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Awards

Love those ECMAs!!

Joel Plaskett, Jimmy Rankin to take stage at East Coast awards gala
Halifax band Joel Plaskett Emergency will be among the acts set to rock the 20th annual East Coast Music Awards gala next month, organizers announced Thursday.
The rock outfit and lead ECMA nominee, which also scored nominations for the Junos and the Polaris Prize last year, will compete in seven categories, including entertainer of the year and recording of the year.
Other acts up for multiple awards heading into the gala include indie rockers Wintersleep and singer-songwriters Nathan Wiley of P.E.I. and Jimmy Rankin of Cape Breton.
Rankin and Wiley will also take the stage for the awards show, as will favourite performers such as The Trews and Lennie Gallant.
Also on the gala lineup are the Divorcees, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, the Lapointes, Chris Colepaugh and the Cosmic Crew, Shanneyganock, Samantha Robichaud, Thom Swift and members of Ode ‡ l’Acadie.
Gallant, The Barra MacNeils and Damhnait Doyle were among the artists previously announced for gigs during the run-up to the awards ceremony.
The East Coast Music Awards, Festival and Conference begins Feb. 7, taking over various locations throughout Fredericton.
A special concert celebrating the event’s 20th anniversary will take place Feb. 9.
The celebration ends with the awards gala at the Aitken Centre on Feb. 10.
CBC-TV, which usually airs the awards gala live across Canada, announced in November it would instead produce a one-hour special featuring performances drawn from the four days, slated for broadcast March 2.
However, several CBC Radio programs, including the arts and culture show Q, are planning broadcasts from the weekend event.