Alberta Country Music Awards
With more than a decade of lighting up stages, singer-songwriter Aaron Goodvin will now have the opportunity to charm audiences as host at the eighth annual Alberta Country Music Awards.The former St. Albert resident, now a permanent resident in Nashville, is also nominated as Entertainer of the Year alongside Brett Kissel, Gord Bamford, Lindsay Ell and Paul Brandt.
The ACMA award weekend, to be held Jan. 26 and 27 in Red Deer, brings together Alberta’s most prominent country musicians. The weekend is filled with roundtable discussions, seminars with industry professionals, a Songwriters’ Series, a fan festival, industry awards and a gala dinner.
Three other locals are up for awards. Dan Davidson is nominated for four awards: Male Artist of the Year, Fan Choice, Album of the Year (Songs for Georgia) and Video of the Year (Let’s Go There).
Hailey Benedict has received the nod for Fan Choice and Horizon Youth Awards, while Bill Borgwardt, hailed for his commitment to performance photography, is in the running for the Industry Person of the Year Award.
Tickets for the weekend are available at www.abcountrymusic.tickets.aspx
Edmonton Music Prize
Who will win the gold-plated 2018 Edmonton Music Prize of $10,000?A committee has juried the shortlist and the three top finalists are jazz trombonist Audrey Ochoa, Latin singer-songwriter-musician Marco Claveria and alternative soul singer Nuela Charles.
The lucky recipient will be announced at the 2018 Edmonton Film and Music Prizes reception on Feb. 5. Runners-up will each receive $1,000.
Celebrate the achievements of Edmonton’s artistic community while enjoying appetizers from Revel Bistro and music from St. Albert musician Craig Schram of The Provincial Archive. Schram is also a previous EMP winner.
The reception will be held at the ATB Branch for Arts and Culture, 9804 Jasper Ave. Doors open at 4 p.m. Program runs from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.
