The Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards are set to be handed out Nov. 1 and 2 in Winnipeg, celebrating the best music the Aboriginal community across Turtle Island (North America) has to offer.
The public votes for the winners, but the way nominees are shortlisted was changed this year to make it less of a popularity contest and more about the music. The short list was determined by about 75 industry music folks, then the list was opened up to public voting.
Voting for the APCMAs is a tricky business because, unlike other award shows, Aboriginal music pits different musical genres against one another in categories like best duo or group where there are pop, rock, blues and powwow groups competing for the hardware. But there are also awards where there are genre divisions, like hip-hop, hand drum, instrumental, pop, rock, blues and folk/acoustic.
Scroll to the end of this post for a list of nominees, by category.
The Aboriginal music scene in Canada has grown tremendously in the last decade, and our artists are being recognized with gigs at events like the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, at U.S. presidential inaugural balls, invitations abroad to perform at places like the Vatican and WOMEX in Greece.
So who will be taking home the big awards this year? Winnipeg singer-songwriter Don Amero has the most nominations, with seven between his solo career and the supergroup Indian City. He’s also the artist with the most nominations since the awards launched in 2005 — 26 in total, with zero wins.
The APCMAs have helped Amero gain a following across the country. It has been a good starting point for many other Aboriginal musicians as well, as the awards give recognition to artists who may be popular in their region but haven’t received a lot of attention outside their communities. Prime examples include Dylan Rysstad and Dark Water Rising, whose sounds are polished and who are primed for larger audiences. Their nominations open a door to a national audience, as the APCMAs are broadcast live on APTN Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. CT.
The show rivals any large music awards show in Canada, with live music performances, host Lorne Cardinal of Corner Gas fame, red carpet arrivals (co-hosted by me!) at the MTS Centre where fans line up behind the velvet rope to take photos of the stars, private pre-receptions and fabulous afterparties in a variety of venues.
We’ll have full coverage for you of the winners and an overview of the awards beginning Friday morning and running through Saturday. Also watch for our photo gallery of the awards at our APCMAs page.
The industry awards will be presented in a non-televised event on Nov. 1, while the big awards are handed out Nov. 2, broadcast live on APTN.
CBC Music's full coverage of the APCMAs:
APCMAs 2012: best female entertainer nominees
APCMAs 2012: best male entertainer nominees
APCMAs 2012: songwriter of the year nominees at a glance
APCMAs 2012: who will take home best new artist?
APCMAs 20120: best music video nominees
APCMAs 2012: a look at the best pop CD nominees
APCMAs 2012: a look at the best rock nominees
APCMAs 2012: a look at the best hip-hop nominees
APCMAs 2012: a look at the best folk/acoustic CD nominees
APCMAs 2012: who will take home the award for country crooner?
APCMAs 2012: who sings the heartbreaking blues the best?
Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards announce lineup of performers
Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards voting opens to public
Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards changes voting rules