Taking their annual celebration of homegrown New Brunswick music online this year a digital four-day version of Festival (506), Music•Musique NB (MNB) isn’t about to forget the Prix MNB Awards Show either. The live-streamed awards show will live-streamed, free, on October 22, 2020, kicking off the whole event.
Today, Music•Musique NB has announced the nominees in the nineteen different award categories celebrating the artists and industry professionals who have made an impact on the provincial music scene.
Jamie Comeau & the Crooked Teeth, Jessica Rhaye & the Ramshackle Parade, Joey Robin Haché, Kill Chicago, Little You Little Me, and Menoncle Jason all top the list with five nominations apiece. Les Hay Babies, Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire, and M3D14 are right behind with four nominations each.
Like many Music Industry Associations, Music•Musique NB has recognized a need to make space for and better recognize diversity within the industry. MNB says they’ve making effort to ensure the percentage of Prix MNB Awards nominees and showcasing artists accurately reflects the NB music community.
MNB notes that among the nominees, women+ and BIPOC candidates represent 37% and 9% of the total nominations respectively (2019: 38% // 8%). While those numbers are not entirely abnormal within the regional industry, it is an indicator of a pervasive lopsidedness that needs to be addressed.
To accomplish this, MNB has been rolling out new programs, such as the annual “Women+ and the Music Industry” session, engaging with a Women in the NB Music Industry Facebook group, working with an Indigenous Outreach Coordinator (in partnership with Arts NB), as well as continuing the education of staff and board members on topics such as respectful workplaces in the arts, anti-oppressive communications, and LGBTQ+ allyship.
“Starting in 2017, we’ve been collecting informal statistics related to the number of women+ and BIPOC [black, indigenous and people of colour] candidates,” says Jean Surette, Executive Director of MNB. “Informal, because we are relying on our members to self-identify, meaning we are working with approximate numbers.
“We are disappointed by the continued low rates of BIPOC representation in our award nominations and disappointed in our own organization’s ineffectiveness in engaging the diverse music community in NB,” says Penelope Stevens, President of MNB. “We know artists in the BIPOC community continue to create art that’s important – now more than ever – to be heard around the world. We urgently need to listen to and celebrate these voices,” continues Stevens.
Music•Musique NB says that to better address these issues, they will be reaching out to the NB BIPOC community themselves, and seeking feedback with an online survey to be published next week.
Here are the 2020 Prix MNB Award Nominees:
Music Categories
RECORDING OF THE YEAR
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR MAIN STAGE CASES
Diner Drugs // As Is
Jamie Comeau & the Crooked Teeth // Jamie Comeau & the Crooked Teeth
Jessica Rhaye & the Ramshackle Parade // Just Like a Woman – Songs of Bob Dylan
Jon Mckiel // Bobby Joe Hope
Kill Chicago // The Fix
Les Fireflies // Les Fireflies
Little You Little Me // Hard To say Not Knowing
Mike Biggar // Live at the BMO Theatre
Weak Size Fish // The Drift
ZAUM // Divination
ENREGISTREMENT DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR CODIAC FM
Beauséjour // Beauséjour
Christine Melanson // Cent millions d’années
Cy // Acadian Dream
Dave Puhacz // À la grosse rose
Joey Robin Haché // Trente
Les Hay Babies // Boîte aux lettres
Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire // Viens avec moi (LIVE)
Marc à Paul à Jos // à Albénie à Charles à Syriac à Justin
Menoncle Jason // La grosse piastre
Sébastien Bérubé // Madouesca
Spoutnique // Solace
