Three Wins for Matt Andersen at Maple Blues Awards 2012

Only two weeks into the New Year, and it looks like 2012 will be special for Matt Andersen, who is becoming the “breakout artist” from Canada’s Maritime provinces.

On Jan. 16 the singer/guitarist/songwriter walked into Toronto’s luxurious Koerner Hall to be nominated for three major honours at the 15th annual Maple Blues Awards — Entertainer of the Year, Acoustic Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. As the evening closed, he had won each of the awards, topping his wins the previous year as Entertainer and Acoustic Artist.

An impressive start to the year for Andersen, who now makes his home in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He spent most of December 2011 touring Australia, ending a 20-date tour at the massive Woodford Festival north of Brisbane. The Australian trip followed a Canadian tour that took him to more than 40 towns across the country, and a visit to the UK where he played the famed Glastonbury Festival.

With the Maple Blues Awards safely taken home, Andersen was already packing his suitcase for Florida where he’ll participate in the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise in the Caribbean, a floating blues festival with some 20 artists, including Taj Mahal, Dion, Shemekia Copeland, Bettye Levette and Canadian artist, Shakura S’Aida (who co-hosted the Maple Blues Awards with singer Treasa Levasseur).

After that, there’s a mini-tour in the interior of British Columbia, a run of European and American shows, and Andersen’s already been booked for almost a dozen summer festivals. So you’ve been warned and there will be no excuses.

Cashbox Canada