Juno nominations consolidate Stony Plain's role as Canada's leading blues and roots music label.

Edmonton, Alberta-based independent record roots music label Stony Plain scored three out of the five nominations in the Blues Album of the Year category of the 2009 Juno Awards. Nominations were announced today (February 3).

Stony Plain releases nominated for Juno Awards - the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards - were:

"Get Way Back: A Tribute to Percy Mayfield" - Amos Garrett
"Acoustic Blues: Got 'em From the Bottom" - Big Dave McLean
"Mess of Blues" - Jeff Healey

The two other nominees in the category are the independently-released "Love & Sound" by Nova Scotia guitarist Garrett Mason, and "Ramblin' Son" by pianist/singer Julian Fauth on Toronto's Electro-Fi label.

The Jeff Healey CD was released shortly after the guitarist died last March; the artist, the album, and his sidemen earned no less than seven Maple Blues Awards last month, and the album is nominated in the Rock Blues category of the Blues Awards, being held in Memphis Tennessee on May 7. "Mess of Blues" earned Best Blues Album honours at the Independent Music Awards in the U.S. last month.

"Get Way Back," Amos Garrett's tribute to the songwriter Percy Mayfield - who wrote some of Ray Charles' biggest hits - is the latest album by an artist who is one of Stony Plain's signature artists; seven of his albums are in the label's catalogue.

Big Dave McLean's "Acoustic Blues" album is his third CD for Stony Plain. Based in Winnipeg, he frequently tours across the country.

Stony Plain's extensive catalogue of roots music is distributed domestically by Warner Music Canada, and by a variety of distributors in other territories around the world.