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February
19, 2007
George
Canyon tops ECMAs
By STEVE MACLEOD
George Canyon, left, and Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys,
joke after Canyon won the video award at the East Coast Music
Awards in Halifax on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007.(CP PHOTO/Andrew
Vaughan)
HALIFAX (CP) - Tears mixed with laughs when the best musicians
in Atlantic Canada gathered Sunday night to pat backs, play
a few tunes and bid farewell to a trio of trailblazers.
George
Canyon, In-Flight Safety, Joel Plaskett Emergency and J. P.
Cormier each walked away with three awards following the East
Coast Music Awards gala at the Halifax Metro Centre. During
a two-hour awards show broadcast nationally by the CBC and hosted
by the Trailer Park Boys, Canyon added the new pieces of silverware
to an already bulging trophy case.
The
Nova Scotia country singer was named entertainer of the year
for the third consecutive year. It was the only award voted
on by fans.
"God
is so good," said Canyon, resplendent in a glittery western
suit and black Stetson.
Canyon,
who came out of obscurity in 2004 by finishing second on the
"Nashville Star" talent search, has won more than
a dozen awards since, including a Juno in 2005 and the Canadian
Country Music Awards fan choice honour.
Besides
the nod from the fans, the granite-chinned singer from Pictou
County also won for video of the year and country recording
of the year for "Somebody Wrote Love."
"I'm
scared to death to let a lot of this success in the last three
years sink in," Canyon said later. "That's the God's
honest truth."
In
the night's emotional centrepiece, three Maritime legends who
died in the past year - Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas,
Celtic pioneer John Allan Cameron and bluesman Dutch Mason -
were remembered in a moving tribute that included performances
by recent Grammy winner Gordie Sampson, Shaye, Canyon and Ashley
MacIsaac.
"I've
got a wound on my lip from biting it so hard. I was getting
choked up," said Canyon, who sang "California Dreamin'
" during the tribute.
"Being
a part of that was one of the highlights for me."
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