Top performers attend Toronto awards bash

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Artists from Saskatchewan in the Aboriginal music industry nabbed some of the prizes at this year's Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards held in Toronto on Nov. 24. Mishi Donovan for Journey Home brought home the hardware for best songwriter. Red Bull for The Best of Red Bull brought home a best powwow album award in the traditional category. Sweetgrass Records won in the best drum songs album category with Best of the Best and in the best album cover design category, Little Island Cree/Dark Horse Studio won for Indian Country. The Music Industry Award went to Kelly Parker of Turtle Island Music.

The awards presentation was part of an impressive evening of entertainment at the Skydome, including this year's winner of best female artist, Fara Palmer, who set the tone for the show with a strong performance of Pretty Brown.

Fara acted as co-host for the awards show with Derek Miller, who is gaining a strong reputation as Canada's king of cool.

The pure power of the performances, everything from traditional drum to modern rap, impressed audience members. Just when you thought the last performance just couldn't be beat, as were this writer's thoughts about Wayne Lavallee, on came another quality act.

If any one artist established himself as a show stand-out, it was George Leach with his gritty electric blues. The evening closed with a high-energy performance by rap group Red Power.