The East Coast Music Association just announced that two top Cape Bretoners — fiddler Ashley MacIsaac and singer/actress Heather Rankin — will be hosting the 2016 East Coast Music Awards in Sydney, Nova Scotia this coming April. ECMA Week takes place from April 13 to 17, and the televised awards gala will be held at Centre 200 (home of the Screaming Eagles) on April 16. MacIsaac and Rankin will present East Coast music’s biggest annual awards alongside performances by nominees. The ECMAs were last held in Sydney in 2010.
According to the press release: “After almost 20 years, I’m excited and honoured to be returning as host of the ECMA Gala this year with fellow Cape Bretoner, Ashley MacIsaac. I’m looking forward to getting up to a little trouble with him,” says Rankin. “The ECMA has played a significant role in fostering East Coast musicians of all genres for almost three decades now, providing a platform for up and coming performers to showcase their talent while honouring those who have achieved success here and outside the region. The Rankin Family was no exception.”
If it was anything like last year’s ECMA’s in St. John’s, Newfoundland, it will surely be a time. Tickets for the Gala (and ECMA week) can be purchased online. Early-birds are now on sale.