The Toronto Blues Society will be celebrating its 15th annual Maple Blues Awards by honouring nationally- and internationally-recognized Canadian Blues artists from across the country on January 16, 2012.

The nominees are recognized both for their talent as well as their contribution to the growing Canadian blues music scene.

Leading the nominations is last year’s big winner, Ottawa's MonkeyJunk, with seven nominations, followed by Toronto’s Suzie Vinnick, who originally hails from Saskatoon, and Fathead each with four. Harry Manx & Kevin Breit also have four nominations. Hamilton’s Rita Chiarelli, who won the Blues With a Feeling Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, has three nominations, as does Harrison Kennedy, another Hamilton native. British Columbia blues artists are well represented with three nominations each for Jim Byrnes and Bill Johnson. New Brunswick’s Matt Andersen also has three nominations. Nominees for the Blues Booster of the Year Award will be announced at a later date.

Hosted by internationally recognized blues performers Treasa Levasseur and Shakura S’Aida, the 2012 Maple Blues Awards are taking place at Koerner Hall in Toronto on January 16th, 2012. Voting closes Saturday, December 10 at midnight PST. Blues fans can cast their votes online at www.mapleblues.ca

The Toronto Blues Society is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Blues. The Maple Blues Awards is Canada's national blues awards program. Its goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field.