Singer-songwriter Terry Penney won the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award for "Town that Time Forgot" at the 2009 Music Newfoundland & Labrador (MusicNL) Awards, held Nov. 15 at the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre. SOCAN's Tim Hardy and St. John's TV personality Paddy Daly presented the trophy to Penney, who later told Hardy, "Winning the SOCAN songwriter of the year was a huge honour for me, and one of the highlights of my career."

Folk group The Once was the big winner of the night, taking home four trophies – for rising star, folk roots group, group and album of the year. Other multiple winners included Curtis Andrews and Karla Pilgrim, who each won two. Andrews earned the male artist and instrumental artist of the year awards, while Pilgrim took home the trophies for female artist and country artist of the year.

In the week-long MusicNL conference leading up to the awards, SOCAN’s Tim Hardy took part in a panel called "Songwriting: The Future" with Guy Fletcher, a veteran U.K. songwriter who's had his songs recorded by such legendary stars as Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Ray Charles, Frankie Valli and Joe Cocker.

The conference also included many other seminars, an Industry Awards brunch, one-on-one meetings with visiting delegates from the U.K. and Ireland, a songwriters circle (which was recorded for later broadcast on CBC radio) and showcase performances on Friday (New Artists Showcase) and Saturday (Export Ready Showcase).