Bman's Blues Report

DANNY MARKS TO HOST 18 th ANNUAL MAPLE BLUES AWARDS   Performers include nominees Downchild, Joel Johnson, Steve Hill, Angel Forrest, Brandon Isaak, and Harpdog Brown   Toronto, ON – Celebrated guitarist, Toronto’s own Danny Marks, is set to take the stage for a second turn as host of the 18 th annual Maple Blues Awards on January 19 th , 2015. A renowned musician and broadcaster with a lengthy career on the Toronto music scene, Marks is the long-time producer/host of radio program Bluz FM and the face of the 8-part series Cities in Blue on HIFI TV. The not-to-be-missed gala is Canada’s national blues celebration, recognizing outstanding musical achievement and gathering blues musicians and music fans from across the country each year. A cast of some of Canada’s notable and emerging new blues talent will be performing at the gala concert and are all current or past nominees. This year the performers include O...

Canada's National Blues Awards Land in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Hamilton Maple Blues Award Nominations Led by MonkeyJunk, Downchild and Steve Hill (October 30, 2014) Toronto, ON - The Toronto Blues Society will be celebrating the 18th annual Maple Blues Awards by honouring nationally and internationally recognized Canadian blues artists from across the country on January 19th, 2015.  Toronto artists lead with twenty seven nominations, followed by Montreal (15), Vancouver (9), Ottawa (8) and Hamilton (7). Ottawa’s MonkeyJunk and Toronto’s Downchild each received five nominations followed by Montreal’s Steve Hill with four. There are plenty of other acts each with multiple nominations including Fathead, Raoul & the Big Time , The 24 th Street Wailers , Brandon Isaak, Steve Strongman and Harrison Kennedy. Quebec blues artists are well represented with nominations for Jordan Officer, Angel...

BLUES BOOSTER AWARD GOES TO THE TIM HORTONS SOUTHSIDE SHUFFLE The Toronto Blues Society selects Port Credit Jazz and Blues Festival for Maple Blues Award   (December 16, 2013) Toronto, ON -- The Toronto Blues Society is proud to announce the recipient of the Blues Booster of the Year Award, a very special Maple Blues Award honouring outstanding contribution to the Canadian blues music industry. This year the Blues Booster of the Year Award goes Mississauga based Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle, a nationally renowned blues festival now heading in to its 16th year . The Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle is held annually in the picturesque Port Credit area of Mississauga, just west of Toronto. Founded by Downchild vocalist and long-time Mississauga resident Chuck Jackson, The Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle has grown exponentially since its inception and boasts an impressive line-up of local, national and internationally...

OTTAWA BLUES SOCIETY’S LIZ SYKES WINS THE BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR AWARD (January 9, 2012) Toronto, ON -- The Toronto Blues Society is proud to announce the recipient of the Blues Booster of the Year award, a very special Maple Blues Award honouring outstanding contribution to the Canadian blues music industry. This year, the Blues Booster of the Year Award goes to Liz Sykes , President of the Ottawa Blues Society. Sykes, who has been president of the Ottawa Blues Society for ten years, started out as a volunteer writer and editor on the newsletter committee after becoming passionate about blues music through her son. “My older son Marc is the one who got me interested in blues, which would have been in late 1994 - early 1995. He was 18 at the time, too young to be going to the bars to hear blues, but he somehow managed!” she recalls. The Ottawa Blues Society was formed in 1997, and is led by a small dedicated Board of Directors. The society’s ...