The Saskatchewan Music Award Winners

(Regina) For Immediate Release March 3, 2025

The seventh edition of the Saskatchewan Music Awards took place last night before a packed house, celebrating the Saskatchewan music industry at the Regina Performing Arts Centre. Awards in twenty-one categories were handed out, accompanied by performances from current and former SMA nominees Beau Nectar, Big Tones, The Radiant, Rooky Kamiz, Teagan Littlechief, Indigenous Music Achievement Award recipient Erroll Kinistino, and our Youth Performer, Ashlyn Wilder. Ashlyn was chosen after a call was put out for the youth performance spot, with the intention of giving a spotlight to an amazing upcoming talent in our province.

Award recipients were chosen by music industry jurors and peers from across Canada, with public voting also contributing to the selections in the categories of Album of the Year, Industry Achievement, Music Company or Organization of the Year, and Venue or Festival of the Year.

The show was opened with a special performance of the Treaty 4 Flag Song by Aaron Tootoosis. A key event of the show was the tribute to the Indigenous Music Achievement Award honouree, Erroll Kinistino, presented by Dale McArthur.

A double winner of the evening was Jess Moskaluke, taking home Country Artist of the Year and Single of the Year for the second SMAs in a row.

Album of the Year was selected through a combination of public voting and an industry jury, and went to Ella Forrest for her release, “Butterflies.” This category is based on an album, as a whole, released during the period of September 15, 2023-November 30, 2024, in any genre.

The awards program was recorded for later broadcast on AccessNow TV, and will air for the first time on March 12.

Erroll Kinistino is Saulteaux with membership on the Ochapowace First Nation near Broadview, bordering the historic Qu'Appelle Valley in South East Saskatchewan. He was born in Whitewood, and graduated from Grenfell Consolidated High School. Erroll is both an actor and musician with credits including numerous theatrical productions, and known for film and TV roles as Leon Deela on North of 60 (1992-2002), Phil the bartender on Corner Gas (2006-2008), Cold As Ice in Out In the Cold (2005), Kenny Bearclaw in Moccasin Flats (2003) and Sol in This Time Last Winter (2009). He has been active in Saskatchewan’s theatre and music scenes for many years as an actor, director, singer and acoustic guitarist. As a musician, Kinistino plays a variety of instruments: acoustic and electric guitar, drums, and harmonica, to name a few, and he also sings traditional songs with a hand drum. He sings and plays his own songs, such as Kokum’s Kaddilac, Shuk Sha Ki-Nuk, and 24 Hours. He recently recorded Kokum's Kaddilac with the Billy Joe Green band, which went to Number One on NCI FM. As Dale McArthur noted, “Many of us starting out were comforted, supported, and inspired (by Erroll). He continues to inspire the next generation with his music, theatre, radio plays, and kindness that he known for by Indigenous communities.” Erroll Kinistino MC’s many events on the prairies and across Canada, and acts as an elder at various ceremonies. He can always be found performing in and supporting others in the music scenes in Regina and Saskatoon. A constant humanitarian, he speaks and represents his people with pride everywhere he goes.

SaskMusic expresses our heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees and winners, and encourages music fans to dive into the list of nominees to find new Saskatchewan music and artists to love. We thanks everyone who attended the event or who participated in the public voting polls. Sampler playlists related to the Saskatchewan Music Awards can be found on our Spotify and YouTube channels.

SaskMusic thanks Creative Saskatchewan and AccessNow TV for their support of the SMAs and of SaskMusic.

