Manitobans get 13 Juno nods ahead of Winnipeg award show

When The 2014 JUNO Awards take over Winnipeg next month, Manitoba artists will have plenty of chances to pick up hardware. Homegrown acts are up for 13 awards, including an unprecedented nine nominations for artists that currently call Manitoba home.

The nominees for the 43rd annual awards were announced by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) in Toronto on February 4. Canadas top artists are headed for Winnipeg for JUNO Week, March 24 March 30, 2014.

KEN mode adds to its growing list of accolades with a second nod for the Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year, this time for Entrench, which won at the 2013 Western Canadian Music Award (WCMA) in the metal/hard category and landed a coveted spot on the Polaris Music Prizes long list. The noisecore trio picked up the inaugural JUNO Award in the same category for Venerable in 2012.

Indie pop/rock outfit Royal Canoe is up for Alternative Album of the Year for Today We're Believers, its debut full length on Nevado Records/Roll Call Records. The six-piece has been making a lot of waves across Canada, the U.S., and Europe in the last year alone, garnering significant international media attention along the way.

Electronic rock band Mahogany Frog is up for Instrumental Album of the Year for its sixth studio album, SENNA. The quartet won a 2013 WCMA for Instrumental Recording of the Year and is featured in the new music documentary, Alors, tas soif de quoi?

Duo Erin Propp and Larry Roy are following up their 2013 WCMA win for debut album Courage, My Love with a nod for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.

Country songstress Desiree Dorion landed a nod for Aboriginal Album of the Year for her sophomore recording, Small Town Stories. Dauphin's Dorion has already picked up nods from the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards and Indian Summer Music Award for the album.

The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and its music director Anne Manson are up for Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance for their recording with Toronto-based opera singer Isabel Bayrakdarian on Ravel, Sayat-Nova & Kradjian: Troubadour & the Nightingale.

Little Miss Higgins and the Winnipeg Five are up for Roots Traditional Album of the Year in the group category for Bison Ranch Recording Sessions. The acclaimed singer/songwriter recently moved to Winnipeg from Saskatchewan, joining her band, which comes from local roots act The F-Holes.

Francophone singer/songwriter Marie-Claude, aka Marie-Claude McDonald, is up for Children's Album of the Year for her debut as a kids performer, which was also nominated for a 2013 WCMA nod in October.

World-travelling troubadour Matt Epp shares in superstar Serena Ryder's Songwriter of the Year nomination for their co-written song When You Know, which appears on his latest album, Learning to Lose Control.

Toronto-based producer/engineer David Travers-Smith has been recognized with a Recording Engineer of the Year nomination for his work this year, including Ruth Moody's song Dancing in the Dark from her album, These Wilder Things.

Brandon-born violin virtuoso James Ehnes could bring home two JUNO Awards this year in two different classical categories while former Winnipegger Earl MacDonald is up for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year.

Many of this years Manitoba nominees have participated in Manitoba Musics professional and market development programs during their careers, accessing assistance to showcase in new markets and in making critical business contacts. Manitoba Musics programs are supported by the Government of Canada through Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Province of Manitoba, FACTOR, and Manitoba Film & Music.

Winners will be announced at the exclusive JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on March 29 and the 2014 JUNO Awards on March 30.

Tickets for The 2014 JUNO Awards go on sale on Friday, February 14 at 10 a.m.CST. Tickets range from $39 to $189 (plus service charges) and are available through the MTS Centre Box Office, by phone at 1-855-985-5000, and online at ticketmaster.ca.

This article has been republished with permission by Manitoba Music.