They may be overlooked by some of Canada’s higher-profile music awards, but a group of local music fans is making sure Manitoba’s metal, punk, and hardcore bands get the recognition they deserve this weekend.
The second annual Manitoba Loud Music Awards, held at Winnipeg’s Pyramid Cabaret, aims to highlight some of the finest noisy artists from across the province with two days of live music, workshops and handing out hardware.
“For years I’d wanted to get some sort of support to us. (Heavy music) never get any support, really,” said organizer Dag Aymont of Badlands Promotions.
“Country music gets all the support, pop music gets all the support … and every now and then, the award show companies will throw in ‘metal band of the year,’ and it’s just kind of a generalized ‘all loud music’ thing.
“And we work just as hard, us loud music musicians. We work just as hard as everybody else. There’s no reason we can’t be supported.”
Aymont said the awards, which had a successful launch in 2021 despite having to navigate pandemic restrictions, are centred around Manitoba’s grassroots music community, with winners selected by fan nominations and fan votes leading up to this weekend’s celebration.
“We didn’t want to be the judges,” he said. “I definitely wanted to leave it up to the fans, because it is about the hard-working musicians. There’s some who really, really have to work hard to get their names out there, and those are the people that I personally want to recognize.”
While winners in each of the categories take home a physical award, not to mention bragging rights, Aymont said the goal is to continue expanding to the point where there’s greater incentives for the bands being recognized.
This year, for example, the ‘metal band of the year’ winner will earn a paid gig on one of Canada’s largest metal festivals.
“We managed to get a sponsorship from Loud as Hell Festival in Drumheller, Alta. It’s the second largest metal fest in western Canada so the winner gets the award and they get a spot — a paid spot — on Loud as Hell,” he said.
“We’re looking to expand on that and get sponsorship for all the categories.”
The Manitoba Loud Music Awards has also partnered up with Manitoba Music to offer afternoon workshops, with a focus on vocal training and Q&A with Winnipeg’s own Jeremy Hiebert of popular hardcore band Comeback Kid. There is also a session with a kinesiologist touching on what might be a subject exclusive to heavy genres: how to move to loud music without getting hurt.
“We have Ed Miller, he’s a kinesiologist and (will speak on) how to not to hurt yourself in the pit, essentially.”
Full details about this weekend’s events are available on the Manitoba Loud Music Awards website.