Night One of the Canadian Folk Music Awards unfolded Saturday night at the home of the Rogue Folk Club in Vancouver.

Apart from being a chance to honour some of the best albums released in 2022, it was also a wonderful opportunity to see some performances by artists that, in many cases, we were either hearing live for the first time ever or hearing live for the first time since their most recent release.

Francophone duo Geneviève et Alain were particularly memorable, as was Kyle McKearney, who was clearly humbled when he subsequently took home the prize for Contemporary Singer of the Year.

Camie, who was presented with the Colleen Petersen Songwriting Award at the Ontario Folk Music Awards last fall, showcased both her award-winning songwriting chops and her spectacular vocal ability.

And Barney Bentall, who holds a special place in the hearts of many a middle-aged British Columbian, having been a minor west coast pop star during our high school days, demonstrated his folk credentials with a moving pair of songs from his latest albums, Cosmic Dreamer and RanchWriters. 

But at the end of the day, the main event is ripping open those envelopes and hearing who’s taking home the trophies.

So here’s the list of Saturday’s winners.

Young Performers of the Year:  Fiddleliem

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year: Waymzy

Single of the Year:  William Prince and Serena Ryder – “Sing Me A Song”

French songwriter of the Year: Genevieve et Alain

English Songwriter of the Year: Abigail Lapell

Unsung Hero Award: Ghislain Cormier

Indigenous Songwriter of the Year: Amanda Rheaume

Contemporary Singer of the Year – Kyle McKearney

Contemporary Album of the Year: John Wort Hannam – Long Haul

Instrumental Group of the Year – Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves

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