Miracle Fortress, Besnard Lakes And Ghislain Poirier Among MIMI Finalists

The Montreal International Music Initiative have announced the 20 promising artists from the city's independent music scene who are eligible to win MIMI awards in seven categories.

The winners will be announced at a March 1 dinner hosted by Catherine Mathys and Dave Cool at Montreal's Lion D'Or. Jorane, Mike O'Brien, The National Parcs and Torngat will perform at the show, which will cost $70 to attend.

Here are the 20 acts in the running:

Bonjour Brumaire
El Motor
Gatineau
Ghislain Poirier
Katie Moore
Krista L. L. Muir
Mahjorbidet
Miracle Fortress
Misteur Valaire
O Linea
Plants And Animals
Samian
Socalled
The Besnard Lakes
The Dirty Tricks
The National Parcs
Torngat
Unexpect
United Steel Workers Of Montreal
We Are Wolves

Here are the categories they're competing in:

International — Artist with the greatest international potential
Broadcast — Artist who will benefit most from a media campaign
National — Artist who will benefit most from Quebec or Canadian tour support
Discovery — Best new artist of the year
Studio Ready — Artist who will benefit most from additional studio support
Unsigned — Artist who produced the best demo of the year
Best Song — Given to the writer of the best song of the year