Classified, Vishtèn, Maggie Andrew lead 2025 East Coast Music Award winners

CBC Music

· Posted: May 12, 2025 11:12 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The 2025 East Coast Music Awards took spot successful St. John's past weekend, aft months of protestation and calls to enactment wrong the section euphony community.

Nova Scotia rapper Classified led the winners by taking location 5 of the 8 awards helium was nominated for, portion P.E.I. people radical Vishtèn nabbed 3 awards, and Newfoundland's ain Kellie Loder tied with Nova Scotia's Maggie Andrew for 2 apiece.

The tract of nominees was missing immoderate of the names primitively announced successful precocious February, erstwhile musicians started boycotting the awards aft the East Coast Music Association, the enactment that puts connected the ECMAs, fired erstwhile CEO Blanche Israël. "I bash not hold with the deficiency of transparency astir the abrupt firing of erstwhile CEO @blancheis, and what I would telephone fundamentally online bullying starring up to the firing," said Mo Kenney via Instagram, aft withdrawing their information for rock/alternative merchandise of the year.

Jeremy Dutcher, who primitively led the nominees alongside Classified with 8 to his name, besides withdrew from the nominations, arsenic did Wolf Castle, Sam Wilson, Les Moontunes, Stephen Hero and Aquakultre. 

Many of the awards were handed retired astatine the May 8 grant ceremony, which began with an affectional tribute to Mark Hiscock, the beloved accordionist from Newfoundland and Labrador who died earlier successful the week astatine 53 years old. Folk set Shanneyganock, of which Hiscock was a founding member, performed its song Music and Friends successful tribute, arsenic Hiscock's accordion rested connected a stool onstage. 

The remaining awards were fixed retired astatine the East Coast Music and Industry Awards connected May 11. Read beneath to find retired who won, with the winners marked successful bold.

African Canadian creator of the year 

• Baraka, Galaxy
• Jah'Mila,  Never Fail
• Kayo, Get Me Right featuring JRDN
• Maggie Andrew, About Us
• Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, Zombie

Album of the year 

• Luke's View, Classified
• Woman of the Sun, Jah'Mila
• Day Job, Maggie Andrew
• Map the Dark, Quote the Raven
• An Irish Descendants Christmas, the Irish Descendants
• Expansions, Vishtèn Connexions

Acadian oregon francophone creator of the year

• Jacques Surette, Conséquences
• Joey Robin Haché, Jerrycan
• Les Hay Babies, Soyez fiers
• Sirène et Matelot, Coeur chaviré
• Suzie LeBlanc, Nous partirons

WATCH | The authoritative video for Les Hay Babies' Soyez fiers: 

Blues merchandise of the year

• The Phoenix, 11th & Duke
• Find Your Way, Campbell & Johnston
• Ain't No Time, Connor Fox
• Dust Jackets, Lookout Tower
• Just Don't Know it Yet, Stompbox

Breakthrough creator of the year

• Brett Matthews, If I Die Today featuring Classified
• Callum Gaudet, Ghosts
• Clare Siobhan, Flare
• Jacques Surette, Conséquences
• Loviet, Broken Lips
• Rachel Cousins, Hell & High Water

Children's creator of the year

• Art Richard, Bonjour Canada
• Heather Feather, Ants successful My Pants
• Micaela Comeau, I'm Made From Stardust
• Miss Kris, The Day Has Just Begun
• Mr. Super Dude and KinderChartin', Sticker connected My Toe

Classical composer of the year

• Bekah Simms, Foreverdark
• Florian Hoefner, Bird Island Suite: IV. Song for the Song of the Leach's Storm Petrel
• India Gailey, Butterfly Lightning Shakes the Earth: I. SKY
• Julia Mermelstein, Bending, breaking through

Classical merchandise of the year

• Benedicite, Blackwood with India Gailey
• Problematica, India Gailey                                      
• Blizzard, Measha Brueggergosman-Lee 
• Causes, 1.1 Negative Energy, SHHH!! Ensemble 
• Pour une Amérique engloutie, Suzie LeBlanc 

Country merchandise of the year

• If I Die Today, Brett Matthews feat. Classified
• I'm Not Scared, Carolina East 
• I Found Mine, Julie Aubé 
• She Just Is, Justin Fancy 
• Suitcase, Mallory Johnson 

Dance merchandise of the year

• When We Dance, Alex Byrne 
• Mmam, Bad Friends 
• Believe successful the Music, Cloverdale 
• Chrome, Pineo & Loeb
• Just a Phase (Dave Aude remix), Summer Bennett 
• Lights Out, the Volta

Electronic merchandise of the year

• Something Sawed, Ben Diamond 
• Ghost Gear, DenMother 
• Sonica, Rich Aucoin 
• In Perfect Time, Rozalind MacPhail 
• Causes, 1.1 Negative Energy, SHHH!! Ensemble 

Folk merchandise of the year

• Cereal, Noah Malcolm
• My Status Is the Baddest, Old Man Luedecke featuring Bahamas
• The Road to Lushes Bight (Island Stock), Rum Ragged
• Real Love, Terra Spencer featuring Ian Sherwood
• Kouma, Vishtèn Connexions 

