by WGO Staff
The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) has announced that Cape Bretoners Natalie MacMaster and Fred Lavery, along with Rawlins Cross (featuring Cape Bretoner Ian McKinnon) are among ten 2023 Honourary East Coast Music Awards receipts for the 35th anniversary event in Halifax, May 3-7.
Presented by ECMA’s Board of Directors, most of the Awards will be conferred during the East Coast Music Awards: Part II, set to take place at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel on Sunday, May 7 at 11am. The Director’s Special Achievement Award will be presented on stage at the 2023 East Coast Music Awards presented by Rogers on Thursday, May 4 at 8pm.
Director’s Special Achievement Award: Natalie MacMaster
A Cape Breton native, Natalie MacMaster has had a 40 year career in the music industry that has taken her to countries across the world from Japan to Antarctica. She has garnered Junos, CCMA and ECMA awards, among countless others including a Grammy win for her collaboration on YoYo Ma’s album Songs of Joy and Peace. Over her career, MacMaster has shared the stage with established artists like Alison Krauss, Michael McDonald, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Carlos Santana. In 2006, she became one of the youngest recipients of Canada’s highest civilian distinction, the Order of Canada, as an internationally renowned fiddler and one of the country’s most dynamic musical ambassadors. MacMaster continues to record and perform alongside her husband, fiddler Donnell Leahy, and their seven children. “Music, like love, is eternal,” says MacMaster. “I’m a grateful recipient of both.”
Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award: Rawlins Cross
Since forming in St. John’s, Newfoundland by songwriting brothers Dave and Geoff Panting and friend Ian McKinnon, Canadian Celtic-rock group Rawlins Cross has become a legendary East Coast act that fuses traditional Celtic music with rock, pop and worldbeat. Soon after their formation, the band burst onto the East Coast music scene with their first indie recording, A Turn of the Wheel. In the early 1990s, the band solidified its sound with the additions of bass player and vocalist Brian Bourne, drummer and percussionist Howie Southwood and lead vocalist Joey Kitson. Over the years, Rawlins Cross has toured extensively on three continents, including a performance representing Canada at the Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile. Marking their 33rd anniversary as a band this year, Rawlins Cross has released 11 commercial recordings, including the gold-selling Reel ‘n’ Roll (1993), and has earned multiple JUNO nominations and won nine East Coast Music Awards.
Stompin’ Tom Award – Cape Breton: Fred Lavery
Co-owner and manager of Lakewind Sound Studios, Fred Lavery has been part of the vibrant Canadian East Coast music scene as a performer, songwriter, and record producer for over three decades. Since establishing Lakewind Sound Studios in 1998 with fellow artist and friend Gordie Sampson, Lakewind Sound has become known as one of the top recording studios in Eastern Canada, winning seven consecutive ECMAs and five Music Nova Scotia awards for Studio of the Year. In 2012, Lavery also received the “Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal”, for significant achievements, service and contributions to his community. Working with many of the region’s finest musical acts, Lavery’s talents, experience and knowledge are valued on stage and in the studio. Twice awarded Music Nova Scotia’s Producer Of The Year, to date he has produced 60 plus albums for the likes of the Barra MacNeils and the celebrated Cape Breton Summertime Revue. He has also co-written songs that have been recorded by established artists such as Natalie MacMaster, Gordie Sampson, and more. Lavery continues to work with and encourage young artists and is a trusted member of the artistic community as a volunteer, advisor and mentor supporting the growth and health of our music industry.
Nova Scotia native Joe Bowden—who has toured with Salome Bey and worked with some of Toronto‘s top Jazz, Blues and R&B artists including Maestro Fresh Wes, Jackie Richardson, Rich Kidd and Dave Young—will receive the Bucky Adams Memorial Award. Lou Gannon, a highly regarded pillar in the African Canadian music community and President of the African Nova Scotian Music Association (ANSMA) for 20 years, will receive the Industry Builder Award, and Halifax-based producer, composer, and musician Jason Mingo will be presented the Musician’s Achievement Award. Stompin’ Tom Awards will also be handed out to Dr. Maggie Paul (New Brunswick), Greg Clark (Nova Scotia), Richard Wood (Prince Edward Island), and The Flummies (Newfoundland and Labrador).
“The ECMA Board of Directors is honoured to recognize the dedication and commitment of our Industry professionals,” says Debbie Mullins, Chair of ECMA. “Their contribution is essential to the growth and development of our East Coast Music and Culture. Congratulations to all.”
The 35th East Coast Music Awards: Festival and Conference, a five-day, non-stop musical celebration showcasing and recognizing the best of East Coast artists and music, will light up stages across Halifax with the best of East Coast Music from May 3-7, 2023. For more information and tickets visit ECMA.com.