The 2025 Saskatchewan Music Award Winners

Winner graphics downloadable here

Afrobeats Artist of the Year (Tie): Melodna (Regina) and Rooky Kamiz (Saskatoon)
Album of the Year: Ella Forrest, “Butterflies” (Regina)
Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year: Teagan Littlechief (Carlyle)
Country Artist of the Year: Jess Moskaluke (Langenburg/Rocanville)
Electronic Artist of the Year: Tim Damage (Regina)
Hip Hop Artist of the Year: HarveyDent (Saskatoon)
Indigenous Music Achievement Award: Erroll Kinistino (Ochapowace First Nation)
Industry Achievement Award: Community Arts Mentorship Program (Saskatoon)
Inspirational or Spiritual Artist of the Year: Elenee (Lloydminster SK)
Instrumental or Ambient Artist of the Year (Tie): West Of Mabou (Moose Jaw) and Sean Bougie (Saskatoon)
Metal or Hard Rock Artist of the Year (Tie): Grimelda (Saskatoon) and Kelevra (Regina)
Music Company or Organization of the Year: Organization Of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC) (Regina)
Music Professional of the Year: Marvin Chan (Regina)
Music Video of the Year: Joshua Stade (North Battleford) for “Gimme One More,” The Gladstone
Pop Artist of the Year: Beau Nectar (Moose Jaw)
Producer of the Year (Tie): Bart McKay (Saskatoon)and Chris Dimas (Regina)
R&B Artist of the Year: Katie Tupper (Saskatoon)
Rock Artist of the Year: Dump Babes (Saskatoon)
Roots or Folk Artist of the Year: Jake Vaadeland (Cut Knife)
Single of the Year: “Go Get Er,” Jess Moskaluke (Langenburg/Rocanville)
Venue or Festival of the Year: SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival (Saskatoon)

The Saskatchewan Music Awards are proudly presented by SaskMusic. For more information, email info@saskmusic.org, or call 1-800-347-0676.

Professional photographs from the show will be posted shortly.

Get My Tickets

The 2025 SMAs will take place Sunday, March 2, 7pm at the Regina Performing Arts Centre, Regina.

The SMA hotel is the Royal Hotel Regina (Wyndham) on 4025 Albert Street.
Room rate $119 plus taxes. All stays include complimentary breakfast daily and parking.

SaskMusic will honour excellence, and celebrate the achievements of our music industry members over the past year with the 2025 Saskatchewan Music Awards.

Broadcast date: Can't be at the show? Tune in to AccessNow TV for the first broadcast of it, Wednesday March 12 at 7pm. The show will be accessible for viewing after that (more details pending).

You can watch the nominee announcement on our YouTube channel

See the nominees here.

Tickets on Sale

Album Nominees and Performers Announced

SaskMusic is gearing up for the seventh iteration of the Saskatchewan Music Awards, Sunday March 2, 2025 at the Regina Performing Arts Centre.

The SMAs honour excellence and celebrate the achievements of those in the Saskatchewan music industry over the past year, with both artistic and industry nominees being recognized in 21 different categories. The show will include live performances by Beau Nectar, Big Tones, The Radiant, Rooky Kamiz, Teagan Littlechief, and our Youth Performer for this year, Ashlyn Wilder. This year’s recipient of the Indigenous Music Achievement Award, Erroll Kinistino, will also perform with his band. Kinistino hails from the Ochapowace First Nation. He is known for his work as an actor, drama instructor, director, writer, and singer, and has become a respected and inspirational figure throughout the province. (See longer bio below.)

Limited tickets are still available through the Regina Performing Arts Centre for $30 plus applicable fees.

Public voting recently closed on four award categories including the industry categories Industry Achievement, Music Company or Organization of the Year, and Venue or Festival of the Year. The winners of these will be announced at the awards show. As well, public voting contributed to the determination of the final nominees for Album of the Year, which can be found below.

Follow along for event updates and information here at www.saskmusicawards.com, and on SaskMusic’s social media.

The SMAs are made possible through support from Creative Saskatchewan and AccessNow TV.

Album of the Year Nominees

This list has been determined through a combination of juror marks for the category, and public voting conducted last month.

A R I E - Homage

Big Tones - Existence

Ella Forrest - Butterflies

Ember Belladonna - The Grove

Halle Ponton - Is This What Real Life Is?

Jake Vaadeland - Retro Man...More And More (Expanded Edition)

Jess Moskaluke - Heartbreaker EP

Lova Lamp - extensions of U

Man Meat - You Deserve Better

Merv xx Gotti - Guitar Songs

Nyle Segovia – catharsis

Sëdèzë - Redlines

TOVA & vbnd - Everything, In Its Time

Tracy Waters - Who The Fuck Is Tracy?

Velvet Threads - Sunday's Best

Public Voting Closed January 31/25 10pm CST

A combination of public votes and jury marks will determine the nominees of these four categories.

