By: Ethan Grove
In front of a sold-out crowd of over 500 people, various artists and organizers took the stage to accept their awards at the fourth annual Capital Music Awards.
On June 1st, 2023 at the Bronson Centre, the crowd filled the auditorium ready for the show that was about to unfold before them.
The event was hosted by Twin Flames, with musical performances by Empress Nyiringango, Marie Clo, Mimi O’Bonsawin and City Fidelia. 11 awards were presented by 22 valued members of the local scene.
Winners were chosen by a group of 42 jurors across the globe, as well as over 1100 votes cast by the public.
To kick the night off, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe took the stage to say a few words to the crowd.
“(Music) has the power to transcend language barriers, cultural barriers, and all barriers. It has the ability to speak to the core of humanity and it inspires change,” Mayor Sutcliffe said in his opening remarks.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists were happy to be able to see a crowd in person and receive recognition for the work done throughout lockdowns.
“During COVID and stuff, I feel like we’re working a lot in a vacuum almost,” said Julien Alain of Pony Girl. Nominated for five separate awards, they won two of them. “You’re in your home working on music, like so hard and you see some metrics on Spotify or whatever. We play shows and it feels good and stuff, But, it’s just such a nice feeling just to hear people super stoked for us and stuff. So it was really exciting.”
Amongst the winners were Juno award winners Angelique Francis Band, who were able to win Group of the Year here in their home city.
“Every time we go out of the city, we feel like we’re taking Ottawa with us, but having the ability to just be here amongst, you know, friends, family, like family in this wonderful city amongst, you know, musicians that are just so incredible to work with. It feels wonderful to be recognized,” said Angelique Francis.
Supporting the community is paramount to the local music scene and to celebrate that is the award for Community Impact won by Apartment613.
“It’s the support,” said Sonya Gankina, editor and arts & culture author for Apartment 613. “I think that really encourages us to keep going. We all have our own things we’re doing, we’re all contract workers and the gig economy and all that fun stuff. It’s just the meaning of it, and the community of it and the magic of it that wants us to keep going. So it’s the volunteers that work with us and the many contributors. So it’s just really, like you said, gratifying but so supportive and encouraging that people in the city know about us.”
Not only supporting local music, but the awards handed out were also a creation by local artists Petr Maur and Tick Tock Tom, who worked in collaboration to create awards from repurposed piano keys.
OMIC is a local, bilingual member-based non-profit organization “whose mission is to play a lead role in the economic, cultural and social prosperity of Ottawa and the surrounding region.”
“We create a thriving and inclusive music ecosystem providing opportunities for local artists, music professionals and entrepreneurs while engaging the community and fostering collaboration and innovation,” taken from their website. “OMIC is committed to connecting music communities, along with our municipal, provincial, national and international partners, to work toward common goals to create a vibrant and sustainable music industry in Ottawa that benefits all community members.”
Click here to see the whole list of winners.