2011 | New Artist of the Year (sponsored by FACTOR and Radio Starmaker Fund) | Basia Bulat | | The JUNO Awards

In 2006, Basia went to live in Montréal and through friends she met Howard Bilerman, an engineer and co-owner of the famed Hotel 2 Tango studio. Initially the recordings were meant only as an “audible memory” of the time Basia spent with friends in London and Montréal. But Bilerman, smitten with Basia’s songs, began to write to friends at labels, friends with music-blogs, anyone who might pay attention. It’s this spark that sets Basia Bulat apart from the raft of typical singer-songwriters, and also what attracted the interest of Geoff Travis and Britain’s legendary Rough Trade label – who released Oh My Darling in Europe and Japan in the Spring of 2007. The album was released in North America shortly thereafter, and has since gone on to worldwide acclaim. It garnered a Polaris Prize nomination in 2008, and rave reviews from everyone from NPR and Q. Her new offering, Heart Of My Own, was born after over a year of touring that took Bulat across Europe, Australia, Canada and the U.S. several times over.