FVMAs

Press Release October 30th:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FVMA Deadline Extended, Prelim. Categories Announced

Abbotsford – The Fraser Valley Music Awards October 31st application deadline is being extended until November 4th at 11:59 pm PST.

Preliminary categories that will be recognized, in addition to the $750 Dakota Leslie Memorial Live Performance of the Year, which will be awarded to one Battle of the Bands participant, which can come from any genre, are as follows in order of volume of applicants to date: Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, Electronic, Experimental, Hip Hop, Metal, Punk and World. CIVL will also take the opportunity to recognize excellence from the Queer, First Nations, Youth, and female identifying community members throughout the Fraser Valley. We’ve also been asking artists to self identify their own genres or categories, and 31 unique different classifications have been identified thus far of the 90+ musicians represented by acts that have applied.

Important Upcoming Dates (All events are FREE to the public):

FVMA Application Deadline

Saturday, November 4th at 11:59 pm PST via www.civl.ca/fvma

All FVMA applications must be submitted by this point to be adjudication by jurors

FVMA Nomination Announcement:

Tuesday, November 14th at Townhall Public House in Abbotsford – 5:30 – 8 pm

Hosted by Harry Doupe, a veteran comedian and writer, who’s work has included writing for the Olympics, Junos, Geminis, Just for Laughs, and so much more. Harry will help us announce the nominees in each category.

FVMA Battle of the Bands Final:

Friday, November 24th at The Stage in Mission – 7 pm

Bands that have competed in the preliminary Battle dates throughout November will face off for one last chance to appear on stage at FVMA’s to win $750 and more!

Fraser Valley Music Awards at Abbyfest!

Saturday, November 25th at the Abbotsford Centre – 10 am – 4 pm

For more information about CIVL’s Fraser Valley Music Awards, please visit www.civl.ca/fvma or contact CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy via info@civl.ca

Press Release October 16th:

CIVL invites you to join us on one of the following dates to participate in one of the milestones in this years’ Fraser Valley Music Awards.

• Thursday, October 19th at 5:30 pm, in S2109 at UFV Abbotsford’s Student Union Building, CIVL will be dedicating it’s on air broadcast studio to the memories of Chuck Anger and Dakota Leslie, two volunteers who passed away in the months leading up to the 2015 move into this new building and broadcast space.

• Tuesday October 31st at 11:59 PST  is the official deadline for FVMA applications to be submitted and considered for nomination. More info is at www.civl.ca/fvma

• Tuesday, November 14th, from 5:30 – 7 pm, please join us at Townhall Abbotsford for the official Nomination Announcement, where CIVL personnel will announce the FVMA nominees in each category.

In 2016, the Leslie family made a contribution to the Fraser Valley Music Awards’ Battle of the Bands, leading to CIVL renaming it “The Dakota Leslie Live Performer of the Year Award”, and this year we want to move the legacy forward, and solidify our tribute with the dedication of these studios. “Dakota had a love and passion for music and our community,” says his sister, Rikki-Lee Leslie. “This award combines both of those things while keeping his memory alive.” CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy says that “while both Dakota and Chuck made significant contributions to our community at CIVL, neither of them had a chance to broadcast from our new studio’s, and that’s why it’s important to me that we dedicate this space to them.”

Click here for Anger’s A Social and Musical History of the Blues podcast, and here for Leslie’s Generation Z show.

More FVMA Judges are being announced as well, with last years’ youth nominee Alexis Lynn, CIVL Music Director Audrey McDonald, host and Latin-Canadian community engagement maven Julia Hodgins, and 2017 Polaris Prize Finals Juror and Station Manager at U of Ottawa’s CHUO 89.1, Erin Flynn.

CIVL is also excited to announce that the entire FVMA winners list will receive a full page cover advertisement in Exclaim! Canada’s only free monthly music publication, with a circulation of approximately 100,000 nationwide.

Press Release October 12th:

Celebrity judges for the second annual Fraser Valley Music Awards (FVMA) on November 25th, at the Abbotsford Centre as part of Abbyfest, include Wide Mouth Mason singer/songwriter Shaun Verreault, Pat Steward (The Odds, Bryan Adams, Matthew Good), former Peak Performance Project winner Jordan Klassen, an Abbotsford native whose new album “Big Intruder” was released last month on Nevado Records, and living Can-con legend B.A. Johnston, who the Globe and Mail suggests may be this generation’s Stompin’ Tom Connors.

