ECMA winner Tian Wigmore sees “new record on the horizon”

PEI's Tian Wigmore won the 2017 ECMA Indigenous Recording of the Year award/Photo contributed by Tian Wigmore

Singer/songwriter Tian Wigmore is considering recording another album following his recent win at the East Coast Music Awards held in Saint John, N.B. April 27.

“Over the last couple of months, I really find myself kind of getting into a writing mode again,” Wigmore, 30, said in a recent phone interview from his home in Hamilton, Ont.

“So, I can see a new record on the horizon,” he said.

Wigmore’s first EP album, War Horses, won the 2017 ECMA for Indigenous Recording of the Year. He beat out veteran ECMA winners City Natives.

Other artists nominated in the category included Mi’kmaw rapper Tristan Grant from Pabineau First Nation, N.B., Maliseet rap duo Old Self and Kam Speech from Tobique First Nation, N.B. and Eskasoni Schools in Cape Breton.

“I honestly didn’t think I would win. It was just an honour to be nominated,” Wigmore explained.

“I know everyone says that but I was really just so thrilled to be nominated. To win, I wasn’t expecting it,” he added.

Wigmore, who recently moved from Charlottetown, PEI to Hamilton, Ont., wasn’t able to attend the ECMA awards show in Saint John. He said he was out doing errands when noticed multiple texts on his cell phone as he was getting into his car.

“I looked and I saw a picture of an ECMA and I was like, ‘Oh my God! I can’t believe it,’” he said.

“It’s the highlight of my musical career, that’s for sure,” Wigmore said.

Wigmore considers himself a singer first

Born and raised in Manitoba, Wigmore is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation.

Wigmore and his family moved from Douglas, Man. to his father’s hometown of Kensington, PEI when he was 14. He later moved to Charlottetown to attend university.

For the past 13 years, Wigmore says he has been touring professionally with other bands as a guitarist. He has played guitar for In-Flight Safety and The Trews.

“It’s funny because I’ve always been a singer first and I rather stumbled into playing guitar for bands,” Wigmore explained.

Wigmore said he decided to take a break from playing with other bands to focus on singing and writing songs.

“That’s what kind of prompted me to write my own album,” he said.

Wigmore says he named his album War Horses because he wanted the name to be a powerful statement that reflects the music on the album.

“This, to me, symbolizes power, relentlessness and that’s kind of what I want my music to present,” he said.


Thank you all for helping Ku’ku’kwes News reach its first funding goal of $1,500 USD per month. This means we can continue to provide you with at least two news stories per month. We’re now working towards our second funding goal. We need $1,585 more in monthly pledges/ subscriptions in order to reach our next funding goal of $4,000. If you enjoy our news coverage, please consider signing up for a monthly subscription. Go to Patreon.com/Kukukwes and become a monthly patron/subscriber.

About Maureen Googoo 266 Articles
Maureen Googoo is an award-winning journalist from Indian Brook First Nation (Sipekne'katik) in Nova Scotia. She has worked in news more than 30 years for media outlets such as CBC Radio, the Chronicle-Herald and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Maureen has an arts degree in political science from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, a journalism degree from Ryerson University in Toronto and a Masters degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.