Jeremy Dutcher and Classified lead East Coast Music Award nominees
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The contenders for this year's East Coast Music Awards have been announced after a period of turmoil for the organization.
Hip-hop artist Classified and Wolastoqiyik tenor and composer Jeremy Dutcher lead the nominees with eight nominations each, followed by Kellie Loder, Jah'Mila, Maggie Andrew and Vishtèn, who each earned five nominations.
The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) said in a news release that the awards festivities are set for St. John's from May 7 to 11. It will be the first time in a decade that St. John's will host.
The association's chief executive, Blanche Israël, was fired by the board of directors in January after a clash over the future of the awards and with the organization that administers them.
An online petition launched late last year by the ECMA's founding director, Sheri Jones, called for "transparency and stability" amid an array of changes that affected the awards and its associated festival. Jones told CBC Nova Scotia's Information Morning in November 2024 that many of the changes were made without consulting board members: "There were major changes happening and no one was aware of how those had been made or even that they had been made."
Israël told Information Morning in January that she defended her decisions, saying that all changes had been approved by the board and aimed at fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within the East Coast music community.
"I don't think that in the end the board and I were aligned in how we felt that we should respond and they made the decision that they felt was in the best interest of the association," Israël told Information Morning.
WATCH | Jeremy Dutcher performs a medley of his songs at the 2024 Polaris Music Prize gala:
Classified's 2024 album, Luke's View, nabbed him nominations for album of the year, producer of the year, rap/hip-hop release of the year, single of the year and more. Dutcher is nominated for classical composer of the year, roots release of the year, solo artist of the year, songwriter of the year and more, all for his 2023 album, Motewolonuwok, which won the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.
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