Here is the Full List of Nominees for the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards

Nominees for the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards were announced today. Here is the full list of this year's IMA nominees.

Formerly known as the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards, the newly re-dubbed Indigenous Music Awards announced their 2015 nominees today at a livestreamed press conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Celebrating 10 years of Indigenous music and culture, the IMAs support the wide range of music being made throughout Indian Country. Produced in partnership with the Manito Ahbee Festival, this year's awards week will be held September 9-13, 2015.

Hip-hop continues to be huge at the IMAs, with acclaimed artists Drezus and City Natives leading the nominations with four each—including Best Duo or Group, Best Hip-Hop CD, Best Music Video, and Single of the Year—while Los Angeles duo Lightning Cloud holds it down with three nods, including facing off against Drezus amid a strong list of contenders for Indigenous Entertainer of the Year.

Also look out for some fierce competition on the pow wow recording trail, where heavy hitters Black Bear, Cree Confederation, Northern Cree, Northern Voice and Stoney Creek are vying for Best Contemporary Pow Wow CD honours.

Voting in every category is now open to the public, so support the Indigenous music culture that we all love by visiting indigenousmusicawards.ca to cast your vote for your favourite artists and recordings.

Here is the full list of 2015 Indigenous Music Awards Nominees:

BEST ALBUM COVER DESIGN

BEATRICE DEER - Fox BLACKSTONE - Kaskite Asiniy ENTER-TRIBAL - Hitting The Trail FLORENT VOLLANT - Puamuna HELLNBACK - #FOE=Family Over Everything

BEST ACOUSTIC FOLK CD

CARY MORIN - Tiny Town CHELSEY JUNE - Finding Me JASON BURNSTICK & NADINE L’HIRONDELLE - Wrapped in Daisies JOSEPH STRIDER - Carbon 14 KELLY JACKSON - Renditions Of The Soul

BEST COUNTRY CD

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF - The One BOB E. LEE WEST - The Tree JODY THOMAS GASKIN - Born on the Rezz KIMBERLEY DAWN - Til The Cowboys Come Home THELMA CHEECHOO - Stay

BEST GOSPEL CD

CARL CRANE - Northern Man “A Little Bit of Me” DAWN KARIMA - The Stars Of Heaven DIANNE FOSTER - Holy Mighty Fire KELLY MONTIJO FINK - Don’t Let Me Forget YVONNE ST. GERMAINE - If You See My Savior

BEST DUO OR GROUP

CITY NATIVES DEE ERIN BAND GHOST TOWN ORCHESTRA INDIAN CITY JULIAN TAYLOR BAND

BEST HAND DRUM CD

ANTONE & CHIEFS - Antone & Chiefs BEARHEAD SISTERS - Our Angels MANITOU MKWA SINGERS - Manitou Mkwa Singers WAYNE SILAS, JR. - Infinite Passion YOUNG SPIRIT - Nitehe Ohci - From the Heart

BEST FLUTE CD

DAVID ROSE - Wind Dance Under the Moon JAN LOOKING WOLF - Wind Dreamer RYAN LITTLE EAGLE - My Songs My Stories STEVEN RUSHINGWIND - Red Beaten Path TONY DUNCAN & DARRIN YAZZIE - Singing Lights WILLIAM GREENLAND - The Journey Beyond

BEST INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE OR FRANCOPHONE CD

FLORENT VOLLANT- Puamuna JAAJI - Nunaga (My Home, My Land) JONATHAN MARACLE - Karonyakdadeh Hymns of Mohawk Elders SEWEPAGAHAM - Sewepagaham

BEST INDIGENOUS MUSIC STATION / RADIO PROGRAM

A CONVERSATION WITH DAWN KARIMA NATIONAL ABORIGINAL MUSIC COUNTDOWN (NCI FM) NATIVE TRAILBLAZERS RADIO NATIVE WAVES RADIO

BEST INDIGENOUS SONGWRITER

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF - The One JASON BURNSTICK & NADINE L’HIRONDELLE - My Headstart Preschool JOSEPH STRIDER - Seven Arrows LIGHTNING CLOUD - Meet Me At The Pow Wow TOMSON HIGHWAY - Taansi, Nimiss WILL BELCOURT AND THE HOLLYWOOD INDIANS - Burn It Down

BEST INSTRUMENTAL CD

GERONIMO PAULETTE - Hard Road Out Of Hell MWALIM DA PHUNKEE PROFESSOR - Awakened By A Noon Day Sun SEAN BEAVER - Torn

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS RELEASE

AYRAD - Ayrad EMMANUEL JAL - The Key QUIQUE ESCAMILLA - 500 Years of Night TASHA T - Real Talk THE BASS INVADERS - Dance of the Fox

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

CITY NATIVES - Straight Chief’n DREZUS - Warpath INDIAN CITY - One Day KELLY DERRICKSON - Idle No More LIGHTNING CLOUD - Walk Alone

