CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The best of P.E.I.’s music community will be honoured in February during Music P.E.I.’s annual awards week.
The 2020 Credit Union Music P.E.I. Week takes place Feb. 5-9. Shows will take place at various venues in Charlottetown and Summerside and will feature many of the nominees and several special guests.
To kick things off, the opening reception will take place at The Alley on Wednesday, Feb. 5, starting at 6:30 pm.
There will be refreshments and snacks.
At 11 p.m., Emilee Sorrey will host open mic at Baba’s Lounge.
The SOCAN Songwriter of the Year concert takes place Thursday, Feb. 6 at St. Paul’s Church at 7:30 p.m. and is hosted by Matt Rainnie.
Nominees Andrew Waite, Dennis Ellsworth, Irish Mythen, Rick Sparkes and Tara MacLean will perform in a cozy songwriters’ circle, with interviews by Rainnie giving a glimpse into the stories behind the songs.
The 2020 Music PEI SOCAN songwriter of the year award will be presented at the end of the evening.
On Friday, Feb. 7, there will be two different shows at two different venues.
The first, Music Mosaic, will take place at The Guild at 7:30 p.m. and will feature an eclectic mixture of music from nominees, including Vishtèn, Fayo, Sirène & Matelot (featuring Lennie Gallant and Patricia Richard), SOPA World Music Ensemble and special guests.
The second show, Red Dirt Rock with Dennis Ellsworth, David Woodside, Soul Filter and Brad Milligan Band will take place at Hunter’s Ale House at 10 p.m.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, Wintertime Tunes, with performances by Tara MacLean, Winterjazz, Haily MacIsaac and Vince the Messenger, will take place at The Guild at 7:30 p.m.
In Summerside on Feb. 8, Diggin’ Deep Roots will take place at the Celtic Performing Arts Centre at the College of Piping at 7:30 p.m. and will feature Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys, Blair Gaudet, Greg Bungay, Maureen Trainor and Inn Echo.
On Sunday afternoon, Music P.E.I. will host the awards party, which will feature music by Island Jazz.
This event at the Rodd Charlottetown is by invitation only and is an opportunity for award nominees and guests to celebrate each other’s achievements.
The week’s festivities will come to a close Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall.
The festival finale begins at 7:30 p.m. and includes performances by nominees, including Irish Mythen, Cory Gallant, Gordie Mackeeman & His Rhythm Boys, Paper Lions and Sorrey.
Tickets for week will be on sale Jan. 6.
For more information, visit musicpei.com or call 902-894-6734.
