Classified, The East Pointers lead East Coast Music Awards nominations with six each

Nova Scotia-based rapper Classified and Prince Edward Island pop-folk trio The East Pointers lead the nominations for the 35th East Coast Music Awards, with six each.
Classified's Retrospected is nominated for album of the year, and both he and The East Pointers are up for entertainer of the year and video of the year.
Newfoundland and Labrador country singer-songwriter Jason Benoit's five nominations include album of the year -- for Time Traveller: Side A -- entertainer of the year and Indigenous artist of the year.
Singer-songwriter David Myles, musical duo Madison Violet, musician Andrew Waite and singer-songwriter Lisa LeBlanc each have four nominations.
Musical artists from Nova Scotia -- outside Cape Breton -- earned the most nominations, with 86, followed by artists from Newfoundland and Labrador with 58, New Brunswick with 40, P.E.I. with 29, and Cape Breton with 20.
The festival's 2023 edition is scheduled for May 3-7 in Halifax.
In addition to Benoit, nominees for Indigenous artist of the year are Deantha Edmunds, Gearl, Morgan Toney and Silver Wolf Band.
Aquakultre, Jah'Mila, Maggie Andrew, Owen O'Sound Lee and Zamani Folade earned nominations for African Canadian artist of the year, while Caroline Savoie, Laurie LeBlanc, Les Hotesses d'Hilaire, Lisa LeBlanc, Plywood Joe and P'tit Belliveau will compete for francophone recording of the year.
Song of the year nominees include Adam Baldwin for "Lighthouse in Little Lorraine," Andrew Waite for "Ain't Goin' Out Like That," and Braden Lam for "Silence feat. Wolf Castle."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Biden is coming to Canada: Here's what we know about his visit
U.S. President Joe Biden is coming to Canada Thursday evening, kicking off his short but long-awaited overnight official visit to Canada. Here's what CTV News has confirmed about what will be on the agenda, and what key players are saying about the upcoming visit.

First victim in fatal Old Montreal fire identified as 76-year-old woman
Montreal police have identified the first victim of the deadly fire in Old Montreal last week that has left two dead and five missing. Insp. David Shane said it was a woman named Camille Maheux, who was 76 years old.
Canada broke a population growth record in 2022: StatCan
Canada's population grew by more than one million over the course of one calendar year, breaking previous records, a new Statistics Canada report says.
Top 4 quirky consumer complaints received in 2022: BBB
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it receives tens of thousands of complaints from consumers across Canada each year, but once in a while a "quirky" one will take them by surprise.
What are the predictions for Canada's real estate market this spring?
The Canadian real estate market has been sluggish since last year, when prospective buyers started putting off plans to purchase homes as the Bank of Canada aggressively hiked interest rates eight consecutive times. But realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.
5 planets will align in an arc across the night sky next week
Sky-gazers will be treated to a parade of planets near the end of month when Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will appear together in the night sky.
Canada allowing Ukrainians overseas to apply for free emergency visa until mid-July
The federal government will give Ukrainians until mid-July to apply for a free temporary visa to Canada under an emergency program put in place last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Prince William visits troops in Poland on surprise trip
Prince William made an unannounced trip to Poland on Wednesday to thank British and Polish troops involved in providing support to Ukraine, before meeting refugees who have fled the conflict with Russia to hear of their experiences.
AP sources: Manhattan DA postpones Trump grand jury session
Manhattan prosecutors postponed a scheduled grand jury session Wednesday in the investigation into Donald Trump over hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign, at least temporarily slowing a decision on whether to charge the ex-president.