The Western Canadian Music Alliance has announced the nominees for this year's Western Canadian Music Awards.
This annual night of music power is the pinnacle event of the BreakOut West music conference.
It will be held in Whitehorse this year, from
Oct. 2 to Oct. 6.
The Prince George region had a couple of names on the list of nominees among the 31 categories.
Each category has a shortlist of five.
The nearest name among the nominees is Cariboo couple Pharis & Jason Romero.
The Horsefly act has already piled up a trophy case full of Canadian Folk Music Awards, Penguin Eggs Readers Poll, Stingray Folk-Roots citations, multiple Junos (including 2019) and several previous "Westies" to go with these three new nominations.
Pharis & Jason Romero are up for one of the highlight categories, Recording of the Year (the shortlist also includes Dan Mangan, Foxwarren, Jill Barber and Sarah MacDougall), for Roots Duo/Group of the Year, and for another of the biggies in the Songwriter of the Year category for their latest hit tune Sweet Old Religion.
Another name with close contacts is in the Blues Artist of the Year category.
Vying with Brandon Isaak, David Gogo, Jack Semple and James Buddy Rogers is former northerner Ndidi O who was known by her full name, Ndidi Onukwulu, when she lived in Burns Lake growing up.
From a little farther down Highway 16, congratulations are also in order for some other former northerners: Snotty Nose Rez Kids (Kitamaat Village), Aaron Pritchett (Kitimat), and former Smithers resident Dan Mangan who is up for five awards (the most of any artist this year, to go along with his Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance a few weeks ago).
Members of the Western Canadian Music Alliance can vote on some of these awards. Any aspiring or veteran musician can find new information, new contacts, new opportunities to advance in the music industry by attending the BreakOut West conference each year.
The event consists of the BreakOut West Festival, with over 100 shows, the Western Canadian Music Awards, as well as the conference itself with educational panels, networking events, and so much more.
The conference and the Westies are dedicated to the artists and other music professionals from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon.
