It’s been a little more than a year since The Once took home four awards at the 2009 MusicNL conference, and at the time, they thought life couldn’t get any better.
Saturday night, it did.
The St. John’s band won the Traditional Album of the Year for its debut self-titled album and the New Emerging Artist of the Year award at the sixth annual Canadian Folk Music Awards in Winnipeg. The band also performed at the awards gala.
“We had no idea what sort of year lay ahead for us. It’s truly remarkable,” group member Andrew Dale told The Telegram. “It’s been truly remarkable. This is very special to all three of us.”
“I have purchased a lottery ticket, and in light of recent events, I’m feeling pretty good about my odds. Much stranger things have already happened,” added Phil Churchill, who is also a comedian with the sketch comedy troupe Dance Party of Newfoundland.
Geraldine Hollett praised the folk music association, saying they’ve done “nothing but support the folk industry.
“What a wild ride this has been — this album keeps going and going,” she said. “We are very proud. We look forward to what album two will bring.”
The members of The Once weren’t the only local musicians honoured at the national awards gala, Amelia Curran was presented with the Solo Artist of the Year award for her album, “Hunter, Hunter.” Curran also won a Juno Award earlier this year.
Other winners included Halifax-based singer Rose Cousins, who picked up the prize for contemporary singer of the year; the Toronto two piece Dala, who won for vocal group of the year and Beyond the Pale, a Toronto sextet blending klezmer, Balkan and Romanian styles. Beyond the Pale lead the nominees, with four nods going into the show at the Pantages Theatre. They picked up the instrumental group of the year prize and the “pushing the boundaries” award.
Edmonton trio Asani nabbed the aboriginal songwriter of the year award.
tbradbury@thetelegram.com with files from The Canadian Press
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