Awards Celebration Events are from March 31 Through April 2, 2023, in Vancouver, BC
[Feb 2nd, 2023] The 18th Edition of the CFMA Awards Weekend takes place March 31 – April 2, 2023 in Vancouver, B.C. The Official Awards Concerts will be held Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2 (6:00-8:30 pm PT) at the Mel Lehan Hall at St James Community Square, with the assistance of the Rogue Folk Club, each featuring live performances from 5 CFMA nominees and the presentation of 10 awards nightly during the largest annual celebration of Canadian Folk Music recordings. In addition to the Awards Concerts, three Nominee Showcase Concerts will feature 2023 CFMA nominated performers – a Traditional Music Showcase, Songwriters Showcase and Children and Family Music Showcase. Tickets sales to all CFMA events begin today at 3pm ET, click here to purchase tickets.
Hosted by Chelsey June (Twin Flames) and Benoit Bourque, the bilingual CFMA 2023 Award Concerts will feature a total of 20 awards being presented, including the Unsung Hero Award, over the course of two nights, as well as performances by an exciting and diverse selection of 10 of this year’s nominees from across the nation.
The CFMA 2023 Awards Concerts take place on Saturday April 1 at 6:00 PM and Sunday April 2 at 6:00 PM at the Mel Lehan Hall at St James Community Square. Tickets will be available for purchase today, Feb 2, 2023. Prices are $46 for Awards Concert tickets and include all fees, purchase tickets online or in-person just prior to each show at Mel Lehan Hall at St James Community Square, 3214 W 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC.
In addition to the Awards Concerts, CFMA are presenting 3 Nominee Showcase Concerts, featuring 2023 CFMA nominated performers. The Traditional Music Nominee Showcase Concert occurs on Friday March 31 at 6:00 PM, and the Songwriters Nominee Showcase Concert on Saturday April 1 at 1:00 PM, both at Mel Lehan Hall at St James Community Square and each featuring 6 additional nominated artists. Tickets for the showcases are $35 each and include all fees – click here.
There will also be a Children and Family Music Showcase Concert Co-Presented with The Vancouver International Children’s Festival on Sunday April 2 at 11:00 AM at the Waterfront Theatre (Granville Island) – Exciting Performer Lineup coming soon!
Finally, as a prelude to the CFMA Awards Weekend, The Rogue Folk Club, in collaboration with Music BC, is presenting a BC Artists Showcase Concert on Thursday, March 30, at 6:00 p.m. PDT with the performer line-up to be announced soon. We are excited to be partnering with The Rogue Folk Club, one of the country’s iconic folk clubs and a coveted tour date on musicians’ tour schedules. They will be our host for most of our weekend programming including two of our Canadian Folk Music Awards nominee showcases and the Awards Concerts on Saturday and Sunday. The club’s founder, Steve Edge, is a past recipient of our Unsung Hero Award (in 2016), so he’s already a member of “the CFMA family”, and it will be great working with him and his team.
For those who are unable to attend in person, the events will also stream via CFMA’s websites, folkawards.ca (EN) and prixfolk.ca (FR) plus the CFMA’s Youtube channel.
The CFMAs are calling for volunteers! If you live in the area and are interested in volunteering during the 2023 CFMA Awards Week, please visit our website, to view volunteer roles needed, dates and much more.
The CFMA 2023 Awards Concerts Performance Schedule:
Awards Concert Night 1: Saturday April 1 @ 6:00 PDT
Hosted by Chelsey June and Benoit Bourque
Performers:
Geneviève & Alain QC
Angelique Francis ON
Kyle McKearney AB
Camie ON
Barney Bentall BC
Awards presented will be:
Young Performer(s) of the Year
Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year
Instrumental Group of the Year
French Songwriter(s) of the Year
Unsung Hero Award
English Songwriter(s) of the Year
Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year
Contemporary Singer of the Year
Contemporary Album of the Year
Single of the Year
Awards Concert Night 2: Sunday April 2 @ 6:00 PDT
Hosted by Chelsey June and Benoit Bourque
Performers:
Abigail Lapell ON
Wesli QC
Mama’s Broke NS
Digging Roots ON
John Wort Hannam and T. Buckley AB
Awards presented will be:
Children’s Album of the Year
Ensemble of the Year
Traditional Singer of the Year
Traditional Album of the Year
Solo Artist of the Year
Global Roots Album of the Year
New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year
Vocal Group of the Year
Producer(s) of the Year
Oliver Schroer Pushing The Boundaries
Traditional Music Showcase Concert: Friday March 31 @ 6:00 PM PDT
Ken Whiteley ON
Jaffa Road ON
Jocelyn Pettit BC
Shannon Quinn & Tony Quinn NS
Li’l Andy QC
John Reischman BC
Songwriters Showcase Concert: Saturday April 1 @ 1:00 PM PDT
Ken Yates ON
Amanda Rheaume ON
Sébastien Lacombe QC
Suzie Ungerleider BC
Adrian Sutherland ON
Ancolie QC
To attend, please note that Mel Lehan Hall at St James Community Square is following all public health guidelines. For more information and to review their COVID policies and procedures, please visit: COVID-19 Safety Plan.
The CFMAs gratefully acknowledge the financial funding support of FACTOR through the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.
We also wish to thank and acknowledge all of our funders: Government of Canada – Ministry of Canadian Heritage, SOCAN, The Oliver Schroer Estate (Peter Coffman), the Edmonton Folk Festival, Fogarty’s Cove Music, Calgary Folk Club, SOCAN Foundation, True North Records / Stony Plain Rights Management, Borealis Records, Music PEI, and Wavelength Media.
About the Canadian Folk Music Awards (CFMAs):
Established in 2005 as a non-profit, the Canadian Folk Music Awards celebrate the breadth and depth of folk music in Canada in all its forms. Each year, the Canadian Folk Music Awards are held in a different province, showcasing the vast array of talent the country has to offer. For the 18th edition, the CFMAs are presenting Awards Weekend events, March 31 – April 2, 2023 in Vancouver, BC. These events capture the true heart of the folk community while celebrating the nominees and category recipients. To stay up to date, follow CFMA social media accounts and subscribe to our newsletter.
VOLUNTEER for the 2023 CFMAs: click here to register to volunteer!
Our official hashtag is → #CFMA2023 and #PMFC2023
Listen to CFMA 2023 nominees Spotify playlist → https://spoti.fi/3WIi81R
Engage with CFMA | PMFC online →
Facebook → facebook.com/prixfolkawards
Twitter → @FolkAwards
Instagram → @CanadianFolkMusicAwards
Join Our Mailing List → CLICK HERE to subscribe to the CFMA newsletter
Media Contact:
Kimberly Sinclair, CFMA
kimberly@spincount.com
(902) 350-3968
