Jocelyn Alice Wins Big at First Calgary Music Awards

After all these years, Calgary has finally launched its own music awards gala. The event went down last night, September 25, 2016. While an annual music awards has been going on in its sister city of Edmonton, 300 km to the north, for seven years, Calgary has seemed more interested in waterflood enhanced recovery processes and voidage calculations than looking at the permeability of music. Hosting the JUNO awards and opening the National Music Centre this year helped consolidate impulses towards organizing something that recognized local recording artists. After all, with Calgary bred A-listers like Tegan and Sara, Paul Brandt, Jann Arden, and Kiesza, there is no dearth of musical talent in Canada’s third largest city.

(Above: YYC Music Awards stage and nominated pop recording artist Lexi Strate)

This was apparently not the city’s first attempt to put something together. There was an awards show in the 1990s, and one that was planned three years ago fell through. The four core players in this year’s launch were Shannon Ambrose who runs online music site The Portal Magazine, Darren Gilbert, a producer and the owner of local recording studio Off The T-Can Studios, and Leanne Harrison and Sarah Fielder who run music management and booking company The SIN Agency. This time, The YYC Music Awards fell into place at the National Music Centre’s Studio Bell where some 16 trophies were handed out before a crowd of about 275 who purchased $40 tickets to the event. It was all done very professionally and included live performances.

The big winner at last night’s shindig was Jocelyn Alice for her recently certified platinum single, “Jackpot”. She won four awards: Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Singer-Songwriter of the Year, and Pop Recording of the Year. The success of her single helped her recently ink a deal with Disruptor Records under Sony Music Entertainment. View a list of winners below.

ALTERNATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
The Wisers – It’s Safe, I’m Not Here

BLUES RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Debra Power – Even Red Heads Get the Blues

COUNTRY RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Jason Hastie and The Alibi – Feels Like Home

DJ/ ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Zach Taylor – “Johnny Hockey”

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jocelyn Alice

GROUP OF THE YEAR
The New Electric

JAZZ RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Al Muirhead – “Oop!”

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Drew Gregory

METAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Every Hour Kills – Every Hour Kills

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Cowpuncher – “Later On”

POP RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Jocelyn Alice – “Jackpot”

RAP/ HIP HOP RECORDING OF THE YEAR
DJ Kav (ft. Kay L & Voyce) – “Raindrops”