Classified and Rose Cousins lead the 2021 East Coast Music Award nominations

The nominees for the 2021 East Coast Music Awards have been announced, and rapper Classified and singer-songwriter Rose Cousins are at the top of the list with eight and six nominations each, respectively.

A whole host of artists have come up with four nominations apiece, including pop group Neon Dreams, singer-songwriter David Myles, trad Cape Breton group Beòlach and Rich Aucoin, while songwriter Catherine MacLellan, rock band Like a Motorcycle and singer Rachel Beck are looking at three nominations each. Zamani, Owen O'Sound Lee, Sorrey, Keonté Beals and Joel Plaskett each have two nominations.  

The 2021 version of the East Coast Music Awards will take place May 5-9 in Sydney, Cape Breton, though what that festival and show will look like is still being determined by COVID-19 restrictions. Last year's show was unexpectedly virtual, as it was postponed in May 2020 due to the pandemic. The two-hour broadcast instead took place on July 11, with pre-recorded performances and no audience.

Last summer the East Coast Music Association faced renewed criticism for its lack of diversity, with the most recent calls for change focusing on the small number of women who won awards, and the lack of recognition for new acts in rap, hip hop and R&B.

With this year's slate of nominees, the East Coast Music Association noted that it has added an African-Canadian artist of the year category, reduced the awards application fee to $15 per category and created committees for the African-Canadian, francophone and Indigenous award categories "to focus on outreach, relationship building, knowledge gathering, and collaborative recommendations within these marginalized communities," according to the press release. 

In two of the bigger categories this year — album of the year and song of the year — there are three men (or groups of men) and two women nominated, with one group that includes a person of colour, out of the five total nominees. For the Fans' Choice Award, there are seven men (or groups of men) and three women nominated, with one group that includes a person of colour.

Get the full list of the music award nominees below, and head to ECMA.com for the list of industry award nominations. 

Fans' Choice Entertainer of the Year Award

• Beòlach
• Classified
• David Myles
• Jimmy Rankin
• Lennie Gallant
• Like a Motorcycle
• Neon Dreams
• Rich Aucoin
• Rose Cousins
• The East Pointers

Fans' Choice Video of the Year Award

• Andrew Waite, "Faith" (director: Brendan Henry)
• BRDGS, "Dancing Without Music" (director: Kostadin Kolev)
• Classified, "Good News" featuring Breagh Isabel (director: Mike Boyd)
• Kellie Loder, "Molded Like a Monster" (director: Ashlea Wessell)
• Kim Harris, "Once you Were Wondrous" (directors: Meaghan and Marie Wright)
• Levi Rowan, "Let it Go" (directors: Levi Rowan, Alex Gayoso)
• Mike McKenna Jr., "At the Edge of the World" (directors: Danny Gillis, Siyi Liu)
• Neon Dreams, "Sick of Feeling Useless" (directors: Frank Kadillac, Adrian Morris)
• Rich Aucoin, "Walls" (director: Jason Levangie)
• Rose Cousins, "The Benefits of Being Alone" (directors: Shebab Illyas, Rose Cousins)

African-Canadian artist of the year

• Joe Bowden
• Keonté Beals
• Miokal
• Owen O'Sound Lee
• Shelley Hamilton
• Zamani

Album of the year

• Classified, Time
• Joel Plaskett, 44
• Neon Dreams, The Happiness of Tomorrow
• Rachel Beck, Stronger Than you Know
• Rose Cousins, Bravado

Children's entertainer of the year

• Bingly and the Rogues
• Dr G
• Matt the Music Man
• Silly Robbie
• The Swinging Belles

Classical composition of the year

• Andrew Staniland, Peter Quince at the Clavier
• Bekah Simms, Granitic
• Derek Charke, Tree Rings
• Dinuk Wijeratne, The Spirit and the Dust
• Emily Doolittle, Doolittle: Minute Etudes "Excerpt" (Live)
• Peter-Anthony Togni, Sea Dreams

Classical recording of the year

• Charke-Cormier Duo, Bathymetric Terrains
• Duo Concertante, Franz Schubert Music for Violin and Piano
• Sarah Hagen, Women of Note
• Sarah Slean, Symphony Nova Scotia, Bernhard Gueller, Sarah Slean and Symphony Nova Scotia
• Steve Cowan and Adam Cicchillitti, Focus

Contemporary roots recording of the year

• Catherine MacLellan, Coyote
• Coco Love Alcorn, Rebirth
• Émilie Landry, Arroser les Fleurs
• Mike McKenna Jr., At the Edge of the World
• Rose Cousins, Bravado

