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A Coquitlam singer-songwriter is on Cloud Nine after winning two prizes at this month’s Fraser Valley Music Awards show.
Etienne Siew, a graduate of Dr. Charles Best Secondary and SFU’s kinesiology program, clinched the Artist of the Year accolade in the Best Country/Roots category, as well as the Top Fan Vote.
Siew, a first-time nominee, was up against fellow artists The Kwerks, Laura., Knudson & Connaughton and Michael Jantzen for the Best Country/Roots award.
“It’s still sinking in,” he told the Tri-City News today (March 10) of the juried and people’s choice wins.
“I was running when I got an email that the awards show was going to be on, so I ran home and watched the live-stream. It was really an honour to be nominated.”
The sixth annual awards program is part of CIVL Radio, the University of Fraser Valley’s campus and community radio station; it is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
Siew said he was impressed with the quality of the acts that hail from across the Lower Mainland.
A freelance musician who launched his début EP, Better Man, at Place des Arts in Coquitlam in 2019 to a crowd of more than 100 supporters, Siew said he was about to go on tour to promote his work when COVID-19 shut down his plans in March 2020.
Over the past two years, Siew's booked gigs were cancelled due to the changing provincial health orders for gatherings.
Instead of performing, he took his guitar — and pen and pad — into nature and began writing songs, some of which he plans to record later this year.
Siew said he’s unsure how his new music will be released; as singles or as one music compilation, like an album.
He's set to perform live in Vancouver on March 31 at Guilt and Co. (1 Alexander St.), as well as the Powtown Shakedown Festival in Powell River this summer.
You can visit Siew's website for more information.
