Two popular Cape Breton fiddlers received news this week that their respective duos were named Independent Music Award winners. Dwayne Côté and guitarist partner Duane Andrews took top honours in the Instrumental Category for their self-titled gypsy-jazz album while Lisa MacIsaac and bandmate Brenley MacEachern won in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category for the Madison Violet song “The Ransom” from their most recent album No Fool For Trying.
The winners in more than 70 Song, Album, Music Video and Design categories winnowed from thousands of submissions from around the globe, were determined by a panel of 62 influential music industry pros including Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan, Seal, Aimee Mann, Ozzy Osbourne, Arturo Sandoval, Kevin Lyman and Rolling Stone’s Anthony DeCurtis.
Other notable 2011 winners among the diverse self-released and independent label talent include former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, Alberta’s Little Miss Higgins and Country icon Jackson Browne. Now in it’s 10th year the IMA program receives submissions from artists previously on major labels as well as self-released and indie label talent from more than 70 countries on six continents.
Both MacIsaac and Côté are also nominated for 2011 ECMA awards to be handed out in April. The former in the Folk Recording of the Year Category and the latter in the Jazz Recording of the Year and Instrumental Recording of the Year Categories.
