sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Vancouver Island and area were well represented Tuesday when 105 nominees in 19 categories from across sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ drew nods at the 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

The number of eligible nominees in four major categories — contemporary album of the year, new/emerging artist of the year, solo artist of the year and English songwriter(s) of the year — was expanded this year, resulting in more nominations than ever.

That was good news for Island-area acts heading into the awards show’s 15th edition, set for April 3-4 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

This year’s local nominees include: Victoria’s Pierre Schryer and Pender Island’s Adam Dobres, for instrumental group of the year and world group of the year; Gabriola Island’s the Kerplunks, for children’s album of the year; Victoria’s the Sweet Lowdown, for vocal group of the year; Victoria’s Quinn Bachand and Haley Richardson, for ensemble of the year; Victoria’s the Unfaithful Servants, for new/emerging artists of the year; and Pender Island’s Lester Quitzau of Tri-Continental, for the Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award. For more information, visit