Donald Amero (born September 11, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

singer-songwriter from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

."Ready for a breakthrough"
''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'', December 29, 2012. Prior to launching his career as a musician, Amero worked as a hardwood flooring installer, and unsuccessfully tried out for ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show ''Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore ...

'' in 2006. He released his debut CD ''Change Your Life'' in 2006, and left his flooring job in 2007. The album garnered five Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award nominations, for best new artist, songwriter, folk or acoustic CD, album cover and producer/engineer. His second album, ''Deepening'', followed in 2009. The album again garnered several Aboriginal Peoples Choice nominations, and Amero won the

Canadian Folk Music Award The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards progr ...

for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year. In 2010, he performed on the bill for APTN's ''Aboriginal Day Live'' concert, and released his third album ''The Long Way Home''. The album won the awards for Best Folk Recording at the 2011

Native American Music Awards The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profi ...

, and for Best Aboriginal Recording at the

Western Canadian Music Awards The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

. In 2012, he performed at a fundraising benefit concert for indigenous music pioneer

Shingoose Curtis Jonnie (26 October 1946 – 12 January 2021), better known by his stage name Shingoose, was an Ojibwe singer and songwriter from Canada. He played in Roy Buchanan's band during the early part of his career. He also recorded with Bruce Coc ...

,"Musicians pull together for pioneer Shingoose after stroke"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, May 14, 2012. and released his fourth album ''Heart on My Sleeve''. He also collaborated with Vince Fontaine of

Eagle & Hawk Eagle & Hawk is a Canadian First Nations rock group based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, active since 1994. They are most noted for winning the Juno Award for Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording in 2002 for their album ''On and On''. The band had ...

Indian City Indian City is a Canadian folk-rock musical group best known for their 2017 Juno Award–nominated album ''Here & Now''. Originally formed as a side project by Vince Fontaine of the band Eagle & Hawk, Indian City is a rotating collective of musici ...

, a band whose album ''Supernation'' fused traditional First Nations music with experimental rock. Amero won Male Entertainer of the Year, and ''Supernation'' won Best Pop Album, at that year's Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. ''Heart on My Sleeve'' garnered Amero his first

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination for Aboriginal Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2013 The Juno Awards of 2013 honoured Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2011 and in most of 2012. The awards were presented in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, during the weekend of 20–21 April 2013. The main ceremony was hoste ...

, won the award for Best Folk/Acoustic Album at the 2013 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, and was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award. His fifth album, ''Refined'', was released in 2015. In the same year, he collaborated with country singer

Brett Kissel Brett Kissel (born May 27, 1990) is a Canadian country singer. He has had four number-one hits on the Canadian country chart with " Airwaves", " Drink About Me", "A Few Good Stories", and " Make a Life, Not a Living". Early life Kissel was born ...

on "Rebuild This Town", a song about cultural reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and other Canadians. At the

Juno Awards of 2016 The Juno Awards of 2016, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Calgary the weekend of 2–3 April 2016. The ceremonies were held at the Scotiabank Saddledome and televised on CTV. It was the first televised awards show to be ...

, ''Refined'' garnered

nominations for Aboriginal Album of the Year and Adult Contemporary Album of the Year. In August 2018, Amero released his sixth album, ''Evolution'', which launched him into the country music genre. In 2019, Amero released the single "Music Lover" to Canadian country radio. In September 2020, Amero released his extended play '' The Next Chapter''.

Discography

*''Change Your Life'' (2006) *''Deepening'' (2009) *''The Long Way Home'' (2010) *''Heart on My Sleeve'' (2012) *''Refined'' (2015) *''Evolution'' (2018) *''Amero Little Christmas'' (2019) *'' The Next Chapter'' (2020) *''Nothing Is Meaningless'' (2021)

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amero, Don Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters Musicians from Winnipeg Métis musicians Living people Canadian Folk Music Award winners 1980 births