A musician from northwestern Ontario has been nominated for six national Indigenous music awards.
Aysanabee of Sandy Lake First Nation is leading Ottawa’s Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Award show with six nominations, and will also be headlining the weekend’s festival.
The Oji-Cree member of Sandy Lake First Nation has been nominated for Recording Artist of the Year, Pop/Alternative/Rock Album of the Year, Radio Song Single of the Year, Live Musical Performance of the Year, Artistic Video and Rising Star.
It’s been a big year for Aysanabee. He’s coming off of a 2023 JUNO nomination for Contemporary Indigenous Group or Artist of the Year and was the first Indigenous artist to reach #1 on the Mediabase Canada Alternative Rock chart for his single ‘Nomads’.
Other performers at the Summer Solstice Festival include Joel Wood, Plex, Indian City and Andrea Menard. ‘Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ have the second-most nominations with five, while ‘Digging Roots’ have four.
The Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards and Festival takes place June 6 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
