(December 16, 2013) Toronto, ON -- The Toronto Blues Society is proud to
announce the recipient of the Blues Booster of the Year Award, a very special
Maple Blues Award honouring outstanding contribution to the Canadian blues music
industry. This year the Blues Booster of the Year Award goes Mississauga based
Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle, a nationally renowned blues festival now heading
in to its 16th year.
The Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle is held annually in the picturesque Port
Credit area of Mississauga, just west of Toronto. Founded by Downchild
vocalist and long-time Mississauga resident Chuck Jackson, The Tim Hortons
Southside Shuffle has grown exponentially since its inception and boasts an
impressive line-up of local, national and internationally celebrated blues
artists performing on four stages and the ever popular Street Shuffle along
Lakeshore Road.
Each year The Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle hosts 75,000 visitors over
three days and, along with a small staff, Directors and Advisory Board, the
festival employs the help of over 400 volunteers from the community. Recently
Jackson was inducted in to Mississauga’s Legends Row in part for his
contribution as founder of the festival. “We are very proud to receive the Blues
Booster Award for our contribution to the blues in Canada. Since it's inception
in 1999 The Tim Hortons Southside Shuffle has brought over 7,500 international
and Canadian musicians to the Mississauga Delta and will continue to showcase
the best of the blues from around the world”, he says.
The “Shuffle" will receive the Blues Booster of the Year Award at the 17th
Annual Maple Blues Awards.
The January 20th gala event is considered to be the premier blues event of
the year. Tickets for the not-to-be-missed Maple Blues Awards, held at The Royal
Conservatory's Koerner Hall in Toronto, are on sale now for $35 - $65 and can be
purchased at the Weston Family Box Office, located in the TELUS Centre for
Performance and Learning at 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto, by phone at (416)
408-0208 or online at
https://tickets.rcmusic.ca/public.
Charter members of Toronto Blues Society can purchase tickets at a discount of
$28.00.
Toronto Blues Society is a registered charity organization dedicated to the
promotion and preservation of the Blues. The Royal Conservatory's magnificent
Koerner Hall is a 1,135-seat venue designed in the tradition of the classic
“shoebox” venues of Europe. Recognized as being among the world’s greatest
concert halls, the Toronto Star has called it "the best concert venue in
Toronto."
