Arcade Fire, Bedouin Soundclash winners at Indie Awards

The sixth edition of Canadian Music Week kicked off with a bang Wednesday with the presentation of the Canadian Independent Music Awards.

Montreal indie rockers Arcade Fire performing at the U.K.'s Reading Festival in 2005. (AP Photo / Yui Mok)

Up-and-coming acts such as the Arcade Fire, Bedouin Soundclash and Death From Above 1979 were among those honoured at the evening ceremony at Toronto's lakefront Docks Concert Theatre.

Montreal indie darlings Arcade Fire took two awards: best album for the Grammy-nominated  Funeral and best video for their track Neighbourhood 3 (Power Out).

Reggae-influenced rockers Bedouin Soundclash, from Kingston, Ont ., won best single for When the Night Feels My Song.

Toronto duo Death From Above 1979 was named best group while Dallas Green won the solo artist honour. Green, usually the frontman for Alexisonfire, released the album Sometimes, produced under his solo project, City and Colour.

International artists honoured at the ceremony included Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand (best international artist or group), British band Bloc Party for its album Silent Alarm (best international album) and Norway's Rumble in Rhodos (best new international album or group).

Specific genre winners included guitarist Garrett Mason (best blues artist), violinist James Ehnes (best classical artist), singer-songwriter Brad Johner (best country artist), drummer Sandro Dominelli (best jazz artist) and singer Divine Brown (best R&B artist).

The awards gala also featured performances from Stars, Elliott Brood, the evening's rising star award winner, and the Road Hammers. The night's two inductees into the Indies Hall of Fame – the Pursuit of Happiness and the Parachute Club – also performed.

Canadian Music Week, which runs through Saturday, is the annual conference and showcase of the country's independent musicians. In addition to concerts and industry meetings throughout the city, the festivities include the Canadian Radio Music Awards, to be held on Saturday.