JAY SPARROW NOMINATED FOR WCMA – COUNTRY RECORDING OF THE YEAR
May 5, 2015, Victoria, BC: The Western Canadian Music Alliance revealed today the nominees for the 2015 Western Canadian Music Awards, amongst those announced today at a press conference at McPherson Playhouse, in Victoria, BC, was Jay Sparrow up for “Country Recording of the Year” for his current record, BLUEBIRD and first country album to date .
Bluebird is Sparrow’s sixth record in five years. He writes and produces all of his own music as well as directing and producing all the accompanying videos, many of which have taken him to all corners of the world. To say he is prolific would be an gross understatement. To record this current album Jay enlisted the help of some high profile friends to be in his band, friends such as Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar), Clayton Bellamy (The Road Hammers), Shaun Verreault (Wide Mouth Mason) and Chad Melchert (Gord Bamford). With this all-star group assembled the sound came out just as planned: big, fun, rockin and classic. Jay has long been a fan of artists like Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Bob Seger… You can hear it in his writing. Sparrow is definitely a new voice in country music but he has that lasting reflection of the past throughout.
With lyrical content ranging from questioning one’s religious roots, supporting same sex relationships and the unending power of radio, it is safe to say Jay Sparrow is not your typical country singer-songwriter. After finishing his current record, BLUEBIRD, at Willie Nelson’s Arlyn studio in Austin Texas, Jay and compadres hit the highway to New Orleans to shoot Jay’s most recent video for “Bound By Nothing” and reflect on the new sound. Sitting on the bow of a crawfish boat in the Louisiana swamp Jay explains his motivation:
“Sure…I wanted to make something you could sing along to with your friends while enjoying the summer… but underlying that I wanted to let people in. Being a private man, this is a hard thing to do. We create so many walls in our lives and I wanted to show the hidden sensitive nature of a man.” Fittingly, Sparrow borrowed the title Bluebird from the Charles Bukowski poem of the same name: “The poem is one of my favourites because it is written by this historically rough and tumble writer yet he is letting everyone know that inside he has this soft and vulnerable bird wanting to get out”.
The 13th annual BreakOut West and Western Canadian Music Awards will be hosted in Victoria, BC, September 17-20, 2015. The festival, gala and conference will run concurrent with Rifflandia Festival, bringing together strengths of both events in hosting some of the best in western Canadian talent, increasing opportunities for artists, and networking with industry representatives from many different markets. The Western Canadian Music Alliance, Capital Regional Music Awards Society and the Host Committee are dedicated to making this year’s event a memorable and unique occurrence for Vancouver Island, alongside one of the island’s premier music festivals.
About BreakOut West:
BreakOut West is an annual gathering to celebrate, develop and support the best of western Canadian music. Western Canadian artists are developing sustainable careers of national and international scope, and BreakOut West is an integral component of this development. Through the annual conference and festival, industry from around the world and western Canadian artists are given the opportunity to discover, educate, network and grow. The weekend culminates in the Western Canadian Music Awards, showcasing and honoring the talent contained in the “left half” of Canada.
For more information about BreakOut West visit breakoutwest.ca.
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ROYALTY ARTISTS TAKE HOME MULTIPLE ACMA AWARDS!
Sunday January 25th, 2015
The Association of Country Music in Alberta (ACMA) announced the winners of night at the 4th Annual Awards show at Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alberta.
The Boom Chucka Boys were amongst the winners announced, being honoured with 2 awards for “Group of the Year” and “Rising Star” and Hey Romeo with an ACMA for “Song of the Year”, for their 2014 single “Hello Patio“, which was co-written with Deric Ruttan (Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church).
‘WOW! What a night. Good friends, good music, and a couple of sweet trophy’s!
Thanks to everyone at the #ACMA, Cache Entertainment, Royalty Records Inc., Sakamoto Entertainment, and country radio.
BOOM! Gonna be a big year.– Ryan Langlois
ACMA Song of the Year – Hello Patio! What a huge honour it is to have won this award! Thank you so much to Deric Ruttan who suggested lunch on the patio the day that we wrote this song together. Thank you to everyone who loves this song as much as we do and voted for it. A very special thank you to the ACMA and to our team at Royalty Records. We wish we could have been there to accept the award, we heard it was an incredible show. Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners! – Stacie Roper
ABOUT THE ACMA
To develop, nurture and promote Alberta Country Music and its artists, and to support the Alberta Country Music Industry and its Alberta based companies.