British Columbia musicians shone at the 2019 Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA), with Vancouver’s Dan Mangan winning four awards including Rock Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
Mangan is among the 10 B.C. artists honoured at the annual event that celebrates the best of artistic and music-industry talent in western Canada. Mangan also received two awards at the WCMA Industry Awards for Recording of the Year and Impact in Live Music.
He is one of the six winners who received provincial funding through Amplify BC, along with Snotty Nose Rez Kids, I M U R, Five Alarm Funk, Vials and Warren Dean Flandez.
“It’s phenomenal to see B.C. artists dominating this year’s awards,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “Seeing our artists honoured like this really shows how investing in B.C. talent grows and enriches our music industry.”
Through Amplify BC, the B.C. government invests in artists’ career development. Mangan received an Amplify BC grant to support the marketing of his latest album, More or Less.
“It is a gift of immeasurable worth to allocate social and economic liquidity into the arts,” said Mangan. “As a beneficiary of our funding system, I cannot properly articulate how much I appreciate the hard work of the people who bring these programs to light, as well as the less-quantifiable communal affirmation of choosing to make the arts a valued element of our patriotic existence.
“It is a real honour to receive such a pat on the back after years of working on creating and daylighting this album. It just simply would not have been possible to connect these dots without the support of arts funding.”
Amplify BC, administered by Creative BC, offers funding for artists’ career development, live music events, music companies and music industry development. Creative BC is British Columbia’s lead agency for creative sector funding and development. The Province established the fund in 2018 after extensive consultations with the music industry and invested $7.5 million again this year.
It’s clear Amplify BC is making an impact. Last year, 337 musicians, recording professionals and companies were able to get vital funding to create, collaborate and succeed in today’s music industry. These investments support the industry’s growth, which contributes approximately $690 million each year to the provincial economy. Creative BC will announce the next round of Amplify BC recipients later this month.
B.C. Winners at the 2019 WCMA Artistic Awards:
Blues Artist of the Year – Ndidi O
BreakOut Artist – Snotty Nose Rez Kids
Children’s Artist – Raffi
Electronic / Dance Artist – I M U R
Instrumental Artist – Five Alarm Funk
Jazz Artist – Jodi Proznick
Rap / Hip Hop Artist (Sponsored by Northern Touch Music Festival) – Vials
Rock Artist – Dan Mangan
Songwriter(s) (Sponsored by SOCAN) – Dan Mangan, Cold In The Summer
Spiritual Artist – Warren Dean Flandez
World Artist – Buckman Coe
B.C. Winners at the 2019 WCMA Industry Awards:
Recording of the Year – Dan Mangan
Impact in Live Music Award – Dan Mangan
Audio Engineering Award – Ben Kaplan
Video Director of the Year – Johnny Jansen