The Oot n’ Oots did a little happy dance when their 2022 Juno Awards nomination was announced.
The Kelowna kids band has been nominated for Children’s Album of the Year.
Guitarist Ezra Cipes said it took three years to build the album “Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule” released in October 2021.
“Ponderosa bunchgrass, that’s where we live, that’s the Okanagan Valley… but it’s also a name of a character on the album, a little girl named Ponderosa Bunchgrass,” Cipes explained. “The golden rule, we all know what the golden rule is. So, that’s the name of the album. This character and these values.”
The Oot n’ Oots is Cipes, his brothers Matthew, Ari, and Gabe, and his daughter Ruthie. Cipes noted this album included many special guests.
“It was a real all-star cast. We had Corrine Derrickson and her grandson from Westbank First Nation grace the album on the last track, and they even contributed some of the writings on that last track. We had an African percussionist who lives in Vancouver named Yoro Noukoussi play on it. We had members of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. We had members from the carnival marching band from Vancouver playing saxophone and trumpets. It was really a collaborative effort.”
The 12 track album can be found on the band’s website.
Cipes noted they will have a live performance in Kelowna this summer, but details have yet to be announced.
This is the first Juno nomination for the group.
The 2022 Juno Awards are being held May 15.
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