It was an evening of firsts at the Ottawa Convention Centre for the Juno Awards gala March 31.
The event recognized 34 awards that aren’t a part of the televised Juno broadcast, which aired April 1.
The 99 first-time nominees are an indication of “Canadian music’s growth,” said Melanie Berry, CEO of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Science, as she opened the evening.
Carleton music professor Jesse Stewart, a first-time nominee, also became a first-time Juno award winner. Stewart, along with his bandmates from Stretch Orchestra, took home the Juno for instrumental album of the year for their self-titled EP.
Arts editor Juanita Bawagan spoke to Stewart after his Juno win.
“We were quite shocked actually to have won,” Stewart said.
He said the win meant a lot to him on a personal level. His bandmates have been nominated and won Junos for their work. He said he was proud to have had a hand in a lot of the less “glamorous” aspects of the award, like writing the grant application that financed the award-winning album or applying to the Junos.
Stewart said he was honoured to have been in the company of fellow nominees who he’s seen as his mentors.
Above all, Stewart said he became even more aware of the “breadth and also the depth” of talent in Canada.
“I was really impressed with the calibre of the musicians that are performing in this country,” he said.
Another first of the evening was the Juno for hard/metal album of the year. Winnipeg metal-heads KEN Mode took home the award, which was added this year.
Dan Mangan won the alternative album of the year for Oh Fortune. He performed on-stage as well. Other awards handed out include album of the year for genres such as classical, jazz, pop, francophone and world music. Other awards handed out include album of the year for classical, pop and world music.
Kiran Ahluwalia, recipient of the world music album of the year, provided an interesting anecdote involving other cultures’ tea, which she said tasted like pee. While travelling, Ahluwali said she experienced many elements of culture shock, like the taste of the tea, but it was “a good omen” because there are always difficulties when working with diverse groups.
The night wasn’t a first for everyone. For the fifth time, folk singer David Francey was nominated for folk and traditional album of the year by a solo artist. Even though Francey didn’t win the award, losing out to Bruce Cockburn, he said he was honoured to be nominated again.
His publicist Heather Kitching, a Carleton journalism student, said all of his success couldn’t have happened to a more kind human being.
While the evening’s focus was mostly on the musicians, the industry professionals who make the music possible were also recognized.
Gary Slaight was honoured with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for his work in the Canadian music industry.
Slaight, a former broadcasting executive, received the award for his promotion of Canadian music. His most recent venture is Newcanadianmusic.ca.
The Juno Awards not only allow Canada to recognize its musicians, but also to take stock of Canada’s arts and culture industries as a whole, Slaight said.
“The pipeline of music is full and will always remain so,” Slaight said.