SOLO RECORDING OF THE YEAR // ENREGISTREMENT SOLO DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR PERIWINKLE PROMOTIONS AND MANAGEMENT
Jerry-Faye // Jerry-Faye
Joey Robin Haché // Trente
Jon Mckiel // Bobby Joe Hope
Jonah Haché // That World Already Ended
Menoncle Jason // La grosse piastre
GROUP RECORDING OF THE YEAR // ENREGISTREMENT DE GROUPE DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR LE CENTRE DES ARTS D’EDMUNDSTON
Kill Chicago // The Fix
Les Hay Babies // Boîte aux lettres
Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire // Viens avec moi (LIVE)
Little You Little Me // Hard To say Not Knowing
Spoutnique // Solace
SOCAN SONG OF THE YEAR
Chris Colepaugh // Could Have Been (author(s): Chris Colepaugh + Craig Watson)
Jamie Comeau & the Crooked Teeth // Tall Pine (author(s): Jamie Comeau)
Kill Chicago // Two Drinks Behind (author(s): Greg Webber + Dillon Anthony + Matt Bowie + Zach Atkinson)
Kylie Fox // Cradle Me (author(s): Kylie Fox)
Les Fireflies // Where You Gonna Sleep (author(s): Christine Melanson)
Rey D // Loyal (author(s): Reynaldo Dames + Carleton Stone + Kayleigh O’Connor)
CHANSON SOCAN DE L’ANNÉE
Beauséjour // Lucille Starr (auteur.es: Danny Boudreau + Jocelyne Baribeau)
Christine Melanson // Cent millions d’années (auteur.es: Christine Melanson)
Joey Robin Haché // Game over (auteur.es: Joey Robin Haché)
Les Hay Babies // Same Old, Same Old (auteur.es: Vivianne Roy + Julie Aubé + Katrine Noël)
Matt Boudreau // 800 km (auteur.es: Matt Boudreau)
Menoncle Jason // Florida (auteur.es: Jason LeBlanc)
VIDEO OF THE YEAR // VIDÉO DE L’ANNÉE
Jessica Rhaye & the Ramshackle Parade // Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
Kill Chicago // Show Me
Little You Little Me // Traveled
Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire // Spread The Love
Simon Daniel // Nightcrawler
MVP CATEGORIES ||| CATÉGORIES JPU
INDIGENOUS ARTIST OF THE YEAR // ARTISTE AUTOCHTONE DE L’ANNÉE
Matt Comeau
Marian
M3D14
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR // RÉVÉLATION DE L’ANNÉE
Jamie Comeau & the Crooked Teeth
Kylie Fox
Marian
Matt Boudreau
Pallmer
CHAMPION OF THE YEAR // CHAMPION DE L’ANNÉE
Carole Chouinard
Derrick Beardsworth
Erin Bond
Matt Carter
Peter Rowan
The East
INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR // INNOVATEUR DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR LES BRASSEURS DU PETIT-SAULT
Chris Colepaugh
M3D14
Martin Daigle
Matt Carter
Peter Rowan
VISUAL IDENTITY OF THE YEAR // IDENTITÉ VISUELLE DE L’ANNÉE
Jessica Rhaye Design
Joey Robin Haché
Jonah Haché
M3D14
Nebullama
HARDEST WORKING OF THE YEAR // VAILLANT DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR FMZ VINTAGE SOUNDS
Carol Doucet
Carole Chouinard
Derrick Beardsworth
Erin Bond
The East
LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR // ARTISTE DE SCÈNE DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR THÉÂTRE CAPITOL THEATRE
Jamie Comeau & the Crooked Teeth
Jessica Rhaye & the Ramshackle Parade
Little You Little Me
Menoncle Jason
ZAUM
INDUSTRY CATEGORIES ||| CATÉGORIES DE L’INDUSTRIE
VENUE OF THE YEAR // SALLE DE SPECTACLE DE L’ANNÉE
Le Caveau
Salle Bernard-LeBlanc
Shepody House
The Tipsy Muse Cafe
Théâtre Capitol Theatre
FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR // FESTIVAL DE L’ANNÉE
PRESENTED BY | PRÉSENTÉ PAR LA FAMILLE DE MARC CHOUINARD
Mud City Fest
Paddlefest NB
Quality Block Party
Winter Warmer Festival
MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR // PROFESSIONNEL.LE DE L’INDUSTRIE DE L’ANNÉE
Alex Cook
Carol Doucet
Carole Chouinard
Derrick Beardsworth
Erin Bond
Matt Carter
Peter Rowan
Music•Musique NB needs you to vote!
Music and industry categories are open for public and member voting. Voting begins online at noon on Tuesday, September 22, and ends on Thursday, October 15 at noon. Go vote!