Aysanabee leads with six nominations, Snotty Nose Rez Kids follow with five at National Indigenous Music Awards Show at The National Arts Centre in Ottawa

The Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival today announced nominees for The SSIMAs, (Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards) presented by TD Bank Group. Winners will be celebrated and honoured in Ottawa during the awards ceremony at the National Arts Centre on Tuesday, June 6th, 2023. 

The SSIMAs span 16 categories, celebrating solo artists, duos and groups from across Canada and showcasing the diverse and growing music and culture of artistic expression and accomplishment within the Indigenous community. Nominees were selected from 250 Canada-wide submissions by an invited panel of jurors comprising Indigenous and music industry professionals. No public voting was involved in the selection process. 

YouTube: youtube.com/c/SummerSolsticeIndigenousFestivals

The long-awaited live Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival presented by Rio Tinto returns June 21 to 26 at the festival’s new home, Mādahòkì Farm in Ottawa’s west end, with an exhilarating celebration of Canadian Indigenous culture.

Mādahòkì Farm (formerly the Lone Star Ranch) is located on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Nation at 4420 West Hunt Club Road.

Because of the pandemic, this is the first time since 2019 that the festival, now in its 26th year and welcoming Indigenous and non-Indigenous visitors alike, has had a live component. The festival, produced by Indigenous Experiences on behalf of the National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD) Committee representing all of Canada’s National Indigenous organizations, was previously held at Vincent Massey Park, where it grew to 50,000 visitors. For the past two years, the festival has held virtual programming that reached millions across North America.

This year’s festival is a blend of live and virtual programming accessible to all Canadians, throughout June.