Legendary Canadian bluesman Big Dave McLean has been honored with a 2025 JUNO Award nomination for Blues Album of the Year for his latest album, This Old Life released on Victoria-based indie label Cordova Bay Records. This marks McLean’s sixth JUNO nomination, further cementing his legacy as one of the most influential figures in Canadian blues.
McLean’s latest recognition adds to an already impressive history of JUNO nods, including a 2020 nomination for Pocket Full of Nothin’, a 2018 nomination for Better the Devil You Know, and a 2016 nod for Faded But Not Gone. His first nomination came in 2009, and he won a JUNO Award for Saturday Night Blues in 1992.
Over five decades, McLean has been a cornerstone of the Canadian blues scene, earning accolades that include a Western Canadian Music Award, a Prairie Music Award, a Great Canadian Blues Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Toronto Blues Society. In 2019, he was inducted into the Order of Canada, a rare honor for a blues musician, recognizing his contributions to the genre and his mentorship of younger artists such as Colin James, Shaun Verreault, and Luke Doucet.
On This Old Life, McLean delivers an unfiltered, deeply personal take on the blues, seamlessly blending classic blues covers from Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Little Walter with his own masterful originals.
The album’s lead track, “Well, I Done Got Over It”, originally recorded by Guitar Slim in 1953, showcases McLean’s signature gravelly vocals and impeccable slide guitar work, setting the tone for a record steeped in authenticity.
Recorded in just four days at The Ganaraska Recording Company in Cobourg, Ontario, This Old Life was captured live off the floor with no overdubs or studio tricks—just raw, timeless blues. Co-produced by Steve Marriner and Jimmy Bowskill, both JUNO-winning musicians, the album embraces classic blues traditions while showcasing McLean’s unwavering musical integrity.
“He is as genuine a bluesman as it gets, and I’ve been dying to capture Dave and present him to the rest of the world in the way I’ve always heard him: raw and real,” says Marriner.
Born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, McLean’s career was shaped by a chance encounter with blues icon John Hammond, who gave him his first guitar lesson in 1969. This set McLean on a path that led him to friendships with legends like Muddy Waters, inspiring his debut album, Muddy Waters for President.
Despite his profound influence on Canadian blues, McLean has often remained a hidden gem, a reality he addresses in This Old Life, a record that may finally bring him the mainstream recognition he deserves.
“I would like to send out my deepest gratitude, respect, and admiration to all of the many people who have shared their incredible talents and have helped me present my interpretation of blues over the past fifty years or so,” McLean reflects.
With his sixth JUNO nomination, a career-defining album, and a tour lined up for 2025, Big Dave McLean is proving that the blues isn’t just music—it’s a way of life.
The JUNO Awards will take place on March 30, 2025, in Vancouver, British Columbia, where music fans and industry members will celebrate the best in Canadian music.
