ECMA30: Jenn Grant

Jenn Grant w/Sorrey, Gabrielle Papillon, Alana Yorke and more
Fri May 4, 8pm, The Marquee Ballroom, 2037 Gottingen Street

Argyle Street Fest w/Jenn Grant, Dylan Menzie, Villages, The Once, City Natives
Sat May 5, noon

Songwriters’ Circle w/Jenn Grant, Rose Cousins, Reeny Smith and more
Sun May 6, 2pm, The Schooner Room, 1983 Upper Water Street

Jenn Grant is no stranger to the East Coast Music Awards. Through six albums, over a decade of touring and countless award nominations, Grant has cemented herself as one of the most celebrated and beloved artists this side of Montreal. This year, she has garnered six ECMA nominations—including songwriter and album of the year—for her excellent 2017 LP Paradise.

Reflecting on her year, Grant describes a pile of highlights from headlining shows at Massey Hall and in Iqaluit to quieter moments spent writing or combing nearby beaches with her dogs. She says that ceremonies like the ECMAs offer an opportunity to celebrate both music and her community, the sound of this part of the world and the human connections that make its existence possible against increasingly tough odds.

“I sort of romanticize it, ” she says of the awards show. “I think about growing up, my mom and me and my brother watching them on TV in our really small TV room that we had, with our old couch that was falling apart, making nachos and lemonade. As the years went on, you’d start to kind of recognize friends who were starting to be involved.'”

Grant is set to perform a handful of times over the course of the celebration, including a midnight set at the Marquee Friday and a free show on Argyle Street Saturday. Still, despite her nominations and performances, she says it’s the opportunity to celebrate her peers that excites her most about the weekend’s festivities.

“I’ve been nominated for a lot of ECMAs and I’ve won two…but when you’re making music, it’s not always about that, it’s impossible to compare musical projects like that in a competition,” she says. “But I think that it’s nice to be re-inspired by your community and feel proud of each other—I think that’s a really good thing.”