When Megan Nash released "Seeker," national recognition was the farthest thing from her focus.
The Juno Award nominations were announced Tuesday, but Nash was far from hitting refresh on her computer. When her album "Seeker" was nominated for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year she was caught completely off guard when the congratulations started to come in.
"It came as a complete shock," Nash said. "I got a message from somebody that I played a show with years ago and they said congrats on being Juno nominated and I thought 'what are you talking about?'"
The Juno Awards -- which honour the best in Canadian music -- will be held on March 16 & 17 in London, Ont.
Nash is two-time Western Canadian Music Award nominee and is honoured to be recognized nationally.
"It's a feather in the cap of course, but it can be a really valuable thing in an independent artists career. Anything like that, that you can put on the résumé is really good," said Nash who completed her third German tour in December and is featured in a new SaskTel commercial.
Nash is joined by Saskatoon's The Deep Dark Woods for "Yarrow" in the Contemporary Roots Album of the Year category. The other nominees are AHI for "In Our Time"; Kaia Kater for "Grenades" and Donovan Woods for "Both Ways."
"I am keeping great company in this category. I really am," Nash said. "Kaia Kater is an artist who is a labelmate of mine. She's also on Acronym Records. It's really cool that we're both up for that award.
"With the Deep Dark Woods, I've been a fan of theirs for over a decade. I just really love what they do. I think it's really neat that we're in the same category. Especially since we both have ties to Mortlach -- that's pretty cool."
Nash grew up on a farm between Parkbeg and Mortlach and went to school in Mortlach, while The Deep Dark Woods frontman Ryan Boldt also lived in Mortlach for a time.
They weren't the only Saskatchewan artists who received a Juno nomination. Jess Moskaluke (Country Album of the Year for "A Small Town Christmas") and The Sheepdogs (Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year for "Changing Colours") were also nominated.
"Seeker" is Nash's second full-length album and this time around she was joined by Regina band Bears in Hazenmore, who back her frequently for her live shows.
"Collaborating with Bears in Hazenmore felt like an organic, natural progression because I had become friends with them and we were performing songs live together, so to actually record felt like a natural thing to do," Nash said. "They love texture, they added a lot and took it into a different place sonically than I normal do being a solo artist.
"I think of each song as its own being and try to think of what will make that song what I think it should be and sometimes that's full band and sometimes that's stripped down."
Nash opened for Serena Ryder during Juno Fest when she played the Mae Wilson Theatre in 2013 in the lead-up to the awards in Regina.
