If you like to be where history is being made, you won’t want to miss the Canadian Blues Music Awards, which make their debut at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto on March 30, at 7 p.m.
It may seem like a normal blues event, but it marks the beginning of a new era for blues music in Canada.
The forerunner to the Canadian Blues Music Awards (CBMA) is the long-running Maple Blues Awards, which were awarded by the Toronto Blues Society (TBS) beginning in 1997 and which ran until their 27th annual event in 2024.
The newly minted CBMA is an incorporated national not-for-profit and marks a true national reach of the awards and a complete separation of the awards process from the TBS. This year, TBS has nothing to do with the actual awards. They did not select the nominees, nor put together the panel of industry experts that will make the decisions about the winners. All of that is left to this new, separate and independent entity, the CBMA.
What the TBS will do is provide the infrastructure for presenting the awards. They will host the awards in Toronto as a gala event. They will engage the venue, set the program and host the evening, hire and manage the performers, sell the tickets, and plug in the amps. The TBS has a lot of experience putting on
shows, and that is what they will do.
The CBMA introduces a new and fully transparent method of deciding who will be recognized for excellence in the Canadian blues community. As with the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Junos, this sense of competition fuels the public’s interest in the performers and creators of the music. By separating the awards process from the blues societies, the awards can be seen as impartial. The overall result should be a step to raise the profile of blues music in Canada as a legitimate force. (Learn more here:
https://canadianbluesmusicawards.awardstage.com/)
This inaugural event will help establish the Canadian Blues Music Awards as a major and important event. If you want to see where Canadian blues music is going, if you want a glimpse of the future, and if you’re up for a great evening of celebration and entertainment, then you won’t want to miss this!
This will be a first, and the first only happens once. This will be an event you can look back on and say, “I was there.” I’ll see you at the Phoenix, and we can ring in the future of Canadian blues together!
You can see the list of nominees here:
https://www.rootsmusic.ca/2026/01/22/here-are-your-nominees-for-the-2026-canadian-blues-music-awards/
The Canadian Blues Music Awards Gala Evening, hosted by the Toronto Blues Society, will be held on Monday, March 30, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., doors opening at 6:00 p.m.
It will be held at the Phoenix Concert Theatre at 4102
Sherbourne St. in Toronto, ON.
It will be hosted by long-time blues and radio personality Danny Marks. Visit the TBS online for ticket information.
Featured performers:
Danny Marks, celebrated blues afficionado whose musical roots in Toronto go back to the 1960s, is also our host and will serve as master of ceremonies for the CBMA show. Danny is host of BLUZ.FM on JazzFM.91 Toronto, and Maple Blues Awards “Blues with a Feeling” lifetime achievement award recipient (2006).
Steve Marriner, nominated in the Blues Producer of the Year category and the Blues Harmonica Player of the Year category.
Crystal Shawanda, nominated in the Electric Blues Recording of the Year category, also for the Blues Song of the Year, and the Female Blues Vocalist of the Year.
Brandon Isaak, nominated for Blues Guitarist of the Year, Male Blues Vocalist of the Year, Blues Producer of the Year, and Blues Song of the Year, and Electric Blues Recording of the year.
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, nominated for Blues Keyboard Player of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dana Wylie, of the band Secondhand Dreamcar, nominated for Female Blues Vocalist of the Year.
The house band will be a group called Pass the Envelope, consisting of: Manny DeGrandis, Quincy Bullen, Dave Patel, Cecile Doo-Kingue and Dan Jancar.
An on-site after-party at The Phoenix will feature Emerging Blues Artist nominees: Glenn Marais & The Mojo Train, J.P. Leblanc, and Ollee Owens.
