Music News Digest: Keith Urban Headlines Alberta's Big Valley Jamboree, Hamilton Gets Ready for The Junos
Also this week: Respected veteran Terry Wilkins hangs up his bass, Nova Scotia Music Week opens nominations and showcase applications, TikTok Canada returns from uncertainty at the Junos and more.
Keith Urban
One of Western Canada's biggest summer music fests, Big Valley Jamboree returns to Camrose, Alberta, July 31 to Aug. 2. The recently-confirmed lineup comprises some Nashville country superstars alongside established and emerging Canadian acts. The three headliners are Old Dominion (July 31), Riley Green (Aug. 1) and Keith Urban (Aug. 2), with other U.S. stars Chase Rice, Gavin Adcock, Mark Chesnutt and Billy Dean & Colin Raye featured over the three days.
The Canadian contingent is headed by current golden boy Cameron Whitcomb, bluegrass/roots sensations The Dead South, Robyn Ottolini, Sacha, Noeline Hoffman, Josh Stumpf, Andrew Hyatt, Morgan Klaiber, Thomas Dolter, Kelsi Mayne and more. Check the full lineup here.
The Caravan is back. On April 13, Jaymz Bee’s Caravan of Music returns to the Old Mill in Toronto, a long-running highlight for area jazz and roots fans. These year's edition may be the biggest yet: 24 bands and over 140 musicians performing simultaneously in 12 rooms (from 8 pm to midnight), all in support of music industry charity Unison Fund, a national non-profit organization that will receive 100% of this year's event proceeds. Produced by jazz impresario/broadcaster/bandleader Bee, the event has raised tens of thousands of dollars for charitable causes.
The Caravan of Music is a four-hour, passport-style event where guests move freely between rooms, catching a few songs in each space — from intimate 100-person rooms to larger 300-capacity venues. Performers range from solo artists to an 18-piece big band, and notable names on the musically eclectic list include Ewen Farncombe Trio (with Alex Bird), Dizzy and Fay, Sean Nykwist Trio, The Roncy Boys, Robert Priest, Melissa Payne Trio, Sam Broverman and Peter Hill, , Whitney Ross Barris, The Shuffle Demons, Jay Douglas, Blackburn Brothers, Chris Bottomley’s Brainfudge, Eric St-Laurent (feat. Irene Torres) Denielle Bassels, Genevieve Marentette, The Swing Shift Big Band with special guest singers and many more. A pre-Caravan VIP gala dinner will feature surprise big name performers (those in the past have included Greg Keelor, Andy Kim, Tom Cochrane, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Damhnait Doyle, Simone Denny and John Finley). Tickets here.
Awards News
Nova Scotia Music Week (NSMW) 2026 will take place in Truro/We’kwampekitk from Nov. 12-15 and Music Nova Scotia has opened both showcasing applications and award nominations for this year’s event. They will both be open until Sunday, Apr. 12, at 11:59 pm AT. Check the showcasing and awards manuals here. You must be a member of Music Nova Scotia in good standing to submit showcasing applications and award nominations.
– With news that TikTok will be allowed to continue operating in Canada under new data protection rules, the platform is making its first return to supporting Canadian music and cultural initiatives. Amidst uncertainties, TikTok had previously halted all sponsorships, including the Juno Awards. As a result, this weekend's event the Juno Fan Choice Award will run without the previous TikTok branding. However, TikTok Canada has announced it will be back at the 2026 event as a "Platinum Partner," offering select Canadian social media creators behind-the-scenes access at the event.
– Popular Toronto music storytelling event Playlist Storytellers is teaming up with SOCAN for a special Junos edition of its event in Hamilton. The event asks storytellers to each tell a story about their life inspired by a specific song, which is followed by a full listen to that song. This edition features rapper/writer/Hamilton local Cadence Weapon (a.k.a. Rollie Pemberton), Toronto rapper and host Haviah Mighty, punk musician Ben Rispin (of Saint Alvia Cartel and more), comedian Hilary Henderson and artist Tor Lukasik-Foss.
Festivals News
Held in the scenic Ontario riverside town of Paris, the Paris Drinks Fest has revealed the musical lineup for its 2026 edition, set to run Aug. 15 and 16. Headliners July Talk and The Strumbellas are joined by Loviet, Thunder Queens, Born In The Eighties, Tanika Charles and more. Info and tickets here.
Industry News
For many decades now, hard-working bassist Terry Wilkins has been one of the most popular members of the Toronto roots music community. When he recently announced on social media that health issues (hearing loss) have forced his retirement from playing, that news elicited a major outpouring of well-wishing from musical peers and local music players. Born and raised in Australia, Wilkins made a splash Down Under before emigrating to Canada with country-rock band the Flying Circus 55 years ago.
He became a key contributor to Lighthouse, early Big Sugar, Rough Trade, David Wilcox and more, played in seminal Toronto reggae-rock band V, and accompanied such major blues and roots stars as Levon Helm, Dr. John, Maria Muldaur, John Hammond, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, Son Seals and countless others. He gigged extensively in the band Sinners Choir, produced some releases and offered support and advice to legions of other players. Wilkins posted that "I did my best and I thank the hundreds of musicians with whom I shared the stage and many thousands of Canadians for whom I played music."
Read a 2018 FYI interview with Terry Wilkins here. A GoFundMe campaign to supply him with high-quality hearing aids has been set up here.
– Opera Atelier's spring production is the company's premiere of Claude Debussy's acclaimed 20th century opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, at Koerner Hall, Toronto, from Apr. 15-19, 2026. This represents the latest repertoire that Opera Atelier has ever performed in its 40 years of operation. Opera Atelier's 2026/27 season will then be launched at Koerner Hall with its Canadian premiere of Marc Antoine Charpentier's The Descent of Orpheus, on October 22-25, 2026. Opera Atelier will conclude its season by revisiting the company's 2023 production of Handel's The Resurrection in Koerner Hall on Apr. 15-18, 2027. Full details on the 2026/27 season here.
– Juno nominated singer-songwriter Jennifer Foster returns to the scene after a long absence, releasing a new album, Powerline, on April 3. It will be launched on April 1 with a show at Toronto's Rivoli featuring her all-star band, including co-producer Robbie Grunwald, performing it in its entirety. Show tickets here. This is Foster's fourth album; her previous release earned a Juno nomination for producer of the year (Michael Phillip Wojewoda). A former member of The Pursuit Of Happiness, Foster has also worked with Ron Sexsmith, Carole Pope, Lori Cullen and Kevin Hearn.
– Ontario country-rock singer-songwriter Marshall Dane has just released a new single, "Somebody Somewhere," cowritten by Dane, Matt Rogers and veteran singer-songwriter Rosanne Baker Thornley (RBT). Dane's 2024 single “No Need To Speak” climbed to #10 on both the Billboard Canada Top CANCON and Most Active Indies charts. In recent years, he has made a mark by incorporating American Sign Language (ASL) into his live performances and videos.
– To coincide with the Juno Awards coming to town, respected Hamilton art gallery Beckett Fine Art (196 Locke St. Hamilton) is hosting a special exhibit that confirms that some of The Hammer's biggest music stars are also accomplished visual artists. Love Hamilton: Where Music Meets Art includes work by Daniel Lanois, Tom Wilson (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Junkhouse) and Steve Mahon (Teenage Head). On Saturday afternoon, (March 28), Wilson and Mahon are expected to be in attendance. The show runs until April 11. More info here.
