A trio of Mississauga artists have been nominated for awards at the upcoming, inaugural Ontario Independent Music Awards.
The awards show, founded by Martin Brown - formerly of the Toronto Independent Music Awards - happens on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. The free show starts at 7:45 p.m. and will feature a performance by local rock act Letters to Elora.
The band, singer Andrew Bryce, guitarist Jeff Raposo, drummer Calvin Castellino and bassist Nick Chang-Fong, is nominated in the Best Rock category as well.
Also nominated is Lorne Ryder, who may be familiar to local audiences from his time with the rock act First and Last. He's nominated in the Best Country category.
"After the release of my first CD (1999's Ice Creams and Guns), I took some time off to play in some other bands to really improve my playing," said Ryder, who's working on a second album. "I’ve had such a great response to the new material, and I think the new tunes show how much I’ve grown since my first release. This nomination just confirms I’m on the right track."
Also nominated is Sarah Melody. The artist, who was born in Mississauga but grew up in Barrie, is nominated in the Best Urban category.
For more information, visit www.ontarioindependentmusicawards.com.

cclay@mississauga.net