Music News Digest: Women In The Studio's 2026 Cohort, Brett Kissel and W. Brett Wilson Win CCMA Humanitarian Award

The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) recently announced that the winners of the 2026 Gary Slaight Humanitarian Award are hit country singer Brett Kissel and businessman and TV personality (Dragon's Den) W. Brett Wilson. The two Bretts have worked closely together in organizing and hosting more than 40 charity events under the “BrettBrett” banner. Beginning in 2010, these have raised over $11 million for causes across Canada and abroad. In 2017, one of their projects saw Kissel and Wilson organizing and funding a trip to Tijuana, Mexico, with Youth With a Mission’s Homes of Hope program, where more than 40 participants built homes for families living in poverty.

Named for the veteran Canadian music industry mogul and philanthropist Gary Slaight, the awards recognizes individuals or initiatives that have made significant contributions to humanitarian causes. The award will be presented to the pair during a private industry event as part of the CCMA's Country Music Week, taking place Sept. 16 to 19 in Saskatoon. Previous recipients of the CCMA's humanitarian award have included Carroll Baker, Tom Jackson, Michelle Wright, George Canyon, Gord Bamford, Johnny Reid, Mike Stevens, Dean Brody, Lindsay Ell, The Unison Fund and Craig Senyk.

Awards News

Last week, the 2026 Canadian Live Music Awards were held at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto, as part of Departure festival and conference. Presented by The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), the night celebrated and recognized the live music companies, individuals and organizations working within the live music industry.

Recognized with special awards were Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman (global impact in live music), outgoing CLMA founder and head Erin Benjamin (global live music leadership) and Live Nation/Ticketmaster heavyweight Patti-Anne Tarlton (live legacy award), all of whom gave eloquent speeches. Given his recent passing, Tarlton's uncle, legendary music entrepreneur, Donald K. Donald was oft referenced during the evening. Short performances were given by rising stars Alicia Creti, Cam Kahin, and Shawnee Kish and Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley was on hand as a presenter. Check the list of award winners here.

Departure also held its flagship Departure Honours award show on May 7 at Koerner Hall.

There, FACTOR CEO Meg Symsyk presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to management legend Bruce Allen, comparing him to prime Michael Jordan. Allen gave a gloriously namedroppy speech, talking about his work with legends like Randy Bachman, Loverboy and now The Offspring.

Other honourees included Sarah McLachlan, Lily Singh, The Remix Project, Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney and K-Pop Demon Hunters creator Maggie Kang, who earlier received the key to the city from Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. Despite a noticeably underfilled venue, their speeches were all inspiring in their own way, recognizing the contributions of Canada on the global cultural stage.

Find the full list of honourees here. — Richard Trapunski

Industry News

Recognizing the need to continue to close the gender gap in the studio, Music Publishers Canada (MPC) has announced the six producer-songwriters selected for the 2026 Women in the Studio National Accelerator. The Accelerator provides women and non-binary producer-songwriters with technical training, industry networking, and career development.

The 2026 Women in the Studio Accelerator Cohort comprises:

• Aiona Santana – Ottawa, ON
• Kayee – Toronto, ON
• Sally Shaar – Toronto, ON
• the della kit – Vancouver, BC
• WILD BLACK – Toronto, ON/ Saskatoon, SK
• Zamani Folade – Halifax, NS

Biographies for the 2026 participants can be found here.

– Official showcase applications are open now for the 39th Annual Folk Alliance International Conference in Chicago, January 27 - 31, 2027. The deadline to apply is June 8 and artists will be notified on July 31. FAI is recognized as one of the most important annual events for the international folk and roots music community. Apply here.

– Artscan Circle is a charity that supplies musical instruments to Indigenous youth in remote communities. On May 23, from 8 am to noon in downtown Toronto (near Yonge and College), it is holding an instruments drive. Artscan advises that they're accepting new and lightly used keyboards, fiddles, guitars, violins, drums, amplifiers, cables, music books, computer equipment, musical scores and sheet music. To learn more, email instruments@artscancircle.org.

– Award-winning Toronto bluegrass/roots fiddle player John Showman (Creaking Tree String Quartet, Foggy Hogtown Boys, Lonesome Ace Stringband, New Country Rehab) is at home recovering from serious injuries (including fractured vertebrae) suffered in a recent fall. Given that he cannot currently perform, a GoFundMe campaign has been started on Showman's behalf. You can contribute here.

Festivals News

The Toronto Jazz Festival has just announced its full lineup of free programming for the 39th edition, running alongside a city-wide ticketed concert series from June 19 to 28. In the free concert series, nearly 60 artists from across Canada and beyond will perform across parks, public spaces and outdoor stages throughout the Yorkville area.

The diverse lineup includes Indigenous singer songwriter Amanda Rheaume, acclaimed Mexican -Canadian artist Quique Escamilla, jazz collective Orbital Ensemble, Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music, soul jazz vocalist Irene Torres, experimental ensemble Polky, DJ Moussa, Rhythm Section, Charley Rose Trio and Just Prince and Friends, alongside a broad range of Sidewalk Sessions artists. That series includes Japanese guitarist Tak Arikushi, Cajun/Zydeco ensemble Swamperella, Latin folk collective El Ceibo, percussionist Nii Osabu, genre-blending vocal duo FreePlay and the Toronto Klezmer Society All Stars.

Educational and community programming includes The Big Band Slam featuring acclaimed trombonist and educator Christian Overton, alongside the Jazz Musician Intensive Ensemble with Juno-nominated saxophonist Allison Au. More info here.

Artists News

Veteran Canadian jazz-rock ensemble Lighthouse have been inducted into both Canada's Walk of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and they remain active today. The band play a hometown concert at Toronto's Concert Hall on June 27 and they have a very long history with this venue.

"Duke Ellington introduced Lighthouse at our very first performance on May 14, 1969 at Toronto's Rock Pile, now known as The Concert Hall,” remembers co-founder and keyboardist Paul Hoffert. “We’ll be celebrating 56 years on the same stage where it all began with the new release of our Anniversary Edition of One Fine Morning, performing the entire album with live strings — just the way it was back in the day." Tickets available here

– Veteran hardcore band Counterparts may be internationally-acclaimed, but they haven't forgotten their hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. To celebrate 905 day (Sept. 5), the band will headline a show at the Music Hall in the city, supported by I Promised the World, Balmora and a Mourning Star. Counterparts are describing the concert as "an annual celebration of our hometown and the scene that helped us become the band we are today." General tickets on sale from May 14 here.