Nicole Morgado Paulo, credited as Nico Paulo, is a Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. [1]
She was born in Canada to Portuguese parents who returned to Portugal when she was two years old, and grew up in a small town near Lisbon. [2] She returned to Canada in 2014 as an adult to pursue a graduate internship in graphic design, [2] and subsequently entered a romantic relationship with Canadian singer-songwriter Tim Baker. [2] A longtime hobby musician who had not actively pursued it as a career, Paulo turned more actively to music as a creative outlet after the couple moved from Toronto back to St. John's in 2020, releasing the EPs Wave Call in 2020 [2] and Live at First Light in 2021. [3]
Her self-titled full-length debut album, produced by Baker and Joshua Van Tassel, was released in April 2023, [1] and was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize. [4]
She has also contributed to Baker's albums as a packaging designer and backing vocalist, and has toured with Baker as a supporting musician. [5]
Sarah Lois Harmer is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist.
Tanya Tagaq, also credited as Tagaq, is a Canadian Inuk throat singer, songwriter, novelist, actor, and visual artist from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Nunavut, Canada, on the south coast of Victoria Island.
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop.
Ron Hynes was a folk singer-songwriter from Newfoundland and Labrador. He was especially known for his composition "Sonny's Dream", which has been recorded worldwide by many artists and was named the 41st greatest Canadian song of all time on the 2005 CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.
Darrell Power is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, music producer, and former member of Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea (1993–2003). He is a guest host of VOCM Nightline and Open Line. Power currently works as a substitute teacher. He lives in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Hey Rosetta! was a Canadian seven-piece indie rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, led by singer-songwriter Tim Baker. They released four studio albums, five EPs, and one live album. On October 13, 2017, the group announced via a Facebook post that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus, which persists as of 2024.
Mercy, the Sexton is a Canadian indie pop band from St. John's, Newfoundland. The band is now a five-piece, including the Major brothers, Hynes, Mat Lacombe, and Jamie March. They are known for the vocal harmonies.
Amelia Curran is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The National Post describes her music as "a bit like Leonard Cohen being channeled in a dusty saloon by Patsy Cline."
Hannah Georgas is a Canadian pop/rock singer-songwriter, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was nominated in the categories of "Best New Artist of the Year" and "Songwriter of the Year" at the 2011 Juno Awards, and again at the 2013 Juno Awards for "Songwriter of the Year" and "Best Alternative Album".
The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards program was created in 2005 by a group of independent label representatives, folk music presenters, artists, and enthusiasts to celebrate and promote Canadian folk music.
Lisa LeBlanc, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and banjoist, known for her enthusiastic "trash folk" performances. She has been noted for her "distinct" blend of folk, rock, and disco with both English and French language lyrics combined with chiac and her Acadian accent. Her accolades include two Félix Awards and an East Coast Music Award. She has also been nominated for three Juno Awards, the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, and shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize twice.
Zaki Ibrahim is a South African-Canadian singer-songwriter. Her music blends R&B, soul and jazz.
Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds, known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer-songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two critically acclaimed EPs, Praise Break (2014) and Pilgrim's Paradise (2015), Caesar released his debut studio album, Freudian, in August 2017, which garnered widespread critical acclaim. He released his second studio album, Case Study 01, in June 2019. In March 2021, Caesar was featured alongside Giveon on Justin Bieber's single "Peaches", his first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100. Caesar released his third studio album, Never Enough, in April 2023 as his first release under Republic Records.
Lido Pimienta is a Colombian Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence after her 2016 album, La Papessa, won the 2017 Polaris Music Prize. Her music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, including traditional indigenous and Afro-Colombian musical styles such as Cumbia and Bullerengue, as well as contemporary synthpop and electronic music.
Tim Baker is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The longtime lead singer of the indie rock band Hey Rosetta!, his first solo album Forever Overhead was released on April 19, 2019, on Arts & Crafts.
Dylan Sinclair is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter from Toronto, Ontario, whose full-length debut album Proverb was a Juno Award nominee for Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.
Kelly McMichael is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Peterborough, Ontario, currently based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Her debut full-length album Waves was released in 2021, and was shortlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize.
The following musical events and releases that happened in 2023 in Canada.
The 2023 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 19, 2023. The winner was electronic musician Debby Friday for her album Good Luck.
Nico Paulo is the 2023 debut full-length album by Canadian-Portuguese musician Nico Paulo. It has received positive reviews from critics and award nominations.