It is Juno weekend and this year all the Juno festivities are taking place in Ottawa. The capital city will be full of Juno-related shows for the next three days culminating in the televised awards show, hosted by Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, on Sunday, April 1st. The show goes live on CTV at 8:00pm ET. Country-rock legends Blue Rodeo will be performing on the awards telecast.
Over 100 acts will perform as part of JunoFest including country artists Donny Parenteau, High Valley, Jason McCoy, and Jimmy Rankin. Also, country star Terri Clark and folk singer/songwriter David Francey are part of the Songwriter’s Circle. CBC’s Radio 3 will stream the Songwriter’s Circle live at 1:00pm ET on Sunday, April 1st, on CBCMusic.ca.
‘Let’s Go Higher’ by country-soul star Johnny Reid, is nominated for Single of the Year and is up against ‘Fragile Bird’ – City and Colour, ‘Invincible’ – Hedley, ‘When We Stand Together’ – Nickleback, and ‘I Don’t Know’ by The Sheepdogs. Other country-related nominees are…
Country Album of the Year
Doc Walker – 16 & 1
High Valley – High Valley
Jason McCoy – Everything
Jimmy Rankin – Forget About The World
Terri Clark – Roots & Wings
Roots & Traditional Album of the Year : Solo
Bruce Cockburn – Small Source Of Comfort
Craig Cardiff – Floods & Fires
Dave Gunning – A Tribute To John Alan Cameron
David Francey – Late Edition
Linda Ortega – Little Red Boots
Roots & Traditional Album Of The Year : Group
Good Lovelies – Let The Rain Fall
The Deep Dark Woods – The Place I Left Behind
The Once – Row Upon Row Of The People We Know
The Wailin’ Jennys – Bright Morning Stars
Twighlight Hotel – When The Wolves Go Blind
And another country act up for a Juno is The Sadies. The band is up for Video of the Year. This underrated, moody, country-western 4-piece have been one of the finest country bands for years. And this Sadies nominated-video, Rumbleseat, Directed by Mike Roberts, is soooo sweet… check it out.
