Hynes, known as the "man of a thousand songs," will be celebrated with a ceremony during the East Coast Music Awards on April 30 in St. John's, N.L.

The death of one of Newfoundland's most beloved musicians should serve as a wake-up call to the worsening scourge of drug addiction in the province, say friends and family members who watched the artist struggle for years with the disease.

Newfoundland and Labrador folk singer-songwriter Ron Hynes died Thursday evening.