In their annual festival and gala, this year’s Toronto Independent Music Awards (TIMA) were held at Toronto hotspot Revival. The event featured many of the winners from last year, including an electrifying performance by electro-pop/psychedelic rock band The Nursery,2014’s Best Rock or Indie group.
Recently back from their Ontario/Quebec tour with Montreal’s Das Blankout, they’ve just released an impressive new single Hexes and Oh’s which is available on iTunes. Catch these guys next time they’re in Montreal if you want to see something truly original, fun and unique. Their newest tunes employ energetic dance beats and synths that throwback to the 80’s – really groovy stuff.
Check out this wickedly creative video for She Speaks the Wave:
Another highlight was uber-talented Jojo Worthington, whose charming voice mixed with effected ukulele and electronics is a refreshing twist on folk music. No wonder she just announced a new Universal USA publishing deal!
Dani Strong represented the country genre and not only did she capture and keep the attention of the crowd despite the Blue Jays playoff game, but she does some mean Jays players impersonations! She puts on a fantastic show.
Duo OSIYM, Out of Sight, In Your Mind, brought things up a notch with heavy bass, industrial beats and hip hop vocals. These boys, Charlie Black and Nova, were intense and energetic for their entire set, playing many of the tracks from their July release, Spirits.
The awards portion of the evening was comparatively quite short versus the musical performances. Congratulations to the winners for 2015, and keep your eyes and ears open for these talented artists:
Best Folk Or Roots: Birds of Bellwoods
Best Singer-Songwriter: Chris Rivers
Best Adult Contemporary: Sarah Smith
Best Country: Leah Daniels
Best Out-of-Province: Bud Rice
Best Urban: Es
Best Rock: A Primitive Evolution
Best Indie: The Naked Wild
Best Pop: Dee Bronte
Best Jazz Vocals: Ori Dagan
Best Jazz Instrumental: Brownman Electryc Trio
Best World: Sultans of String
Best Young-Songwriter: Lyric Dubee
Best Instrumental or Classical: Alessandra Paonessa
Best USA: Christian Lee Hutson
Best International (Tied): Them&Us and Cherisha Etnel
Best Overall Press Kit: Dani Strong and Jutes
Best Song (Grand Prize Winner): Chris Rivers – Calm Waters
PHOTOS by DEVON STEWART