Other judges will include Georgia Straight writer Guy MacPherson, JAZZFM91’s Brad Barker, members of the Fraser Valley Blues Society, CIVL volunteers and programmers, and various partners and sponsors. To find out more or to participate yourself, email fvma@civl.ca

Prizes for winners and nominees include:

1. The Stage in Mission is offering $4,800 in local gigs over the course of the next year to FVMA winners and nominees in a monthly showcase at their burgeoning venue!

2. Vancouver’s NIMBUS School of Recording and Media is offering 12 hours of studio recording and mixing, overseen by one of their professional supervisors.

3. The Mission Folk Music Festival is offering a spot on their 2018 festival roster

4. Jam in Jubilee is offering a headlining spot on the 2018 festival roster

5. What’s On! Abbotsford will feature a full page for each of up to 12 FVMA category winners, and another full page for the Wo!A Artist of the Year in a social media contest

6. Hope, BC based Connect Media is offering a winner social media management for two months + $400 towards advertising that they will manage as well.

7. 200 x 12” 140g Vinyl, Full Colour jackets and labels, dust sleeves and shrink wrap

CIVL is also looking forward to the second #FVMABattle series, awarding $750 to the Dakota Leslie Live Performer of the Year. The semi-finals for the #FVMABattle2017 will take place on November 24th at The Stage in Mission, and will feature the winners from the preliminary rounds of Battle events. CIVL and the FVMA’s thank the Leslie family for initiating this award last year, and sponsors interested in contributing to the prize value can contact fvma@civl.ca .

A final deadline for FVMA applications will be announced in the coming weeks, as well as a nomination celebration, more prizes, and more #FVMABattle2017 dates as well!

2nd Fraser Valley Music Awards Now Accepting Submissions

Abbotsford, BC — Canada’s most awarded community radio station in 2017 is calling for judges, sponsors, partners and artists to apply for the 2nd annual Fraser Valley Music Awards. After hosting and sweeping the National Community Radio Awards in June with four top prizes, including one for the live special programming broadcast of last year’s inaugural Fraser Valley Music Awards at the Abbotsford Arts Centre, CIVL wants to award local musicians a little differently this year.

After teaming up with Abbyfest since 2010 to provide musicians, sound equipment, and stage support, CIVL brings the entire Fraser Valley Music Awards to the free daytime stage at Abbyfest, on November 25th, with live performances from nominees, awards presentations, and more. This year’s #CIVLFVMABattle2017 finals showdown will see CIVL’s Battle series return to the Abbotsford Centre for the first time since 2014 when John Welsh won the #CIVLssBattle for singer-songwriters.

The 2016 FVMA pop category winner Welsh has since found internet and international fame as a pop/world artist, touring CTV studios across the country with live performances, something that Hip Hop award winner Saint Soldier has also had the pleasure of doing since last year’s awards. Soldier was also featured on the BBC with Bobby Friction, who noted the FVMA haul himself in marveling at the local Abbotsford/Aldergrove product’s verve and focus.

In all, over 100 submissions were received for last years’ FVMA’s, and over $100,000 in cash or in kind value was contributed by local businesses and groups to benefit the winning artists, as well as many nominees. More information about last years’ winners and prizes can be found at www.civl.ca/fvma , where artists can also fill out an application and make a submission fee for the 2017 event.

“This partnership with Abbyfest is the best thing that could happen for the second annual FVMA’s” according to CIVL station manager Aaron Levy. “We struggled to represent the diverse background of our communities last year, though we were really pleased with the music we did honour, and this year I think we’re going to tap into the real flavour of our diverse Valley. Allowing artists across genre to self identify their style will be a big help. What’s On! Abbotsford and The Stage in Mission will be important partners this year, and we look forward to seeing who else will jump on board!”

Prizes this year will include a headlining spot at Jam in Jubilee, $5,000 in paid gigs, as well as promo and recording time. CIVL will be announcing more sponsors, prizes, and judges in the weeks to come.
C: 778-982-0648 – O: 604-851-6306 –  E: fvma@civl.ca