Victoria’s David Vest was the lone Vancouver Island winner Tuesday night at a Toronto ceremony honouring the best in Canadian blues.
Vest, who hails from Birmingham, Alabama, but has lived in Victoria since 2004, was named piano/keyboard player of the year at the 19th Annual Maple Blues Awards gala. Vest has played professionally for more than 50 years, and has won the award in the past.
His fellow nominees from the area, Salt Spring Island’s Keith Picot and Nanaimo’s David Gogo — who performed at the event, held in Toronto at Koerner Hall — did not bring home hardware, however.
Montreal’s Steve Hill, who gave a spirited show at Victoria’s Tally Ho Sports Bar & Grill in October, won three awards. New Brunswick singer-songwriter Matt Andersen — who’s set to perform Feb. 17 at the University of Victoria’s Farquhar Auditorium — was named male vocalist of the year.
