SOCAN Songwriting Prize 2022 winner Emily Steinwall dropped by SOCAN’s Toronto office on Sept. 28, 2022, to receive her prizes – a SOCAN cheque for $5,000, a Yamaha saxophone, and a $500 gift card from musical instrument retailer Long & McQuade – for writing the winning song, “Welcome to the Garden.”

Accompanied by her six-piece band (two backing vocalists, a synthesizer, guitar, bass, and drums), Steinwall played a three-song SOCAN Session, live in the Harmony Lounge at our Toronto office, to the assembled SOCAN staff – who were visiting for the day, in our first Toronto-wide company gathering in three years.

Steinwall jokingly called two of the three songs “11-minute rock operas” – that would be the winning song, and “Back to Earth” – while the third was a shorter, more pop-rock choice, “Courage My Love.” The set was followed by a short question-and-answer session with the staff, as Steinwall fielded queries about playing multiple music gigs to earn a  living, and her early history in a very musical family.

Long & McQuade’s Sheri Katz then presented Steinwall with her $500 gift card; Yamaha’s Charmain Dennison gave her the prize saxophone; and Gagan Singh, SOCAN’s Creative Executive, Film/TV and Visual Media, handed her the $5,000 cheque.

The winning song of the equivalent 2022 Francophone prize, the Prix de la chanson SOCAN, was “SECRET,” written by Hubert Lenoir, Félix Petit, and Julien Chiasson, and performed by Lenoir.

SOCAN congratulates Emily Steinwall once again on winning our 2022 songwriting prize!