The 2026 East Coast Music Awards have come and gone.
With the annual Atlantic Canadian music conference wrapping up on Sunday, May 26, after a weekend of performances, workshops, and meetings held in Sydney, a new batch of award winners has also been crowned.
Whether it be PINEO & LOEB scoring an award for Dance Release of the Year, Morgan Toney continuing his trajectory towards stardom with an award for “Golden Regalia” and Indigenous Artist of the Year, or Cassie and Maggie picking up two awards for Gold and Coal and a third for Group of the Year, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton made out well.
The total award breakdown saw New Brunswick win five awards, Cape Breton winning 11, Nova Scotia claiming 15, Prince Edward Island netting three, and Newfoundland and Labrador attaining eight.
Without further ado, here are your winners of the 2026 East Coast Music Awards.
Thursday Night Award Winners
Album of the Year – Goldie Boutilier — “Goldie Boutilier” (Cape Breton)
African Canadian Artist of the Year – Blessing Tangban (Nova Scotia)
Breakthrough Artist of the Year – Goldie Boutilier (Cape Breton)
Entertainer of the Year — Fans’ Choice – Andre Pettipas (Nova Scotia)
Video of the Year — Fans’ Choice – Aaron MacDonald — “Beaches & Bands” (Cape Breton)
Folk Release of the Year – Lennie Gallant (PEI)
Francophone Artist of the Year – La Famille LeBlanc (New Brunswick)
Group of the Year – Cassie & Maggie (Nova Scotia)
Indigenous Artist of the Year – Morgan Toney (Cape Breton)
Pop Release of the Year – Maggie Andrew (Nova Scotia)
Release of the Year – Elyse Aeryn (Cape Breton)
Songwriter of the Year – Kellie Loder (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award – The Barra MacNeils (Cape Breton)
Loud Release of the Year – The Order of the Precious Blood (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Sunday Award Winners – Music
Blues Release of the Year – JP LeBlanc — All In My Blood / Je l’ai dans l’sang (New Brunswick)
Children’s Artist of the Year – Donna & Andy (Nova Scotia)
Classical Release of the Year – Duo Concertante — Maier, Franck, Schumann: Sonatas for Violin & Piano (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Classical Composer of the Year – Amy Brandon (Nova Scotia)
Country Release of the Year – The Martin Boys — Burn the Boats (Nova Scotia)
Dance Release of the Year – PINEO & LOEB — Love Yourself (Nova Scotia)
Electronic Release of the Year – Rich Aucoin — Frequency Modulation (Nova Scotia)
Fusion Release of the Year – Morgan Toney — “Golden Regalia” (Cape Breton)
Global Music Release of the Year – XIA-3 — Interworlds (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Instrumental Release of the Year – Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan — Lyrique (New Brunswick)
Jazz Release of the Year – Joe Bowden — Music Is Life (Nova Scotia)
Producer of the Year – Colin Buchanan (PEI)
R&B / Soul Release of the Year – Lindsay Misiner — I Saw An Angel (Nova Scotia)
Rap / Hip-Hop Release of the Year – HINCH — Poetry Is The Art Of Death (New Brunswick)
Rock / Alternative Release of the Year – Goldie Boutilier — Goldie Boutilier Presents… Goldie Montana (Cape Breton)
Roots Release of the Year – Cassie and Maggie — Gold and Coal (Nova Scotia)
Solo Artist of the Year – Logan Richard (PEI)
Songwriter of the Year – Kellie Loder (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Traditional Release of the Year – Cassie and Maggie — Gold and Coal (Nova Scotia)
Sunday Award Winners – Industry
Artist Management of the Year – Nik MacDonald (Nova Scotia)
Event of the Year – Celtic Colours International Festival (Cape Breton)
Innovator of the Year – Katrina Lopes (Nova Scotia)
Media Excellence Award – Greg Smith (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Recording Engineer of the Year – John Mullane (Nova Scotia)
Technical Excellence Award – Donnie MacNeil (Cape Breton)
Venue of the Year – The Majestic Theatre (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Visual Artist of the Year – Sandra-Lee Layden (Newfoundland and Labrador)
