The change in venue was a hot topic of conversation througout the night. Koerner Hall is spectacular to say the least. It was designed to offer excellent acoustics for all types of music. The reserved seating and no-alcohol-inside-the-hall ensured that all eyes and ears were on the award presentations, the thank you speeches and the always-excellent Maple Blues Band and guest performers.

I wasn't sure at first how I felt about this new hall. It was difficult to sit for close to four hours (minus the intermission) especially when the band and guests were performing; afterall, the blues is about tapping your toes and swinging your hips. In the end, this is an award presentation and not a blues gig. We are all gathered there to honour the musicians; they have a hard enough time getting respect when they play a gig in a club. I understand why the Toronto Blues Society chose to make this major change and I think it will only make this event better. That seemed to be the overall concensus.

 

Co-hosts David Gogo and Danny Marks

 

I'm not one for award shows (Oscars, Grammys, Junos, etc), mostly because I think it is pointless to offer recognition to one person when many others are just as worthy of the same recognition. But with blues being such a miniscule sector of the music industry, the MBAs allow people to see blues artists they may never have a chance to see otherwise and the whole evening creates a sense of togetherness.

Over the years I have heard many complaints in regards to the process of the MBAs - the nominees are chosen by a panel of radio DJs, industry people and expert fans but the actual voting is open to the public and the nominee with the most votes in each category wins. The public vote is a bone of contention for many people. Why? Because many who are nominated simply reach out to their "friends" and networks on the various social networking sites and ask them to go vote. Some of these people have never heard the artist but they vote for them anyway. How is this fair? That is a question that comes up over and over again.

There are many, many great blues artists all across Canada, very few are known from coast to coast. Many artists embrace Web 2.0 (social networking sites) and use it excessively to promote themselves, while many others simply don't have an aptitude for these kind of things and this penalizes them unfairly. This, I believe, is an issue that is not going to go away anytime soon and the topic of a separate article.

Overall, the "new and improved" 13th Annual MapleBlues Awards were a success and, from what I heard, will be much anticipated next year.

 

CLICK HERE FOR SOME PICTURES OF THE EVENING.
(I chose to stick to pictures of the performances rather than the winners and presenters)

 

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Guitarist Of The Year

Tony D (Monkey Junk)

Garrett Mason
Jack de Keyzer
Steve Dawson (Jim Byrnes)
Steve Strongman

Harmonica Player Of The Year

Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk)

Carlos del Junco
David Hoerl (The Twisters)
David Rotundo
Jerome Godboo

Piano/Keyboard Player Of The Year

Michael Fonfara (Downchild, Maple Blues Revue)

Bill Stevenson (Easley Stevenson Arsenault)
Julian Fauth
Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne
Lance Anderson
 
Horn Player Of The Year

Chris Whiteley (Maple Blues Revue)

Al Lerman (Fathead, Maple Blues Revue)
Chris Murphy (Maple Blues Revue)Johnny Ferreira
Pat Carey (Downchild, Maple Blues Revue)

Drummer Of The Year

Bucky Berger (Fathead)

Al Cross

Chris Nordquist
Geoff Arsenault (Easley Stevenson Arsenault)
Tom Bona (Raoul & The Big Time, Maple Blues Revue)

Bassist Of The Year

Alec Fraser (Broken Joe, Jeff Healey)

Alan Duffy (Jack de Keyzer)

Gary Kendall (Downchild, Maple Blues Revue, Gary Kendall Band)
Keith Picot (The Twisters)
Tom Easley (Easley Stevenson Arsenault) 

 

Male Vocalist Of The Year

Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk)

Harrison Kennedy
Jim Byrnes
John Mays (Fathead, Maple Blues Revue)
Paul Reddick

Female Vocalist Of The Year

Suzie Vinnick

Jolene “Little Miss” Higgins
Roxanne Potvin
Shakura S’Aida

Treasa Levasseur 

 

Entertainer Of The Year

Monkey Junk

Downchild
Jack de Keyzer
Little Miss Higgins

Shakura S’Aida

Electric Act Of The Year

Monkey Junk

David Gogo
Garrett Mason
Jack de Keyzer

The Twisters

Acoustic Act Of The Year

Harry Manx

Big Dave McLean
Braithwaite & Whiteley
Harrison Kennedy

Julian Fauth

New Artist/Group Of The Year

Blackburn
Blues Delight
Clio & The Blues Highway
Ross Neilsen
Scott McCord & The Bonafide Truth

Recording Of The Year

Songs From The Road (Stony Plain)
Jeff Healey
Producer: Alec Fraser

 

Come Out Swingin' (NorthernBlues)
The Twisters
Producers: Chris & Brandon Isaak

 One Dog Barkin’ (Electro-Fi)
Harrison Kennedy
Producer: Harrison Kennedy

SugarBird (NorthernBlues)
Paul Reddick
Producer: Colin Linden

Tiger In Your Tank (Beefy)
Monkey Junk
Producers: Steve Marriner and Monkey Junk

Songwriter Of The Year

Chris Whiteley & Diana Braithwaite

Brandon Isaak (The Twisters)

Harrison Kennedy
Paul Reddick
Treasa Levasseur

 

Blues With A Feeling Award
(Lifetime Achievement)

Chris Whiteley

Alec Fraser

Danny Brooks
Ellen McIlwaine
Joe Murphy
Ken Whiteley
Michael Fonfara
Paul James
Terry Wilkins
Tom Lavin

BB King International Artist Of The Year

Taj Mahal

John Mayall
Maria Muldaur

Tommy Castro
Watermelon Slim