Local band Upside Of Maybe celebrates three awards at prestigious International Red Carpet Awards

The band Upside Of Maybe features Scott Bannerman on keyboard, Troy Lockyer on drums, Andy Horrocks on electric guitar, John Monroe on bass and Michael Bannerman on acoustic guitar. A triumphant Michael Bannerman recently returned from the Netherlands with three awards.

Band of the Year. Best Blues Song of the Year. Best Folk Song of the Year.

With January’s release of the eclectic album Saints and Sinners, the band Upside Of Maybe have found international recognition overseas, winning those three awards from the International Red Carpet Awards.

The awards show is based in Europe and aims to put independent artists and small music companies in the spotlight where they belong. The group of local lads led by Michael Bannerman received Blues Song of the Year for the song “Alright” and Folk Song of the Year for the tune “Phat Lady Singing.”

They first heard of the nomination about six months ago and learned that these awards were international and quite prestigious, so thought that Bannerman and his wife would attend to network and meet more people in the industry.

“We were actually nominated in eight categories, and we were excited about that but we just weren’t sure how legitimate it was until we starting looking into it and found out it was pretty fancy when you get there, so we thought it would be worth going. Even if we don’t win something it would be good to go and have some fun and meet some other artists and network a bit,” said Bannerman.

The minds behind the awards heard that Upside Of Maybe had a new album out and reached out to the band and asked that the new album, Saints and Sinners, be submitted. Once received, they decide which categories the songs fit into. There were 1,200 submissions for Blues Song of the Year.

“It goes to a jury. I was talking to one of the jurors and she listened to 1,200 songs for blues song so ours was selected out of 1,200 submissions for that one spot. Each award has a jury of five people who listen to all the material submitted. Then they make a cut, and another cut, and then if you make it to the third cut you’ll get notice that says you’ve received an official nomination. Then they listen to it again and make the awards,” said Bannerman.

The ceremony was split over two nights, and Upside Of Maybe won the Folk Song of the Year for the energetic and catchy tune “Phat Lady Singing” early in the evening. It was on the second night that the band won for Blues Song of the Year for the choir backed song “Alright.”

“The second night, they had us on stage already for the blues award and that was really cool, and then the judge says, ‘Oh by the way, you also won for Best Band of the Year, too. I’m usually not caught off guard, I’m usually a babbler, I usually can come up with something to say, but that left me speechless. I haven’t really experienced that often. It’s just like losing your breath. All I could say was, ‘Oh wow!’” said Bannerman.

He did, however, recover enough to give a speech of gratitude on behalf of his bandmates, for friends, spouses and most importantly, the fans out there that appreciate and support the band along the way.

Being caught off guard as he was, is a moment that really stands out for him from the ceremony. “When you’re at an international event, being from Canada, everyone was really welcoming and nice, everyone genuinely loves Canada. No one had a bad thing to say. One of the first things that happened was meeting a band from Croatia and the keyboard player said he knew a musician from Canada. ‘Do you know a Jay Riehl?’ and I said, ‘You mean from Stratford?’ Of all the people from Canada, Jay recorded our very first album from years ago,” said Bannerman.

To be on an international stage and to have fellow Canadians recognized was very rewarding for Bannerman, saying that the country was well represented. There were submissions from 38 nations such as Italy, Ireland, Holland and Germany to name a few.

Bannerman is looking forward to the future for the band and the possible opportunities that attending and winning at the event have already presented. He really clicked with some musicians he met from Ireland and together they could possibly connect for a storytelling kind of tour.

Next year they are travelling to Japan where their song “Small Mouth Disneyland” is a big hit due in large part to the popularity of bass fishing and the nickname given a boat. A professional Japanese bass fisherman nicknamed his boat Small Mouth Disneyland where all the fish were coming to play. Upon seeing this on TV, Bannerman looked at his brother Scott and they both thought that would make a great name for a song, so they wrote it, recorded it and sent it to the fisherman who now uses it for his walk on song.

This hardworking band is currently planning on being at Emmanuel United Church Oct. 18 in Kitchener for fans that love the energy of the live shows. Their album Saints and Sinners is available on favoured streaming platforms and for digital download on the band’s website upsideofmaybe.com.