Ron Sexsmith

2008 TMA149 Musician of the Year Award Recipient

Ron Sexsmith has produced a body of quality work that’s unequalled in contemporary Canadian music in originality and music daring. — The Toronto Star

In 2008 Ron Sexsmith released his ninth album, Exit Strategy of the Soul. With influences from soul and gospel, the album also features a Cuban horn section on tunes such as “Brighter Still”. This ability to synthesize a wide range of influences and still produce a sound that is uniquely and distinctively his own is one of the most striking features of Sexsmith’s impressive skills as a writer and musician. Another track, “Brandy Alexander,” was co-written by Leslie Feist, who received the 2005 TMA Musician of the Year Award as a member of Broken Social Scene.

Exit Strategy of the Soul was nominated for a 2009 Juno Award as Adult Alternative Album of the Year. This was Sexsmith’s twelfth Juno nomination, with wins in 2005 as Songwriter of the Year and 1998 for his album Other Songs. He was toured extensively in 2008, with performances in eight provinces and eighteen states, as well as England, Ireland, Australia, France, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Born in St. Catherines, Sexsmith has been based in Toronto since 1987. In that time, he has won wide acclaim both from critics and fellow performers. Legendary musicians including Elvis Costello, Elton John, and Paul McCartney have expressed their admiration for his work, and his songs have been performed by such diverse artists as Rod Stewart, k.d lang, and Anne Sophie von Otter.

A member of the TMA since 1990, Ron Sexsmith is widely recognized as a singular talent and one of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters. The Toronto Musicians’ Association is proud to recognize him as our 2008 Musician of the Year.