Fusion merchandise of the year

• The Dream Canoe, Alan Syliboy & the Thundermakers
• Not My One, Capital 6
• Gossamer, Ian foster
• Problematica, India Gailey
• Kouma, Vishtèn Connexions

Global euphony merchandise of the year

• Clouds, Ana Luísa Ramos
• Just Friends, Dee Hernandez
• Lightning successful a Bottle, Kayo
• CareBear Forever, Richard Wood
• Keep Your Head Above the Water, Zay Nova

Group of the year

• Moira & Claire, nary hesitation
• Neon Dreams, The Art of Letting Go
• Rum Ragged, The Road to Lushes Bight (Island Stock)
• The Once, Oh You
• The Town Heroes, Hockey Fights

WATCH | The lyric video for Neon Dreams' The Art of Letting Go: 

Indigenous creator of the year

• Deantha Edmunds, Angmalukisaa: IV. Rings 4
• DeeDee Austin, Tell Me ( Why Am I So Different)
• Summer Bennett, Just a Phase

Instrumental merchandise of the year

• Passages, Blackwood with India Gailey
• Bird Island Suite, Iris Trio
• The Simple Life, Mark Fewer
• Sound Mind, Shaun Ferguson
• Piano Concerto successful One Movement, Symphony Nova Scotia

Jazz merchandise of the year

• St-Antoine's March, Amirault Brothers
• Not My One, Capital 6
• Zombie, Measha Brueggergosman-Lee
• Good Machines, Natasha Blackwood

Loud merchandise of the year

• Ascension, Blevk
• Famine, Elevate the Virus
• Cosmic Convergence, Omnivide
• Suffer & Die, the Order of the Precious Blood

Pop merchandise of the year

• Is this arsenic bully arsenic it gets?, chasing luma
• Unrequited Love Blues, Logan Richard with Moira & Claire
• About Us, Maggie Andrew
• Church Street, Mat Elliott
• January, Noah Malcolm

Producer of the year

• AA Wallace, Archiviste
• Ben B. Creelman, Bad Habit
• Classified, Luke's View
• Cloverdale, Believe successful the Music
• Jeremy VanSlyke, Alikeness

R&B/soul merchandise of the year

• City connected Fire, aRenye and Nulo featuring Kayo and Basyl
• Lesson #1, Bakers Duz'n
• Blessed, Dee Hernandez
• Never Fail, Jah'Mila
• Church Street, Mat Elliott

Hip-hop merchandise of the year

• Sure Enough, Classified
• Family Highs, Harmz
• Better Half, Michael J. Foxx
• Same Old Feeling, Mischief
• Burn the House, Todd.

Release of the year

• The Dream Canoe, Alan Syliboy & the Thundermakers
• Amnesia, Classified
• Never Fail, Jah'Mila
• When it Comes to You, Kellie Loder
• The Bend, the Once

Rock/alternative merchandise of the year

• By Fright, Absolute Losers
• Day Job, Maggie Andrew
• Agis comme du monde, Sluice
• In Your Head, the Town Heroes

Roots merchandise of the year

• Rocky Hills, Bill Preeper, Jessica Rhaye, and Sandy MacKay
• Already Gone, Quote the Raven
• East to West, Terra Spencer
• Gaillard, Vishtèn Connexions featuring De temps antan

Solo creator of the year

• Amnesia, Classified
• Gossamer, Ian Foster
• When it Comes to You, Kellie Loder
• Alberta, Kylie Fox
• Sonica, Rich Aucoin

Songwriter of the year

• Classified, Wonder featuring Ian janes
• Kellie Loder, When it Comes to You
• Natasha Blackwood, Pleading Guilty
• Old Man Luedecke, The Raven and the Dove
• Terra Spencer, Real Love featuring Ian Sherwood

Fans' prime entertainer of the year

• Alan Syliboy & the Thundermakers
• Andrew Rodgers
• Daniel James McFadyen
• Dylan Menzie
• Ian Foster
• Justin Fancy
• Kellie Loder
• Lennie Gallant
• Mallory Johnson
• Rum Ragged
• The Once

Fans' prime video of the year

• Amnesia (Classified), directed by Classified
• Devil Talking (David Myles), directed by Griffin O'Toole
• East Coast Family (Jah'Mila), directed by Jeff Miller
• Can't Go Back (Kellie Loder), directed by Ashlea Wessel
• About Us (Maggie Andrew), directed by MooseCanFly
• The Art of Letting Go (Neon Dreams), directed by Dan Lewis Cole & Frank Kadillac
• She Told Me Where to Go (Old Man Luedecke), directed by Pangalactic Pictures Inc.
• Already Gone (Quote the Raven), directed by Cody Westman
• Hockey Fights (the Town Heroes), directed by Matt Corkum

WATCH | The authoritative video for Kellie Loder's Can't Go Back:

Traditional merchandise of the year

• Whale Hunting Song, Alan Syliboy & the Thundermakers
• Radio Sweethearts, Lucy MacNeil
• The Quartermaster, Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen
• Paddy Hyde, Rum Ragged
• Gaillard, Vishtèn Connexions featuring De temps antan

Vocal merchandise of the year

• L'appel, Chœur Louisbourg
• Yôtin (The Wind), Halifax Camerata Singers
• Maybe, Halifax Gay Men's Chorus
• Lucy, Laura Roy
• Pur ti miro, Measha Brueggergosman-Lee