Here's everyone who won a 2020 East Coast Music Award

natalieanddonnell.com

Natalie MacMaster might be the queen of Canadian celtic music, but let's not forget she lives in Ontario.

This past weekend, the East Coast Music Association handed out its annual nods to some of the best and brightest local talent. (And, um, a few accolades to openly living-away artists, like Laura Roy, who's been making her mark on the UK's R&B scene, and longtime Ontario-based fiddle queen Natalie MacMaster.)

While the statuettes were doled out, one question took over Twitter: Why, in 2020, are these awards still so overwhelmingly male and white? Former Coast writer Tara Thorne even did the math for the association:

A Phoebe Waller-Bridge side-eye is the perfect gif for this tweet.

With individual yearly membership at $60 (bands cost $160) and a per-award application fee of $30, the question of who gets shut out before this whole thing even starts is one that begs to be asked.

Hopefully the association is also asking itself how it can draw more diverse applicants to become members, because let's be real: There's no shortage of BIPOC and women artists making incredible art in Atlantic Canada.

But, in the meantime, here's who took home an award at the 2020 ECMA celebrations:

-Album of the Year: Wintersleep, In The Land Of
-Blues Recording of the Year: Myles Goodwyn, Myles Goodwyn and Friends of the Blues 2

-Bucky Adams Memorial Award (formerly known as the African Nova Scotian Artist of the Year award): Jon Samuel

-Classical Recording of the Year:   Marc Djokic, Solo Seven

-Contemporary Roots Recording of the Year: The East Pointers, Yours to Break
-Country Recording of the Year: Dave Sampson, All Types of Ways
-Dance Recording of the Year: Famba, “Swear to God”
-Electronic Recording of the Year: Rich Aucoin, Release
-Folk Recording of the Year: Tim Baker, Forever Overhead

-Francophone Recording of the Year: Jacobus, Caviar
-Group Recording of the Year: Wintersleep, In The Land Of
-Indigenous Artist of the Year: Eastern Owl
-Inspirational Recording of the Year: Ian Foster and Nancy Hynes, A Week in December
-Instrumental Recording of the Year: Florian Hoefner, First Spring
-Jazz Recording of the Year: Florian Hoefner, First Spring
-Loud Recording of the Year: Spirit of the Wildfire, Bittersweet Nothings
-Pop Recording of the Year: Neon Dreams, Sweet Dreams Till Sunbeams
-R&B/Soul Recording of the Year: Laura Roy, Forte
-Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year: Jacobus, Caviar

-Rising Star Recording of the Year: Dave Sampson, All Types of Ways
Rock Recording of the Year: Wintersleep, In The Land Of
-Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year: Natalie MacMaster, Sketches

-Solo Recording of the Year: Tim Baker, Forever Overhead
-Song of the Year: Wintersleep, “Beneficiary”
-Songwriter of the Year: The East Pointers
-Fans' Choice Entertainer of the Year: Jimmy Rankin
-Fans' Choice Video of the Year: Jason Benoit, “Slow Hand” feat. Leah Daniels

About The Author

Morgan Mullin

Morgan is the Arts & Entertainment Editor at The Coast, where she writes about everything from what to see and do around Halifax to profiles of the city’s creative class to larger cultural pieces. She’s been with The Coast since 2016.

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