Four N.L. acts bring home East Coast Music Awards

Maddie Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 6:54 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Shanneyganock's rendition of 'Music and Friends' rang done the Mary Browns Centre Thursday night, successful the lack of the band's lifelong person and founding member, Mark Hiscock.

Hiscock died earlier this week astatine the property of 53.

His accordion sat connected a stool arsenic the remainder of the set played.

The nonaccomplishment acceptable a sombre code for the East Coast Music Awards, which was held successful St. John's this twelvemonth for the archetypal clip successful a decade.

Host Tom Power besides lauded Hiscock's bequest and the relation Shanneyganock played successful representing the province's euphony passim the world.

"He was this province's astir iconic accordion player, a tremendous accordion player, musician, singer. A driving unit successful sharing and preserving the euphony of Newfoundland and Labrador," Power said.

Still, the euphony played connected — and the gala celebrated conscionable that.

Four Newfoundland and Labrador artists and groups were awarded for their philharmonic achievements Thursday.

Deantha Edmunds

Deantha Edmunds brought location the night's archetypal grant for the province.

"This grant means much than I tin say, actually, successful words," said the Indigenous creator of the twelvemonth winner.

As an Inuk classical musician, Edmunds says Indigenous artists successful the genre are not often recognized. She says this grant is impervious that her dependable is being heard and her position is being shared.

"That is wherefore I bash the enactment that I do," she said. "To effort to amusement radical immoderate information — who I americium and however I locomotion done this satellite — and hopefully I tin uplift people."

Edmunds, who won a Juno Award for classical creation of the twelvemonth successful March, says her mantle volition request immoderate cleaning up present arsenic she introduces immoderate caller hardware. 

The creator was joined by her girl arsenic she posed for immoderate celebratory photos.

"Our voices matter," Edmunds said earlier heading backmost to the awards gala. 

"Everybody has thing special, and erstwhile you tin find that and nurture that and observe it, there's thing that tin clasp you backmost from doing immoderate it is you want," she said.

Kellie Loder

Kellie Loder has go a household sanction successful the state since their quality connected Canada's Got Talent successful 2022.

They won some of Thursday's TD fans' prime categories: 1 for entertainer of the year, and different for video of the year.

"I emotion performing live," said Loder, referring to the entertainer award. "I consciousness similar it's truly wherever I excel and it's wherever I link with the fans the most."

"You tin marque grounds implicit grounds implicit record, and it's not the aforesaid arsenic erstwhile you're connected the signifier and playing it," they told reporters.

They said radical from N.L. are precise arrogant of their neighbours, truthful Loder said they met galore radical who bragged astir casting a ballot for the awards.

"Without Newfoundland, I would not person a career," said Loder. "They are the backbone. They are the instauration that I, you know, bent my hammock on."

The Ennis Sisters

As Maureen Ennis puts it, The Ennis Sisters person been connected "the astir unthinkable roadworthy trip" for the past 28 years.

The trio was fixed the beingness accomplishment grant astatine this year's East Coast Music Awards.

"My astir favourite portion of the full happening is that we've brought the stories and songs of Newfoundland and Labrador to each spot we've been," said Maureen.

Even though she says she feels excessively young, Karen Ennis said the grant is an "incredible honour."

Karen besides utilized immoderate of her acceptance code to item the interaction euphony people successful the nationalist schoolhouse strategy had connected her.

"In schoolhouse we took each euphony programme that was disposable for america to take. It's truthful important to support euphony successful our schools. It matters," she said.

According to Teresa Ennis, the musician's roadworthy is not an casual 1 to take. 

She says she owes The Ennis Sisters' occurrence to the affluent philharmonic past of the province, and the assemblage it has fostered. 

That consciousness of assemblage was successful the aerial erstwhile the radical paid tribute to Shanneyganock's Mark Hiscock, who died earlier this week.

"I conscionable privation to accidental that our dad, who we mislaid backmost successful 2018, is determination close present with Mark Hiscock, and they're having a jam connected the fastener accordion," Karen said earlier The Ennis Sisters walked disconnected stage.

The East Coast Music Awards showcases and league continues done Sunday, May 11. More euphony and manufacture awards volition beryllium passed retired then.

Rum Ragged

Rum Ragged took location an grant for accepted merchandise of the twelvemonth for Paddy Hyde.

Mark Manning thanked the East Coast Music Association, and the radical who person helped the band, similar their dependable technologist and graphic designer,

"We besides privation to convey our family, friends and teachers, our supporters. And particularly the Newfoundland and Labrador singers and players who handed down their wealthiness of accepted euphony to us," Manning told the audience.

"One of which successful peculiar we're reasoning of and remembering unneurotic present tonight. This one's for Mark and his household and his friends and his bandmates and his galore fans."

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