ECMAs end on high note, with a dozen more awards for N.L. musicians

Maddie Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: May 12, 2025 9:51 AM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes ago

The East Coast Music Awards has travel and gone, and immoderate Newfoundland and Labrador musicians are walking distant with caller trophies and memories.

Brazilian duo Ana and Eric, based successful St. John's, opened the event's 2nd awards amusement with a gentle acoustic show Sunday morning. Eighteen euphony awards and six manufacture awards were fixed out, successful summation to honorary awards.

Twelve of Sunday's winners are from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Heather Feather took location the prize for children's creator of the year. She said successful a code that her "world fell apart" erstwhile she became disabled, but she was capable to thin connected the music community.

"All of a sudden, everyone conscionable rallied closer," she said.

Dance merchandise of the twelvemonth went to 17-year-old Summer Bennett.

"Even being nominated is crazy," Bennett said.

The 2024 CBC Searchlight Top Teen promised she wouldn't outcry connected stage, contempt the surprise.

"It's truly special," she said. "I started penning euphony astatine six years old. Trying to constitute popular euphony is, of course, precise antithetic from thing else." 

Celebrating the triumph successful her location state — wherever creation euphony isn't the astir fashionable genre — made the infinitesimal adjacent much meaningful, said Bennett. 

Some tears were shed successful the assemblage arsenic the honorary musicians' accomplishment grant went to the precocious Chris Ryan, who died unexpectedly successful October.

Ryan was the benignant of idiosyncratic who would enactment a chap instrumentalist successful a heartbeat, said his spouse Amber Miller, who accepted the award.

"He opened for festivals astatine a moment's notice, astir precocious cancelling his ain day enactment truthful helium could play guitar for different instrumentalist truthful they could beryllium successful the spotlight," said Miller.

Nearly each idiosyncratic successful the country stood to give applause erstwhile Miller walked disconnected stage. 

The show-stopping moments continued erstwhile experimental hardcore set The Order of the Precious Blood took the clip to dedicate their grant to the euphony country they came from.

The five-piece group, fronted by Paul Brake, won large merchandise of the year.

"A set similar america doesn't beryllium successful a vacuum," Brake said to the audience. "There's specified a affluent civilization of this benignant of euphony connected the eastbound coast."

Brake riddled the names of dozens of bands from Newfoundland and Labrador and different Atlantic Canadian provinces, adding that his band's grant belongs to each of them.

In an interrogation aft the event, the vocalist said helium wanted to usage his level to assistance up artists who consciousness arsenic though they aren't recognized successful the larger euphony industry.

"We privation to marque definite that … their names are heard successful rooms that they wouldn't get spoken successful otherwise," said Brake. "Once you get playing and you find your voice, the sky's the limit."

The remaining Newfoundland and Labrador winners from Sunday are:

• Ana Luísa Ramos, planetary euphony merchandise of the year,

• Mark Fewer, instrumental merchandise of the year,

• Quote the Raven, roots merchandise of the year,

• Hurricane Music, creator absorption of the year,

• Jud Haynes, contented creator of the year,

• Zach Snow, media idiosyncratic of the year,

• Wade Pinhorn, manufacture builder honorary award,

• and Korona Brophy, Stompin' Tom honorary award.

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