Cape Breton, Nova Scotia was ALL FIRED UP for the East Coast Music awards on Sunday 02/20/05 and viewers were not disappointed.

ALL FIRED UP!
East Coast Music Awards honored the best of Canada's East Coast

Gordie Sampson takes home five East Coast Music Awards, George Canyon wins three, Natalie MacMaster, J.P. Cormier receive two each.

Sydney , Nova Scotia – Hometown favorite Gordie Sampson swept all five categories he was nominated in when the 2005 East Coast Music Awards were handed out Sunday night at Cape Breton’s Centre 200 in a nationally-televised (In Canada) ceremony broadcast live on CBC Television.  

Sampson’s Sunburn was named FACTOR Album of the Year, the title song captured the Single of the Year award and the Alexander Keith’s Pop Recording of the Year award, Gordie Sampson was named Male Artist of the year, and he and co-writers Blair Daly and Troy Verges shared the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award, also for Sunburn. It’s the fifth time since 2000 that Sampson has won the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award.  

George Canyon, who hosted the live broadcast, was the winner of the coveted Cape Breton Post Entertainer of the Year award – the only East Coast Music Award voted on by the fans – and also picked up the CBC Galaxie Rising Star of the Year award and the Vibe Marketing Country Recording of the Year award, for his album One Good Friend.  

Other multiple winners were Natalie MacMaster, who was named Female Artist of the Year and took home the Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year trophy for her album Blueprint, and J.P. Cormier, whose recording X8 … a mandolin collection, was named Bluegrass Recording of the Year and Instrumental Recording of the Year.  

The Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rita MacNeil. One of the most beloved and respected figures in the Canadian music industry, the Big Pond, Cape Breton native has inspired legions of fans with her strength, determination and talent in a career that has spanned three decades and 20 albums.  

Jimmy Rankin, Shaye, Matt Minglewood, Dutch Robinson and the Men of the Deeps performed an all-star tribute to Rita MacNeil and her music.  

The East Coast Music Awards Gala Awards Show also featured live performances by George Canyon, The Trews, MIR, The Joel Plaskett Emergency, Gordie Sampson, Susan Crowe, Barry Canning, The Cottars, Beòlach, Vishten, Dave Gunning, Nathan Wiley, Shanklin Road, Paul Lamb and Cory Tetford of Crush, and Damhnait Doyle.   

The non-televised opening portion of the 2005 East Coast Music Awards was hosted by Newfoundland funnyman, actor, writer and comedian Andrew Younghusband and included performances by Allie Bennett and Samantha Robichaud, Forever, Madviolet, Matt Andersen, Andrea Beaton, and Duane Andrews.  

The Gala Awards Show capped off a four-day extravaganza of multi-genre musical performances, conference events and workshops that attracted more than 2,200 delegates from as far away as the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and the United States, and pumped an estimated $3-5 million into Cape Breton’s economy.  

The 2005 East Coast Music Awards show was produced by Geoff D’Eon and Michael Lewis for CBC Television, Jac Gautreau for ECMA, and is produced in association with The East Coast Music Association. Gemini-award winning director Shelagh O’Brien helmed the show for the sixth consecutive year.  

For artist bios or for any other information pertaining to the 2005 East Coast Music Awards and Conference, please visit their website at www.ecma.ca.

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