BEST NEW ARTIST

DEE ERIN BAND GABRIELLE KNIFE KELLY DERRICKSON KICKIN KROTCH NITANIS ‘KIT’ LARGO

BEST PEYOTE CD

DONJAY NELSON - Good Morning Dawn JAKE TYNER, EDMOND POOCHAY AND LANCE CROWE - Good Memories JOE TAHONNIE JR. - Ceremony LOUIE GONNIE - Spiraling, Ascending With Prayer SILAS & PIERCE BIGLEFTHAND - Northern Cheyenne Peyote Healing Songs

BEST POP CD

CLASSIC ROOTS - Hack The Planet JAMIE COON - Day After Day NIIKO SOUL  - Neon Warrior TOMSON HIGHWAY - Patricia Cano sings songs from The (Post) Mistress VICTOR PATRICK - Bound by Roots

BEST POW WOW CD - CONTEMPORARY

BLACK BEAR - Come & Get Your Love: The Tribe Session CREE CONFEDERATION - Kihtawasoh Wapakwani NORTHERN CREE - Northern Cree Breaking Boundaries NORTHERN VOICE - In Land We Trust STONEY CREEK - Dedicated

BEST POW WOW CD - TRADITIONAL

CHIPPEWA TRAVELLERS - Honouring Our Biish (Water) NORTHERN WIND - Northern Wind Bimaadiziwin TRAIL MIX - Str8 Forward

BEST PRODUCER / ENGINEER

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF - The One BEARHEAD SISTERS - Our Angels DREZUS - Indian Summer GHOST TOWN ORCHESTRA - Ghost Town Orchestra NIIKO SOUL - Neon Warrior

BEST RAP / HIP-HOP CD

CHIEF ROCK - A Warriors Journey CITY NATIVES - Red City CODY COYOTE - Lose Control DREZUS - Indian Summer HELLNBACK - #FOE=Family Over Everything

BEST ROCK CD

DEE ERIN BAND - Broken Road MIDNIGHT SHINE - Northern Man SCATTER THEIR OWN - Taste The Time THE DEEDS - Mother Nature WILL BELCOURT AND THE HOLLYWOOD INDIANS - Annie Baby

BEST TELEVISION PROGRAM / PROMOTION OF INDIGENOUS MUSIC

ABORIGINAL UNITY EXPERIENCE GUILT FREE ZONE THE CANDY SHOW

INDIGENOUS ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

ARMOND DUCK CHIEF CARY MORIN DREZUS LIGHTNING CLOUD RELLIK STEVEN RUSHINGWIND

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

BLACK BEAR - Come & Get Your Love II CITY NATIVES - Straight Chief’n CODY COYOTE - Warrior INDIAN CITY - Duet KELLY JACKSON - After All This Time RELLIK - My Voice

APCMA 2011 Nominees - Best Country CD

This week's RPM YouTube playlist focuses on the APCMA 2011 nominees for Best Country CD.

The voting period is all done now for the 2011 Aboriginal People's Choice Awards, and the category for Best Country CD is packed with amazing artists from all over Turtle Island. This week we bring to you an RPM YouTube playlist of the nominees for this category of the APCMA 2011.

Ali Fontaine - Runaway Don Amero - Right Where I Wanna Be Donny Parenteau - My Girl Genevieve Fisher - Keep On - LIVE on the Big Purple Couch Show Leanne Goose - Never Been Loved - LIVE at the Inuvik 50th Anniversary

APCMA 2011 Nominees - Single Of The Year

This year's Aboriginal People's Choice Awards brought out the best Turtle Island has to offer for the category of Single of the Year. RPM presents this week's YouTube playlist for APCMA 2011 Single of the Year nominees.

Ali Fontaine - Say It To Me Derek Miller - Stoned For Days Samian - Tshinanu featuring Florent Vollant Terri-Lynn – Call To The Ancestors Winnipeg's Most featuring Rupness Monsta - Don't Stop

2011 APCMA Nominees - Best Music Video

In this week's breakdown we have the nominees for Best Music Video in the 2011 Aboriginal People's Choice Awards.

This year's running for the prize of Best Music Video in the 2011 APCMA's, gives us a wide variety of nominees from different genres. Here we present to you a YouTube playlist of the 2011 APCMA nominees and the videos they have in the race.

Billy Joe Green - Honey Girl Don Amero - Right Where I Wanna Be J.C. Campbell - The Floor Shane Yellowbird - Bare Feet On The Blacktop Winnipeg's Most - All That I Know

APCMA 2011 Nominees - Aboriginal Female Entertainer of the Year

This week we take a look at the 2011 Aboriginal People's Choice Awards nominees for Aboriginal Female Entertainer of the Year with an RPM YouTube playlist.

Elisapie Isaac - Raised in Nunavik, this Inuk songstress is a multi-lingual songwriter with a rich, versatile voice that is finding her an international audience. She is also an award winning filmmaker.

