2020 Canadian Folk Music Award Nominees - A YouTube Playlist (link)
This weekend would have seen the country's finest roots and traditional performers heading to Charlottetown for the 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards if the event hadn't been canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although the awards themselves will be presented in an online event on Saturday at 8 p.m., it obviously won't be the same without the live performances, workshops and reunions of musical friends who normally only get to see each other at festivals and gatherings like these.
So consider this playlist a virtual folk fest, featuring some of the East Coast performers whose exceptional work from the past year was nominated for CFMAs. Pictou County songsmith Dave Gunning was one of the top nominees, tied with Winnipeg's the Small Glories for four nods, so we'll start with In the Time I Was Away from Up Against the Sky, a gentle song that feels appropriate and soothing at this moment of isolation and social distancing. Then enjoy songs filled with love and humour from Jenn Grant and Old Man Luedecke. There are traditional sounds from singer/violinist Shannon Quinn, Acadian folk group Vishten and the fiddle/cello duo of Mairi Rankin & Eric Wright; a robust lesson in conjugal bliss from Ben Caplan's Old Stock; live versions of Lennie Gallant's mystical Selkie and Irish Mythen's inspiring Be Still. Dance; and stirring blends of harmony from NL's Fortunate Ones and Matt Andersen with Nashville gospel group the McCrary Sisters.
