Virtual Maple Blues Award Winners: Montreal Edition

Toronto & Hamilton Artists Win Hardware

Songwriters and Sidemen Honoured

The 24th Maple Blues Awards streamed from Petit Campus in Montreal, celebrating songwriters and sidemen. Hosted by Dawn Tyler Watson and Ben Racine, the half-hour show announced four MBA winners.

Nashville-based Torontonian Colin Linden was announced as the winner of the Songwriter of the Year award (sponsored by SOCAN) and Toronto's Steve Marriner won the Harmonica Player the Year (sponsored by Lee Oskar Harmonicas).

Hamilton's Jesse O'Brien won the Maple Blues Award for Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year while the MBA for Drummer of the Year went to Toronto’s Gary Craig.

The evening featured a gorgeous performance of “Coal Mining Blues” from soulful singer Matt Andersen from Halifax. Montreal's Durham County Poets brought their 6-piece band and performed the title track from their recent release "Hand Me Down Blues".

On Monday, February 22nd Jim Byrnes and Dalannah Gail Bowen will be hosting the fourth and final stream from Vancouver's Blue Frog Studio, with featured performances from Liam Docherty and Lindsay Beaver.