions for ``A Little Frayed, A Little Torn,'' and the Vocal Group of the Year award was claimed by St.John's based Fortunate Ones for ``The Bliss.''
Husband and wife duo Raven Kanatakta and ShoShona Kish from Long Point First Nation in Winneway, Quebec who perform as Digging Roots won Aboriginal Songwriter for their album For The Light.
Nova Scotia's husband and wife fiddle duo Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy won the Instrumental Group of the Year award for their album ``ONE.''
Newfoundland's Matthew Byrne was awarded Traditional Album of the Year for ``Hearts & Heroes'' and Quebec's Michael Jerome Browne won Traditional Singer of the Year for his 1920's blues-inspired album ``Sliding Delta.''
The New/Emerging Artist of the Year went to Ontario's The Young Novelists, while The Lemon Bucket Orkestra was named World Group of the Year.
Children's Album of the Year went to The Swinging Belles, for ``More Sheep, Less Sleep.''
Louis-Jean Cormier was honoured with the French Songwriter of the Year award his second solo album ``Les grandes arteres.''
Renowned Ontario guitarist Kevin Breit won the Pushing the Boundaries award for his album Ernesto & Delilah.
Producer of the Year went to Nova Scotia's Daniel Ledwell for his work on Compostela by Jenn Grant.
And Ottawa's Arthur McGregor was honoured as this year's Unsung Hero, a special category award that highlights the exceptional contributions of an individual, group, or organization to the Canadian folk music scene.
(The Canadian Press)
JOHN LENNON GUITAR SELLS FOR $2.4 MILLION
The acoustic guitar John Lennon used to write and record ``Love Me Do'' and ``I Want To Hold Your Hand'' has sold at auction for 2.4-million dollars. Julien's Auctions says the Gibson J-160E guitar was sold Saturday to an undisclosed buyer.
Lennon had the guitar for about a year before swapping it with George Harrison, and then it disappeared for 50 years. A California man bought it in the late 1960s for 275-dollars and saw an old magazine story that showed Harrison with the guitar. An expert matched the guitar's serial number and wood markings to the one Lennon had owned.
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CHRIS STAPLETON STILL BASKING IN THE POST-CMAS GLOW
Chris Stapleton admits he's had to turn his phone off a couple of times since his breakout performance with Justin Timberlake at the Country Music Association Awards last week.
Stapleton tells Billboard magazine he's turned off the iPhone text ding so he won't annoy everyone around him. Stapleton says he met Timberlake about three years ago through mutual friends. He asked Timberlake if he would do the C-M-As with him and Timberlake jumped at it. But how did they convince the C-M-As to let them perform for eight minutes, when acts like Luke Bryan or Miranda Lambert didn't get that kind of time? Stapleton says, ``Well, Justin is real good at convincing people what's needed.''
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X AMBASSADORS ARE MOVING UP IN THE WORLD
X Ambassadors don't feel like they're a big enough band to inspire haters. Keyboardist Casey Harris says even though their song ``Renegades'' is enormously popular, they have not seen a backlash. They're just grateful they're a big enough band not to have to tour in a van anymore. Guitarist Noah Feldshuh says they bought their first van in 2008 and went through three of them before moving up to a tour bus. Harris says maybe someday they'll look back on those days with fondness, but the scars are too new for him to laugh about that.
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ADELE HAS A HISTORY OF DRUNK-TWEETING
Are you the type of person who should not go online after a few drinks? Adele was that way too. During the taping of a special for the B-B-C, a fan asked if it was true that Adele's management barred her from Twitter. Adele says it is indeed true.
She says she's not a drinker any more, but she used to drunk-tweet and she nearly put her foot in her mouth quite a few times. She says the things on her Twitter account are all hers, but her management decided two people had to review them first.
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PARTY AT RZA'S HOUSE RESULTS IN TWO STABBINGS
Two men were stabbed at a party at the house of Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA (RIH'-zah), but details are sketchy on what happened. Authorities in Millstone Township, New Jersey, say two men were hospitalized with stab wounds following an argument Saturday. The injuries are not considered life-threatening.
It's not certain if the men were involved in the argument. Police did not identify the homeowner but public records show it's RZA's house. He was in Texas at the time performing at a festival. RZA's representatives could not be reached for comment.
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(The Associated Press)