NOMFA PRESENTS ITS TOP CONTENDERS FOR 2019 IN MUSIC

The Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards are back in full force for their biennial celebration of the north’s cultural contribution to the arts! We have an amazing and largely unrecognized community of creators in our area and NOMFA aims to shed light on their hard work and dedication. In addition to the awards ceremony, NOMFA will also play host to a number of showcases, panels and workshops. Connecting and empowering members of all parts of northern Ontario’s media and art sectors.

You can get in on the action May 23^rd – 25^th with several chances to check out music and film showcases at the McEwan School of Architecture, La Fromagerie, and Little Montreal. The official NOFMA Awards Ceremony will be held at Science North May 25^th starting at 8pm. If you’re up for more celebrating head to the Townehouse Tavern for the official after-party featuring Sudbury hip-hop artist Silvertongue and NOMFA nominated TESSA! Tickets are available now, $10 per showcase/panel or $75 for the whole gamut. Head to the NOMFA landing page for more info and read on to learn more about the contenders in the music categories.

THE APE-ETTES – The Ape-ettes – Greater Sudbury

The Ape-ettes are an all-girl garage-psych-punk trio from Sudbury. Embracing the less-ismore approach, the Ape-ettes have rocked the stages of Sudbury’s most beloved venues and festivals. In a spirit true to their sound, the Ape-ettes appropriately released their album in 2017, at a private launch in the lead singer’s garage.

Nominated In The Following Categories:

Outstanding Album

KALLE MATTSON – Youth – Sault Ste. Marie

Kalle Mattson is a Juno & Polaris Music Prize nominated singer/songwriter based in Canada. On his new album “Youth.”, the 27-year-old Mattson set out to make a coming-of-age album about the middle period between adolescence & adulthood, when dreams become regrets, friends become strangers, first loves become first loss.

Nominated In The Following Categories:

Outstanding Album

Outstanding Songwriter

• Kalle Mattson – Astronaut – Sault Ste. Marie

Outstanding Video By A Northern Ontario Musical Act

• Kalle Mattson – Kids On The Run – Sault Ste. Marie

MATT THIBEAULT – I Own a Bittersweet Flashlight – North Bay

Based out of North Bay, Matt Thibeault continues pushing boundaries since the release of his NOMFA award-winning debut album, “Cycles”, in 2015. Thibeault’s newest project, “I Own a Bittersweet Flashlight”, recounts the Distraction and Reality phases of the end of a relationship, providing two unique soundscapes for the recently-mourning.

Nominated In The Following Categories:

Outstanding Album

Outstanding Engineer

• Shawn Sasyniuk – I Own A Bittersweet Flashlight By Matt Thibeault – North Bay

MIKE MIKUS – Mike Mikus – Sault Ste. Marie

If there was ever a golden age for making art about existence, Mike Mikus deems that time to be now. An ode to his own pedantry, Mikus’ debut self-titled album tears into themes of fear, spite, love, and death, all the while laughing at life’s complexities with a sarcastic smirk.

Nominated In The Following Categories:

Outstanding Album

Outstanding Album By An Indigenous Artist

• Mike Mikus – Mike Mikus – Sault Ste. Marie

https://olipalkovits.bandcamp.com/track/blue-heron

PHAROS OF ALEXANDRIA (OLI PALKOVITS) – Flowers of Atamaca – Greater Sudbury

Oli Palkovits has been writing songs, recording them, making artwork, and performing for five years as a solo project and with bands Telecolor and Palkovits and Parotta. He loves playing drums, snow, and ramen. His upcoming EP, “Burning Hand/Seeming Lens” will be released in the spring of 2019.

Nominated In The Following Categories:

Outstanding Album

QUANTUM TANGLE – Shelter as We Go… – Greater Sudbury

Fusing old-world sounds and new-world flair, the JUNO award-winning duo of Greyson Gritt and Tiffany Ayalik, combine throat singing, haunting melodies and traditional legends to present a mix of flavours from across Northern Canada.

Nominated In The Following Categories:

Outstanding Album

Outstanding Engineer

• Greyson Gritt – Shelter As We Go By Quantum Tangle – Greater Sudbury

Outstanding Album By An Indigenous Artist

• Quantum Tangle – Shelter As We Go… – Greater Sudbury

TESSA – Fool Love – Greater Sudbury

TESSA – the brainchild of Tessa Gooden and Petr Balaz. They have toured internationally, sharing original music across Canada, Europe and the US. Only fate could bring these two together in life, love and art and together they create and personify soul-pumping beats, sultry style, buttery vocals and addictive hooks.

Nominated In The Following Categories:

Outstanding Engineer

• Tessa Giro-Gooden – Fool Love By Tessa – Greater Sudbury

Outstanding Vocal Performance On A Recording

• Tessa (vocalist: Tessa Giro-Gooden) – Faking It – Greater Sudbury

OUTSTANDING ALBUM BY A FRANCOPHONE ARTIST

Céleste Lévis – Donne-moi le temps – Timmins

Cindy Doire – Panorama – Timmins

Edouard Landry – L’escalade – Greater Sudbury

Mclean – Une dernière fois – Greater Sudbury

OUTSTANDING ENGINEER

Chris Dorota – Glory Days by Greenbank – Thunder Bay

Jacques Grylls – Madre Amiga Hermana by Patricia Cano – Greater Sudbury

OUTSTANDING SONGWRITER

Cindy Doire – Ta Fumée – Timmins

Coleman Hell – Manic – Thunder Bay

The Honest Heart Collective (songwriter: Ryan MacDonald) – Separate Ways – Thunder Bay

Rose-Erin Stokes – Wanderer – North Bay

OUTSTANDING VOCAL PERFORMANCE ON A RECORDING

Céleste Lévis – 100 ans – Timmins

Jennifer Holub – Way Out – Greater Sudbury

Mike Charette – Give It Up – Greater Sudbury

Patricia Cano – Gracias a la Vida – Greater Sudbury

OUTSTANDING VIDEO BY A NORTHERN ONTARIO MUSICAL ACT

Frank Deresti and the Lake Effect – Truth – Sault Ste. Marie

Jennifer Holub – Island– Greater Sudbury

Kutch – Bottleneck – Thunder Bay

Webby D – Alright Okay – Thunder Bay

OUTSTANDING ALBUM BY AN INDIGENOUS ARTIST

Matt James – A Miner’s Prayer – Greater Sudbury

You can get in on the action May 23^rd – 25^th with several chances to check out music and film showcases at the McEwan School of Architecture, La Fromagerie, and Little Montreal. The official NOFMA Awards Ceremony will be held at Science North May 25^th starting at 8pm. Tickets are available now, $10 per showcase/panel or $75 for the whole gamut. Head to the NOMFA landing page for more info.