JB The First Lady - Making her home in Vancouver, BC, JB The First Lady of the First Ladies Crew makes her debut into the APCMAs this year after releasing her album Get Ready Get Steady accompanied by a video of the same name. JB is Nuxalk and Cayuga.

Kristi Lane Sinclair - This Haida/Cree singer and songwriter has had a great year with the release of her APTN First Tracks video for The Last Song, and a tour with North Tall Cree cellist Cris Derksen. Smoky vocals and solid guitar playing make Kristi a strong runner for this awards.

Leela Gilday - Hailing from Hay River in Dene country of the Northwest Territories, Leela has been serenading a dedicated audience for the last decade, winning multiple awards including a Juno, and touring extensively throughout Turtle Island and beyond.

Yvonne St.Germaine - A former winner of an APCMA for Best Gospel CD, Yvonne's music is inspired by healing, hope and faith.

Who do you think will win the award for Best Female Entertainer this year? Leave your comments below. 

2011 APCMA Nominees - Best New Artist

The first installment in a series of close-ups on the 2011 Aboriginal People's Choice Awards nominees by category.

Another year has passed and here we are at the second round of voting for the Aboriginal People's Choice Awards. In honour of the organizers, all the artists and the many loyal voters, we bring to you a playlist of and introduction to the artists involved in the second round of voting.

First, the category of Best New Artist.

Ali Fontaine - Ali is a 17 year old Country artist from Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba, Canada. Managed by Errol Ranville, a prominent veteran musician out of Manitoba and front for the legendary C-Weed Band, she is set to make some waves in the music scene this year. This is Ali's first time as a nominee in the APCMA's but we're quite sure we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the future.

CerAmony - Coming from the James Bay Cree, CerAmony have done their people proud as ambassadors by winning a 2011 Juno for Best Aboriginal Artist. Using their musical talent to bring light to social and political issues in their community, they have become hometown heroes and a driving force behind Canadian Indigenous music.

Cris Derksen - Hailing from the North Tall Cree Reserve in Alberta, Cris Derksen is a classically trained cellist earning herself a Bachelor Of Music in Cello Performance at the University of British Columbia. Alongside her academic achievements, she has toured the world with her unique style of cello artistry and has shared the stage with many great artists such as Tanya Tagaq, played at the 2010 Winter Olympics and maintains a steady touring schedule around Turtle Island and beyond.

Diyet - A member of the Kluane First Nation in the Yukon of Canada, Diyet is an accomplished songwriter from the community of Burwash Landing. Her songs have been heard all over the world and she has worked hard to earn a degree in music from the University of Victoria. Sticking close to her roots, Diyet brings us  a blend of rock and traditional music that is a pure commentary on the future of  contemporary Indigenous music.

Ghostkeeper- Based out of Calgary, Ghostkeeper unites the genres of Blues and Pop, creating an original sound that has impacted the music scene in a huge way in the last couple of years. Focusing on strong storytelling and song writing, they have polished their sound to where they want it and are pushing ahead in the music world.

Congrats from RPM.fm to all the artists for making it to the second round!

Stay tuned for more info and playlists from the 2011 Aboriginal People's Choice Awards nominees in the coming weeks.

Who do you think will win the 2011 APCMA Best New Artist Award? Leave a comment below.

RPM Podcast #002: "Winnipeg"

In our second episode of the RPM podcast we travel deep into the heart of Indian Country, to the crossroads of Canada—the city of Winnipeg.

In this episode, we connect with some of Winnipeg's rising stars, including  Métis singer-songwriter Don Amero, Cree/Dene R&B singer IsKwé, Uptown Magazine's 2011 best new solo artist, Anishinaabe hip-hop artist Lorenzo, the hyper-connected and highly influential Aboriginal music promoter and events producer Alan Greyeyes, and APTN anchor Dana Foster, who recently relocated to Winnipeg from the west coast.

We find out what makes Winnipeg so...well...wonderful, and discover how the local Indigenous music scene is exploding with talent while being grounded in community and industry support.

Download: RPM Podcast #002 - "Winnipeg"

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We also can't forget to shout out the talented hip-hop artist Young Kidd, whose anthemic track about his hometown, "Wonderful Winnipeg", opens and closes the episode.

We couldn't showcase the diversity of 'Peg City's Indigenous music scene in a single podcast, but watch coming RPM YouTube Playlist - "Winnipeg"  for video selections and, check out the  feature editorial from Julie Lafreniere on the rise of Winnipeg's Indigenous hip-hop scene.

The RPM podcast is produced & engineered by the amazing Paolo Pietropaolo.

What do you think of Indigenous music in Winnipeg? Drop us a comment below. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Photo Illustration: Thanks to the talented Joi Arcand for her great rendition of the Winnipeg skyline and the Esplanade Riel bridge.