The Trews are nominated for five ECMAs, including in the Song of the Year category for Hope & Ruin. (Contributed photo)

Share

Tweet

The Awakening Souls and their up-lifting message have been recognized with an East Coast Music Award (ECMA) nomination.
The African Nova Scotian youth choir, whose mission is “to provide a Christian and healthy environment for young people to sing and praise the Lord,” is just one of the many nominees from the Strait region for the 2012 ECMAs, which will be handed out April 15 in Moncton, New Brunswick.
“I was so surprised. It is an amazing accomplishment for our young men and women. It recognizes the hard work of a lot of people,” Mary Desmond, Awakening Souls’ choir director, said.
The Upper Big Tracadie based group, which formed in 2007 and made their debut performance as part of the Tracadie United Baptist Church’s 185th anniversary celebration, is nominated in the African-Canadian Recording of the Year category for God is Love.
“It was a great effort,” Desmond said.
Jamie Sparks, a multiple ECMA nominee in his own right, is the Awakening Souls’ music director. Desmond said he led the way with the creation of the CD, which includes songs written by Sparks, some traditional spiritual ones and a couple penned by Randy Powell.
Desmond said, when the group formed, there was never any thought of such accolades as an ECMA nomination.
“We have been just going around volunteering and doing charitable work,” she added, noting the Awakening Souls do not perform for payment but just “love and gifts,” along with making contributions to worthy causes and communities.
“It has been a tremendous experience for all the young people involved,” Desmond said.

Rankin rules

Mabou’s Jimmy Rankin garnered the most ECMA nominations – eight – including nods for Here in My Heart and I’m Just Saying in the Bell Aliant Fan’s Choice Video of the Year category.
Antigonish rockers – The Trews – will compete with Rankin in that category for Hope & Ruin – one of five nominations in 2012 for the band.
Both Rankin (Here in My Heart) and The Trews (Hope & Ruin) are nominated in the Song of the Year category.
“Celebrating the incredible talent in Atlantic Canada and supporting the hard work of our artists is our primary focus,” Su Hutchinson, East Coast Music Association (ECMA) executive director, said in a press release announcing the nominations.
The annual awards’ show will highlight East Coast Music Week 2012, which is part of the ECMA’s mandate “to foster, promote and develop East Coast music.”
“Preparations are underway for an ECMA Week that will present our artists and industry in exciting new ways,” she added.

Talented mix

The list of nominees from the Strait region, including Antigonish, is an eclectic one featuring both first-time and repeat nominees.
Molly Thomason, an Antigonish singer-songwriter, received nods for Beauty Queen – her second CD – in the Pop Recording of the Year and Rising Star Recording of the Year classifications.
“I am so honoured. I grew up reading about these awards in the paper, and watching them on television and the Internet,” the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School student said.
“It’s really cool to be a part of them this year, especially alongside all the other amazing people who are nominated, especially in my two categories.
“I have met and jammed with most of them. I couldn’t be happier to have my name among so many friends,” Thomason added, noting she is “really excited” about her rising star nomination.
Jake Hanlon, a member of the St. F.X. University music department faculty, added to the Antigonish flavour with his Jazz Recording of the Year nomination for Follow – his debut CD.
“It’s a pretty big honour. I was certainly surprised,” Hanlon said of his first ECMA nomination.
Hanlon, a guitarist, collaborated with three friends and fellow graduate students while studying in the United States in creating Follow.
“It wrote all the music,” he noted, adding he asked them to form a quartet to perform his work.
“They were on board immediately. We worked together as an ensemble for three years,” Hanlon said.
The group completed the studio work in the spring of 2008. The next couple years included the effort to fund production of the CD, including finding a label and producing the artwork.
“It is nice to get some props, I guess you could say, for a lot of work,” Hanlon said of the nomination, describing the process as a “learning experience.”
Paul Tynan, a colleague of Hanlon’s at St. F.X. is nominated in the same category for Live at the Ship’s Company Theatre for his work with the Ocean Sounds Quartet.

Sister act

Halifax-based duo Cassie and Maggie MacDonald, who have deep roots in Antigonish, will compete in the Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year category with Fresh Heirs.
“We are so excited, this is really a dream come true for us. We grew up watching the ECMAs on television, and as little girls learning to play, it was definitely the equivalent of the Grammy awards for us,” Cassie said in an email to the Casket.
“We feel so incredibly lucky to be in the company of the other nominees. It was a wonderful year for music and what an honour it is to be part of it,” she added.
During ECMA week, Cassie said the sisters will be performing at many venues, including the official “breakout” stage.
“This is a very exciting new initiative that pairs young up-and-coming artists with seasoned musicians and industry professionals in a mentorship type relationship.
“We are really excited to find out who we’re going to be paired with and to get the chance to pick their brain and learn as much as we can during the week,” she said.

Hawk soars

In the Media Outlet/Contributor of the Year classification, 101.5 the Hawk will carry the banner for the Strait region.
“Recognition from our music peers in the industry is appreciated. Getting nominated is very exciting considering the great work that is being done by many people in Atlantic Canada,” Bob MacEachern, station president and general manager, said.
“For all of us, it is some validation for the work we do every day, not only in playing East Coast artists but also promoting their shows,” he added.
MacEachern agreed an ECMA nomination is a memorable moment.
“The ECMAs are the equivalent of the Juno Awards for the east coast so to be singled out from dozens of media outlets is a pretty cool feeling,” he said.
With its Sunday morning show East Coast Rising, he said the station highlights music and artists from the East Coast including interviews and featuring new music.
He added the station also includes a high number ofEast Coast artists in its daily programming.
“We search out local artists to feature on the radio. We are very proud of the effort we put into highlighting the great music here at home,” MacEachern said.
Voting for music and industry awards begins on Jan. 27 and closes March 1. This year, there are two awards for the fans to vote on – Bell Aliant Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year and Bell Aliant Fan’s Choice Video of the Year. Fan’s Choice voting opens March 1 and closes April 5, 2012.
For ECMA 2012 information, including a full list of nominees, visit www.ecma.ca