Country recording of the year

• Brooklyn Blackmore, Get a Little Crazy
• Laurie LeBlanc, When it's Right it's Right
• Lawrence Maxwell, Almost Natural
• Norma MacDonald, Old Future
• The Heavy Horses, With Darkness in my Eyes

Dance recording of the year

• BRDGS & FWLR, "Suspicious"
• Cloverdale, Keep Dancing
• Karate Kactus, "Shut up and say It"
• Kin Crew x LNY TNZ, No Limits
• Pineo & Loeb, "Free" featuring Liinks & Kayo

Electronic recording of the year

• Elephant Skeletons, Sleep
• Grej, In Search Of…
• Rich Aucoin, United States
• Scientists of Sound, The Beginning (Of the Beginning of the End)
• Sparkee, Moon Mist

Francophone recording of the year

• Émilie Landry, Arroser les fleurs
• Joey Robin Haché, Trente
• Les Hay Babies, Boîte aux lettres
• Matt Boudreau, Armageddon
• Menoncle Jason, La grosse piastre

Folk recording of the year

• David Myles, Leave Tonight
• Dylan Menzie, Lost in Dreams
• Jennah Barry, Holiday
• Rube & Rake, Leaving With Nothing
• Sherman Downey, New Beautiful

Group recording of the year

• Beòlach, All Hands
• Jessica Rhaye & the Ramshackle Parade, Just Like a Woman: Songs of Bob Dylan
• Les Hay Babies, Boîte aux lettres
• Rube & Rake, Leaving With Nothing
• Sorrey, In Full Bloom

Indigenous artist of the year

• Alan Syliboy & the Thundermakers
• Mike Bern
• Shift from tha 902
• Silver Wolf Band
• Wolf Castle

Inspirational recording of the year

• Jordan Musycsyn, Around the Fire
• Justin Fancy, Sure Beats a Good Time
• Kristen Martell, Coming Home
• Martine Kelsey, Sweet Hallelujah
• Natasha Blackwood, Ease Back

Instrumental recording of the year

• Beòlach, All Hands
• Grej, In Search Of…
• Maxim Cormier, Maxim and Gervais Cormier: Live at the Fortress of Louisbourg
• Sarah Hagen, Women of Note
• Taktus, Mirrored Glass
• Wrong Planet Band, Wrong Planet Band

Jazz recording of the year

• Anteater, Anteater
• Joe Bowden, Roots, Tales of the Urban Yoda
• Joel Miller, Unstoppable
• Lee Park, Lee Park

Loud recording of the year

• Diner Drugs, As Is
• Hero's Last Rite, Behind the Darkest Days
• Sonic Detour, Sonic Detour
• Sound Drown, Selfish Reasons
• WinterheartH, Riverbed Empire

Pop recording of the year

• BRDGS, ie+
• Kim Harris, Heirloom
• Kinley, Kinley
• Rachel Beck, Stronger Than you Know
• Sorrey, In Full Bloom

R&B/soul recording of the year

• Kam Sparks, "Witness" featuring Jamie Sparks
• Keonté Beals, King
• Rey D, "Loyal"
• Arenye, 23/97
• Zamani, Outside

Rap/hip-hop recording of the year

• Atay & Jax, Last Night
• Classified, Time
• Owen O'Sound Lee, "Listen"
• Shift from tha 902, This One's for You
• Wolf Castle, Gold Rush

Rising star recording of the year

• Beauts, Dalliance
• Braden Lam, Inside Four Walls
• Hauler, Hauler
• Mike McKenna Jr., At the Edge of the World
• Moira Bren, 6 is Green
• Rube & Rake, Leaving With Nothing

Rock recording of the year

• Beauts, Dalliance
• Chris Colepaugh, 2019
• Kestrels, Dream or Don't Dream
• Like a Motorcycle, Dead Broke
• Nap Eyes, Snapshot of a Beginner

Roots/traditional recording of the year

• Beòlach, All Hands
• Matthew Byrne, Matthew Byrne with the Lady Cove Women's Choir: In Concert
• Maxim Cormier, Maxim and Gervais Cormier: Live at the Fortress of Louisbourg
• Pretty Archie, Running for Cover
• Rum Ragged, The Thing About Fish

Solo recording of the year

• Catherine MacLellan, Coyote
• Classified, Time
• David Myles, Leave Tonight
• Dylan Menzie, Lost in Dreams
• Rose Cousins, Bravado

Song of the year

• Classified, "Good News" featuring Breagh Isabel
• Like a Motorcycle, "Wide Awake"
• Neon Dreams, "Sick of Feeling Useless"
• Rachel Beck, "Warrior" 
• Rich Aucoin, "Walls"

Songwriter of the year

• Catherine MacLellan
• Classified
• David Myles
• Joel Plaskett
• Rose Cousins