The 2020 JUNO Awards that were to have been presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) on Sunday night, March 15 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and broadcast live on CBC have been cancelled. In a joint statement on March 12, CARAS, the City of Saskatoon and the province of Saskatchewan cited public health concerns surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as the reason behind the cancellation.
“We are devastated to cancel this national celebration of music, but at this time of global uncertainty, he health, safety and well-being of all Canadians must stand at the forefront of any decisions that impact our communities,” according to the statement that CARAS posted online at https://junoawards.ca. “We know this is the right decision based on the information we curtly have ad are continuing to receive. The situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve rapidly and we urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.”
Unfortunately, cancellation of the televised awards gala and Junos-related events preceding it was made after artists and other participants had already begun arriving in Saskatoon for JUNO Week festivities that were to have begun on March 12.
CARAS noted that it will “explore options to coordinate an alternative way to honor this year’s JUNO Award winners and special award recipients.”
As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com in late January, among the coveted awards are those for Contemporary and Traditional Roots Albums of the Year. In the running for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year are Coyote (Catherine MacLellan), Easy Keeper (Del Barber), Little Bones (Irish Mythen), Passages (Justin Rutledge), and Mohawk (Lee Harvey Osmond). Traditional Roots Album of the Year nominees include Once a Day (April Verch), By Appointment or Chance (Miranda Mulholland), Sketches (Natalie MacMaster), Sugar & Joy (The Dead South), and Assinbone & The Red (The Small Glories).
Nominees in other award categories that may be of interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers include those for Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year and Blues Album of the Year. Nominated in the former category are Celeigh Cardinal for Stories from a Downtown Apartment, Digawolf for Yellowstone, nehiyawak for nipiy, Northern Haze for Siqinnaarut, and Riit for ataataga. In the running for Blues Album of the Year are Pocket Full of Nothing (Big Dave McLean), Mad Love (Dawn Tyler Watson), Hand Me Down Blues (Durham County Poets), That’s Where It’s At (Michael Jerome Browne), and The Northern South Vol. 2 (Whitehorse). In addition, Toothsayer by Tanya Tagaq is among the nominees for Instrumental Album of the Year; a throat singer and composer, Tagaq is a Polaris Prize recipient and Canadian Folk Music Award-winner.
Canadian Folk Music Awards Weekend is Also in Doubt Amid Rising Coronavirus Concerns
In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the Canadian Folk Music Awards are in consultation with their various stakeholders regarding its awards weekend, April 3-4, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. “The health and safety of our patrons, artists and staff is our primary concern,” according to a post by the CFMA board of directors on its website. “We will announce any decisions regarding whether to proceed with caution and protective measures, or to cancel our event altogether as soon as possible.”
As reported on AcousticMusicScene.com last November, Dave Gunning, a singer-songwriter who hails from Nova Scotia, tops the list of nominees for the 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards with four nominations. Jenn Grant (also a Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter), The Small Glories (the Winnipeg-based duo of Cara Luft and JD Edwards), and Vishten (an Acadian trio from Canada’s East Coast) each received three nods, while more than half-a-dozen other artists/acts received two nominations apiece. They are among the many artists and groups from throughout Canada vying for awards in 19 categories.
Here’s a link to the Nov. 22, 2019 article: http://acousticmusicscene.com/2019/11/22/nominees-named-for-2020-canadian-folk-music-awards/
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