What started out as a Queen’s Drama Department class project 10 years ago has led to the first Juno Award nomination for a pair of alumni.
Children’s entertainers Taes Leavitt (Artsci’04) and Nick Adams (Artsci’04, Ed’05), known professionally as Splash’N Boots, are up for Children’s Album of the Year for Coconuts Don’t Fall Far From the Tree.
“I can't even begin to tell you how excited we were to find out about the nomination,” says Taes. “We feel so honoured to be recognized among such great Canadian talent.”
Taes and Nick give a lot of credit to the Queen’s Drama Department for inspiring their careers, which they have been successfully building over the past 10 years. Splash’N Boots have performed hundreds of shows across North America and the world, sold thousands of CDs, and have appeared on Treehouse, a popular Canadian children’s TV channel.
“We always laugh thinking back to that class project. It was during that show, at the Kingston Public Library, that we decided we were going to do everything we could to make a living doing this. We were always really determined, even way back then, so it's exciting that it's happening for real. Mostly we are really grateful to be able to spend every day doing what we love. We owe a lot to Queen’s Drama for leading us in this direction,” says Taes.
Alumnus Joel Corriveau (Artsci'04) producedCoconuts Don’t Fall Far From the Tree, making him eligible to win the Children's Album of the Year Juno along with Nick and Taes.
Congratulations also go to alumna Amanda Balsys (MEd’11, Ed’12). Amanda is a vocalist/violinist with The Wilderness of Manitoba and her band’s album,Island of Echoes, is up for Best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Group).
The 2014 Juno Awards take place in Winnipeg from March 24-30.
