The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) is partnering with the 31st annual East Coast Music Awards (ECMA) to honour the legacy of a national music icon and an enduring Maritime ballad. The Hall of Fame will induct musical storyteller Stan Rogers, and the song “Peter’s Dream,” by 18-time ECMA winner Lennie Gallant – who’s also confirmed as a performer at this year’s Awards Gala in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
“We’re honoured to be inducting Stan Rogers to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame,” says Vanessa Thomas, CSHF Executive Director. “Stan had an authoritative, warm baritone voice that commanded your attention. His songs, rooted in Canadian history, helped to shape Canadian folk music and East Coast music. Lennie Gallant’s song ‘Peter’s Dream’ will also be inducted into the CSHF, and I have no doubt that his performance will bring the house to their feet, as one of the most emblematic Maritime classics of all time, written by a Prince Edward Islander, no less.”
“I am deeply honoured to have Peter’s Dream inducted to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame,” says Lennie Gallant. “It means the world to me that so many people have covered this song and were moved by it. There’s no greater reward for a songwriter than to have a song take on a life of its own, and that certainly seems to have happened with ‘Peter’s Dream.’ Songwriting is my passion, so to have one of my songs added to this amazing Canadian collection is something I’ll always treasure.”
The Hall of Fame will present Stan Rogers’s induction to his family and widow, Ariel Rogers, with a performance by JUNO-winning artist Old Man Luedecke. The song induction for “Peter’s Dream” will be presented to Lennie Gallant, and performed by hometown singer-songwriter Rose Cousins. Both inductions will be part of the East Coast Music & Industry Awards on Sunday, May 5, 2019, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ADT, in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
After the ECMAs, music fans from across Canada, and around the world, can see inductees celebrated through exhibitions at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, in Calgary. As the physical home of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Music Centre will continue to honour new inductees through on-site exhibitions, featuring stories, photos, artifacts, and memorabilia.