The 2024 JUNO Awards at a glance

On Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24, the 53rd annual JUNO awards took place in Halifax, N.S. The awards, hosted by Nelly Furtado, showcased a broad array of Canadian musical talent, and featured performances from musicians including Charlotte Cardin, Karan Aujla, The Beaches and Maestro Fresh Wes.

“This music isn’t just for us, it’s for the healing for you all too … It wasn’t really about winning, coming here, it was about representing our people.”

-Joel Wood, winner of Traditional Indigenous Artist of the Year

“As soon as you start listening to the music industry, you’re dead … You don’t have to move to Toronto. I did it from here.”

-Chip Sutherland, winner of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award

“I write a lot of songs that people might not think are very good. But I write them.”

-Aysanabee, winner of Songwriter of the Year and Alternative Album of the Year.

“Receiving this award is meaningful, but also a reflection of the complexities our community faces today. If the world were not so hostile to 2SLGBTQ people, we would see ourselves purely as musicians.”

-Tegan and Sara, winner of the Humanitarian Award

“I like doing shit that no one else does. An established artist asking the crowd for suggestions is probably something that you won’t see anywhere else. And I have an incredible band and guitar player that just knows every fucking riff ever. And so I like to challenge us, and it keeps us fresh … Embrace the chaos, baby.”

-TALK, winner of Breakthrough Artist of the Year

“I’ve always only focused on plan A.” 

-LU KALA

“None of us went to postsecondary school. And that was definitely a scary thing for our parents to accept. And to provide them with a JUNO, it felt like giving them a graduation diploma.”

-Jordan Miller (The Beaches), winner of Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year

“I’m just me, being myself, and hopefully that inspires someone else to be great.”

-TOBi, winner of Rap Album of the Year and Rap Single of the Year

“The first time I did [coke] was in Dartmouth. If you haven’t done it, try it.”

-Kyle Brownrigg, winner of Comedy Album of the Year