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Danielle Knibbe receives 2020 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award

October 20, 2020


Toronto-based singer-songwriter Danielle Knibbe is this year’s recipient of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC)’s Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award for her song Footnote. The award will be presented on Friday, October 23, during Folk Music Ontario (FMO)’s virtual Awards Weekend.
 

About Danielle Knibbe

  • Blending folk, roots and country sensibilities, Danielle’s music tackles topics like mental illness, loss, heartbreak, and estrangement. She is known for being as open and genuine in her songwriting as she is onstage.
  • Danielle was awarded a spot at the Banff Centre for the Arts’ inaugural Singer-Songwriter Residency. Though one of the youngest participants, she was nicknamed “The Lyric Doctor” for her natural instinct in getting to the heart of a song.
Danielle Knibbe
Danielle Knibbe. (Photo: Wendy Mulder)
  • Danielle released her first album, Some Curious Birds, in 2016. This was followed by 2019’s The Ribcage and the Heart, which features her Peterson Award-winning song, “Footnote.” Another song from this album, “Absence of You,” earned her the English-Language Songwriter of the Year Award (previously known as the Stingray Music Rising Star Award) from Folk Music Ontario.
  • Danielle’s music has been featured on CBC radio stations across the country, and her work has been praised by blogs such as Roots Music Canada and Dominionated.
 

Quote

“Every part of ‘Footnote’ pays off,” stated the jury for this award. “It is well-crafted structurally and melodically, with its intriguing lyrics and conceptual storytelling. Danielle’s vocal delivery and technical abilities are also quite striking – we see true potential in her as a singer-songwriter.”

 

 

About the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award

  • The Colleen Peterson Songwriting Fund was established at the Ontario Arts Council in 2003 by Peterson’s sister, Shirley Richardson, and her friend, singer-songwriter Laura Bird.
  • The annual $1,000 award honours Peterson’s contribution to Canadian music by supporting and promoting the work of Ontario-resident emerging singer-songwriters in the roots, traditional, folk and country genres.
  • Nominations are received from FMO’s Songs From the Heart competition. FMO also assembles the jury that chooses the award winner. This year’s jury consisted of Matt Gerber, Suzanne Jarvie and Charlena Russell.
  • Previous winners include Suzanne Jarvie (2019), Lora Bidner (2018) and Noosa Al-Sarraj, aka Winona Wilde (2017). Click here for a full list of past recipients.