Indigenous ECMA opening doors for Tian Wigmore

A surprise ECMA win for P.E.I's Tian Wigmore is also opening up doors for him that he never even knew were there.

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Wigmore won Indigenous Artist of the Year with his group War Horses. He was in Hamilton when the award was announced, without even his phone on him. It was a bit of a shock when he did pick up his phone.

"I had about 20 texts and missed calls and I was like, 'Oh my God, something horrible has happened,'" he said.

"I opened up my phone and saw a lovely picture of an ECMA there."

Wigmore has been playing on tours with other artists for more than a decade, but this is the first project he's led, so the award came as a surprise.

"This is my first kick at the can," he said.

"I have confidence in the album and the songs but there is tons of great artists."

'Not something that I touted'

For many fans who have followed Wigmore over the years, the fact that he is Indigenous was also a surprise.

Wigmore is a status native with the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba.

"It's not something that I touted," he said.

"It was just always part of who I was and I didn't really go out promoting myself as an Aboriginal artist. I don't want people to think it's some kind of a shtick that I'm using."

The win has opened up doors, said Wigmore, prompting calls from bloggers and others promoting Indigenous artists.

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