Trews, Sweatshop Union, Healey Win Awards

The Trews, Sweatshop Union and the late Jeff Healey are the Canadian winners of the eighth annual Independent Music Awards, which included thousands of submissions from around the globe.

The Trews won in the hard rock/metal song category for "Hold Me In Your Arms," Sweatshop Union's "Oh My" was deemed the top rap/hip-hop song, and Healey posthumously received the best blues album award for Mess Of Blues.

Among the other winners were Jamie Lidell's Jim for best pop/rock album and Dengue Fever's Venus On Earth for top world fusion album.

There were 45 album and song categories dedicated to promoting artists and releases "traditionally underserved by mass media and big box retailers," according to a release from the U.S.-based Music Resource Group, which presents the awards.

"Anyone who follows the music industry knows that the most exciting and diverse new music is being created by independent artists," says IMA director Martin Folkman. "IMA winners and finalists truly represent the range of today's vibrant indie scene and include artists who previously recorded for major labels, artists currently on indie labels and self-released talent in a wide spectrum of genres from Contemporary Classical to Heavy Metal and everything in between."

The IMA judging panel was comprised of music industry representatives and artists, including Peter Gabriel, Roger Daltrey, George Jones, Suzanne Vega, Buddy Guy, Keith Urban, Tim Lambesis, Ice-T, Lisa Loeb and Zakk Wylde.

A multi-page spread in the 2009 edition of the annual Musician's Atlas will feature the IMA winners and finalists. The Now Hear This winners CD compilation will be promoted to more than 800 American and Canadian radio stations and be distributed to delegates at South By Southwest, CMJ, Folk Alliance and other music events throughout the year.

All of the winners and a song from each of them can be seen and heard here.