TORONTO - There may be something to be said about an artist who walks away with two pieces of silverware but hasn't even released a full-length album yet.

Solo singer Lights left with a pair of awards at the Canadian Music Week Indies in Toronto on Saturday, in an event that highlighted the best in Canadian independent music with performances from several local and national acts.

After a night where Lights' Valerie Poxleitner won the award for Favourite Solo Artist and the Astral Media Radio Favourite Single for Drive My Soul, the young artist says the awards inspire indie artists to push on with their work.

"It's amazing that our country is so good at supporting good music, and just supporting an artist that works really hard," Poxleitner told CP24.com during the show at the posh Fairmont Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto.

She says her first full-length album, to be released in August, will go deeper - both lyrically and musically - than her first few EPs.

Newfoundland outfit Hey Rosetta!, who opened the night with a sampling of solid tracks, also won a pair of awards - the Chartattack.com Favourite Album award for Into your Lungs and the InDiscover.net Favourite Artist/Band Website award.

Hamilton's Arkells put on a solid and entertaining show playing songs from their well-received album Jackson Square, named after a Hamilton shopping centre. They failed to win the award for favourite group/duo despite receiving a nomination.

That award went to Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, whose performance at the award show was overflowing with high energy and theatrics.

The Toronto duo's act featured Jason Parsons (Human Kebab) on the turntables with a dash of backflips and stage runs; and Ash Buchholz on the guitar, vocals and food blender. (The pair made banana-strawberry smoothies before leaving the stage).

Midway State, whose rock music is lead with a piano, picked up the award for Favourite Pop Artist/Group.

"It was the first award we've ever won, so it's very exciting for us" frontman Nathan Ferrarro told CP24.com.

The band, which formed in Collingwood, Ont., played to an enthusiastic crowd delivering an aural experience with their signature alternative piano rock, a sound that has earned the group a Juno nomination for Best Pop Album for Holes and Songwriter of the Year for Ferrarro.

The evening's younger winners and performers were not to be outdone by classic heavy metal band Anvil, who were inducted into the Indies Hall of Fame and put on a heart-driven performance of Metal on Metal.

Dedicated fans of the Toronto band wrangled their way to the front of the stage to get as close as they could to the trio behind the microphones who still play passionately after over 30 years as a band - longer than many of the artists at the show have been alive.

The evening also featured performances by comedian Jon Lajoie and Crystal Castles, who won the award for Best Electronic Artist/Group or Duo. However, Castles fans in the audience were disappointed by a sound setup that left energetic vocalist Alice Glass nearly impossible to hear over the pounding beats.

- With files from Saira Peesker



Full award lineup below:

ChartAttack.com FAVOURITE ALBUM

Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs (Sonic Records)

ASTRAL MEDIA RADIO FAVOURITE SINGLE

Lights - Drive My Soul

FAVOURITE GROUP/DUO

USS

FAVOURITE SOLO ARTIST

Lights

FAVOURITE VIDEO

The Trews - Hold Me In Your Arms

FAVOURITE LIVE ARTIST/GROUP

The Trews

inDiscover.net FAVOURITE ARTIST/BAND WEBSITE

Hey Rosetta! - www.heyrosetta.com

FAVOURITE BLUES ARTIST/GROUP

Daddy Long Legs

FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO

Jack Grunsky

FAVOURITE CLASSICAL ARTIST/GROUP

Canadian Brass

FAVOURITE COUNTRY ARTIST/GROUP

Doc Walker

FAVOURITE ELECTRONIC ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO

Crystal Castles

FAVOURITE FOLK/ROOTS ARTIST/GROUP

Kathleen Edwards

FAVOURITE FRANCOPHONE ARTIST/GROUP

Plants and Animals

FAVOURITE JAZZ ARTIST/GROUP

Nikki Yanofsky

FAVOURITE METAL ARTIST/GROUP

Annihilator

FAVOURITE POP ARTIST/GROUP

The Midway State

FAVOURITE PUNK/HARDCORE ARTIST/GROUP

Protest The Hero

FAVOURITE ROCK ARTIST/GROUP

Matt Mays & El Torpedo

FAVOURITE URBAN ARTIST/GROUP

Shad

FAVOURITE WORLD ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO

Eccodek

FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL GROUP

Nine Inch Nails

FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL SOLO ARTIST

Taylor Swift

FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL ALBUM

Taylor Swift - Fearless (Big Machine)

FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL SINGLE

M.I.A.

Paper Planes