Western Canada at the Canadian Folk Music Awards

Calgary's "Pear" was nominated for English Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, which took place last weekend in St John, NB. They didn't win. 

However, Western Canada did score a number of awards. Saskatoon's 'The Deep Dark Woods' picked up Contemporary Album of the Year for 'The Place I Left Behind'.

'The Fretless', whose members come from Victoria, Vancouver, Saskatoon and Los Angeles, mix Celtic, folk and chamber music and call it “rad trad”. 

That unlikely blend made the Fretless the big winners. The group won Instrumental Group of the Year as well as Ensemble of the Year for their album 'Waterbound'. The Fretless’s Trent Freeman also won for Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year.

The 2013 Canadian Folk Music Awards are slated to take place in Calgary, Alberta.