To vote, you will need to provide a valid email address. After voting you will receive an email with a link to further validate your vote. Only ONE vote per valid email address will be accepted for each poll for the duration the polls are open.*

Be sure to type your email address correctly, or you won't get the validation email.

Album of the Year

The Long List of 39 albums has been selected by our jury.

Now it's your turn to help determine the nominees and winner.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED.

THE FINAL NOMINEES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ONLINE IN EARLY FEBRUARY AND THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY MARCH 2.

Industry Categories:

Industry Achievement
Music Company or Organization of the Year
Venue or Festival of the Year

The nominees have been selected by our juries. You can help determine the winners.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED.

THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY MARCH 2.

*The fine print: Anti-bot and anti-spam tools are engaged in the voting application. Only your first vote per valid email address will be counted for the duration of the voting period, regardless of how many voting attempts are logged. Clear attempts at vote stuffing will disqualify all votes tied to that email and may, in our sole discretion, result in an album's disqualification. In the event of technical errors, marks will be determined by jury results alone.

Press mentions:

Indigenous Music Achievement Award Honouree: Erroll Kinistino

We are very pleased to announce our Indigenous Music Achievement Award honouree for 2025, Erroll Kinistino. He will be recognized for his legacy and impact on music at the Saskatchewan Music Awards celebration, Sunday, March 2 in Regina.

Erroll Kinistino is a Saulteaux Treaty Indian with membership on the Ochapowace First Nation near Broadview, Saskatchewan, that borders the historic Qu'Appelle Valley, in South East Saskatchewan. He was born in Whitewood, Saskatchewan, and graduated from Grenfell Consolidated High School.

In 1989, Erroll was in the original production of Tomson Highway’s award-winning play, Dry Lips Outta Move to Kapuskasing, as the character Creature Nataways. His other theater acting credits include Red Sky Performance’s play, Raven Stole the Sun (2009-2010); Dancing Sky’s centennial tour in Saskatchewan, All My Relations – Wahkotowin (2005), and Sheater’s Saskatchewan tour of Far From the Heart (2012).

Film wise, he is well-known for his role as Leon Deela on North of 60 (1992-2002). Other screen credits include Phil the bartender on Corner Gas (2006-2008), Cold As Ice in Out In the Cold (2005). Kenny Bearclaw in Moccasin Flats (2003) and Sol in This Time Last Winter (2009). He has been active in Saskatchewan’s theatre and music scenes for many years as an actor, director, singer and acoustic guitarist.

He has since become a performing artist, on stage, screen, and radio. He is also a videographer, and created a short film with the Touchwood Agency youth, called Stop The Cycle, with his partner, editor, Josie Linka. It was a big hit and received coverage by Creeson Agecoutay of Nelson Bird's CTV show Indigenous Circle.

As a musician, Erroll Kinistino plays a variety of instruments: acoustic and electric guitar, drums, and harmonica, to name a few, and he also sings traditional songs with a hand drum. He sings and plays his own songs, such as Kokum’s Kaddilac, Shuk Sha Ki-Nuk, and 24 Hours. He recently recorded Kokum's Kaddilac with the Billy Joe Green band, and it it went to Number One on NCI FM, in Manitoba.

He has appeared in GX94’s Star Search (2013), the Gold Eagle Casino’s Pride of the Northwest Talent Competition (2014), and was chosen as a performer in Voices of the North (2014), in Prince Albert Saskatchewan. Erroll Kinistino MC’s many events on the prairies, and across Canada, acts as an elder at various ceremonies, and can always be found at music scenes in Regina and Saskatoon. He is a constant humanitarian, speaks and represents his people with pride everywhere he goes.

Call for Youth Performers: Deadline 5pm January 27/2025 (Now closed)

SaskMusic is reserving a performance spot at the 2025 SMAs for a youth performer. This call goes out to artists around the province who are age 21 or under, performing in any genre, as a solo, duo, or trio.

To submit, you will need a video of yourself performing one song that you wrote. To see additional information and submit, visit this form.

2025 Submission Guidelines

Find information on the last SMAs (2023) here.