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Also in the running in various categories are Angelique Francis, Steve Marriner and Sue Foley, among others.
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When Angelina Hunter found out her band was nominated for its first Maple Blues Award this week, the gregarious Ottawa singer-guitarist was at a loss for words.
“We’re over the moon,” she said in an interview. “It’s such an honour. I was completely speechless. It was the first time ever I had nothing to say.”
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The Angelina Hunter Trio is in the running for best new group in this year’s awards, a nod that elevates the blues-rockers to a national level and is sure to expand their audience, whether or not they win.
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“It’s very exciting, the prospect of opening up doors for us,” Hunter said. “Just to be on that list with all of those other artists that we hope to have the chance to play with in the future is amazing.”
At the top of the pile of nominees are Toronto’s funky Blackburn Brothers, leading the way with a record-setting nine nominations in the 27th annual edition of the awards.
But there’s a healthy representation of Ottawa talent up for accolades, too. In addition to Hunter, the list includes familiar names like Steve Marriner, Tony ‘D’ Diteodoro, Matt Sobb, Angelique Francis and Sue Foley.
In fact, it’s a big year for Foley as the Texas-based guitarist is being recognized for her long career with a nomination in the lifetime-achievement category, dubbed the Blues with a Feeling award. Her career began in her teenage years, when the Ottawa-born musician started showing up at local blues jams in the early 1980s.
Foley is also up for electric act of the year and best guitarist, which finds her facing off against another Ottawa guitar hero, Diteodoro, a member of the blues trio MonkeyJunk. His MonkeyJunk bandmates, Steve Marriner and Matt Sobb, are also nominated: Marriner has a chance at best male vocalist and best harmonica player, while Sobb is vying for best drummer.
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Not to be overlooked is Angelique Francis, the multi-talented Ottawa dynamo whose band includes her sisters and father. After wowing the blues community in recent years (and raking in multiple awards), she’s back to compete for entertainer of the year and bassist of the year.
Still, as Hunter observes, musicians don’t play blues to become global superstars, and the awards program is a rare opportunity for Canadian musicians to get wider recognition.
“To keep going in the music industry requires a level of dedication,” she said. “Think about how many blues clubs there are across Canada, and blues bands playing music and working hard for years, as we’ve been doing. It’s not about making millions of dollars, it’s about getting the chance to play and share your music. To get be part of the awards and be recognized as an artist to watch — this is literally what we’ve been working towards our whole musical careers.”
Hunter and her bandmates — husband Sandy Hunter on drums and Adam Bell on bass — plan to celebrate the nomination at their gig at the Rainbow Bistro on Friday, Nov. 3. After that, she’s already thinking about what to wear to the awards ceremony, to be held at Toronto’s Phoenix Theatre on Feb. 12.
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Voting is open now. Although winners in the instrumental categories are adjudicated by a panel of experts that includes representation from across the country, the top categories are determined by the voting of fans.
Register and cast your vote at mapleblues.ca.
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