Morgan Toney is a Mi'kmaq folk singer-songwriter and fiddler from Nova Scotia, Canada, whose music blends Celtic folk and traditional Mi'kmaq music.[1] He is a member of the Wagmatcook First Nation.[2]
Toney began his musical career as a drummer, but began learning the fiddle in the late 2010s. He met singer-songwriter Keith Mullins, with whom he planned to record an album but found their plans halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] He made his debut at the virtual edition of the Celtic Colours festival in 2020, sharing the stage with Ashley MacIsaac.[3]
Toney and Mullins then launched a GoFundMe page to assist in the recording of Toney's debut album First Flight, which was released independently in 2021.[1] He received a Canadian Folk Music Award nominee for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year at the 17th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2022,[4] and First Flight was reissued in March 2022 on Ishkōdé Records, a record label owned and operated by Amanda Rheaume and ShoShonna Kish.[5]
His 2023 album Resilience received a Juno Award nomination for Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Andrea Warner, "Morgan Toney's breakthrough year: meet the 22-year-old Mi'kmaq fiddler fusing ancestral songs and Celtic tunes". CBC Music, July 28, 2021.
- ^ "Morgan Toney". Folk Alliance International. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
- ^ Simon Smith, "Cape Breton fiddler honours Mi’kmaw nation with virtual Celtic Colours debut". The Signal, October 27, 2022.
- ^ Heather Kitching, "The Canadian Folk Music Awards 2022 – winners and highlights". Roots Music Canada, April 2, 2022.
- ^ Jan Vanderhorst, "Morgan Toney is making a name for himself by combining Mi’kmaq musical traditions". Roots Music Canada, April 23, 2022.
- ^ "Here are all the 2024 Juno nominees". CBC Music, February 6, 2024.
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