Indigenous ECMA opening doors for Tian Wigmore
'This is my first kick at the can'
A surprise ECMA win for P.E.I's Tian Wigmore is also opening up doors for him that he never even knew were there.
Wigmore won Indigenous Artist of the Year with his group War Horses. He was in Hamilton when the award was announced, without even his phone on him. It was a bit of a shock when he did pick up his phone.
"I had about 20 texts and missed calls and I was like, 'Oh my God, something horrible has happened,'" he said.
"I opened up my phone and saw a lovely picture of an ECMA there."
Wigmore has been playing on tours with other artists for more than a decade, but this is the first project he's led, so the award came as a surprise.
"This is my first kick at the can," he said.
"I have confidence in the album and the songs but there is tons of great artists."
'Not something that I touted'
For many fans who have followed Wigmore over the years, the fact that he is Indigenous was also a surprise.
Wigmore is a status native with the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba.
"It's not something that I touted," he said.
"It was just always part of who I was and I didn't really go out promoting myself as an Aboriginal artist. I don't want people to think it's some kind of a shtick that I'm using."
The win has opened up doors, said Wigmore, prompting calls from bloggers and others promoting Indigenous artists.
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With files from Angela Walker