Music News Digest: Capital Music & Reggae North Music Award Winners, Zaytoven Comes to Toronto's IMSTA FESTA

Awards News

The Capital Music Awards were the marquee event of Ottawa's just-concluded Capital Music Week, presented by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC). It ran Oct. 2-10 in the nation's capital, featuring 100+ artists across 20+ venues, with live shows, showcases, industry events, networking, film, nightlife and the national Canada After Dark summit.

Held on Oct. 9 at the National Arts Centre's Southam Hall and hosted by Tyler Shaw and Kellylee Evans, the Capital Music Awards brought together award presentations and live performances from J3M, Shim in the Cut with Buja Ensemble Dance Crew, Céleste Lévis & JOLY, John Kofi Dapaah, Orchidae with Nick Schofield & OrKidstra,and Opartheeb. It concluded with a special performance of Ottawa’s official 200th anniversary anthem, “Heart of This Place (Adàwe c’est ma ville),” featuring Amanda Rheaume, Yao and Jessica Pearson.

The awards showcased 58 nominees across 13 categories celebrating local talent, production, and education. Topping the list with wins for solo artist and songwriter of the year was Malia Rogers, with other notable winners including Mia Kelly, Jessica Pearson and the East Wind and Angelique Francis Band. See the full winners list here.

— Founded in 2020 and based in Brampton, Ontario, the non-profit Reggae North Cultural Association (RNCA) is designed to promote and elevate the Canadian reggae and dancehall scene. It produces the Reggae North Music Awards, whose third annual gala was held at The Rose Theatre, Brampton, on Sept. 27. Emerging as the top winners were Onique, Tugstar and Ammoye, with two trophies apiece, while other winners included I Noah, Jurney Star, Phenique, Memberz Syndicate and The Human Rights. Internationally-acclaimed Jamaican-Canadian musician Jay Douglas was honoured with the living legend award at the event. Nominees and winners list here.

Festivals News

Described as a new and collaborative jazz festival, VanJazz '26 runs from Oct. 14-25, presenting over 100 concerts in local venues and partner spaces across the Greater Vancouver area. It is organized by two local luminaries, Tim Reinert (Infidels Jazz) and Cory Weeds (Cellar Music) and they promise a musically diverse event, from jazz standards to avant-garde, experimental and genre-bending global sounds. Noted venues participating include Chan Centre, Frankie's Jazz Club, Fox Cabaret, Rickshaw Theatre and the Shadbolt Centre in Burnaby.

The list of visiting artists includes includes such performers like Julian Lage, the Darius Jones Trio, Buster Williams, Lucian Ban and Mike Maneri and avant-garde veteran Ken Vandermark, with prominent local and regional acts including Dawn Pemberton, the Beles Band, Krystle Dos Santos, Paul Pigat, Cory Weeds, Jocelyn Gould and Jodi Proznick. Check the schedule and ticketing info here.

Industry News

International Music Software Trade Association (IMSTA) is a nonprofit organization representing the interests of the music software industry. It brings music technology companies together with musicians, producers, songwriters, engineers, students and educators while promoting education and the use of legitimate music software. On Oct. 17, at York University in Toronto, it is hosting IMSTA FESTA, a full day of free master classes, technology exhibits, songwriting sessions, immersive audio, AI discussions and more

This year’s lineup is headed by Grammy-winning producer Zaytoven, (Usher, Migos, Future) who delivers a keynote at noon. This year’s Toronto edition brings a particularly strong Atlanta-to-Toronto connection, with Zaytoven joined by two Grammy-winning producers and engineers, Major Seven (Rick Ross, Jay-Z) and Preston “Prizzie” Reid (Muni Long, Kanye West).

Admission is free with registration here and attendees must register separately for individual master classes to reserve their spots.

— WINHUB Jazz & Global Music is a business learning and networking event bringing together companies working with jazz & global music artists and repertoire in their catalogues taking place online, November 25 & 26. It is an exclusive benefit for independent music companies that are members of WIN associations, including CIMA and ADISQ in Canada. Registrations are open from October 6-23. Link to apply here.

— CIMA's next Annual General Meeting is set for Oct 29. It is an opportunity for CIMA members to come together to review the organization’s activities and progress over the past year, receive updates on CIMA’s work and priorities, and participate in the governance of the organization. The meeting will include an overview of CIMA’s activities and financial position, and other matters of importance to the membership, including the election of the board of directors. The 2026-2029 call for nominations to the board is now closed.

— Earlier this month, at BreakOut West 2026 in Victoria, Edmonton was named as the host city for BreakOut West 2027. The 25th anniversary of the festival and conference will run Sept. 22-26, 2027.

Artists News

Hard-working Quebec City garage meets punk rockers The Carringtons released a new album, The Reunion, on Oct. 2. Together for a decade, they revamped their lineup in 2023, and earlier this year they played eight shows through France, Belgium and the U.K. The band found time to head into Montreal 's Mountain City Studios with renowned engineer/mixer Adrian Popovich (Tricky Woo) to lay down the 10 tracks on The Reunion. Each of the cuts clock in at exactly two minutes each. No fat, plenty of energy. They play an album launch show at Grizzly Fuzz in Quebec City on Oct. 22, with Moondoggy in support.