Western Canadian Music Awards Honour Wide Mouth Mason, William Prince, Miesha and The Spanks & More
The awards were handed out at two weekend events in Saskatoon during the annual BreakOut West music industry conference, held in the city for the first time.
Wide Mouth Mason
Honouring the best of the West, The Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMAs) were handed out in Saskatoon over the weekend, as part of the BreakOut West music industry conference, which ran September 25 to 29. Winners of the artistic categories in the WCMAs were announced on Friday, September 27 at the Broadway Theatre, with industry award recipients honoured at the WCMA Industry Awards Brunch on Saturday, September 28.
The Heritage Award was presented to acclaimed concert presenter, Zandra Kaszas; the trailblazing venue, Amigos Cantina, received this year’s Kevin Walters Industry Builder Award; and the groundbreaking gold-selling Saskatoon rock/blues group, Wide Mouth Mason was the 2024 Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee.
Notable artists winning Western Canadian Music Awards included Juno-winning blues group Blue Moon Marquee, multiple award-winning roots singer-songwriter William Prince, honkytonk troubadour Corb Lund, rockers Miesha and the Spanks, electro-pop artist Ruby Singh, rising stars Haley Blais and Jake Vaadeland and acclaimed hip-hop outfit Super Duty Tough Work.
2024 makes the first time BreakOut West, an annual conference, festival and awards celebration, has been hosted in Saskatoon. The event included a three-night music festival, showcasing talent from across western Canada, as well as special guests from Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Germany, Wales, and the U.S., plus a career development conference and international industry program.
Check out the winners list below. The full list of 2024 WCMA nominees can be found here.
2024 Western Canadian Music Awards Artistic Winners
Blues Artist of the Year
Blue Moon Marquee BC
BreakOut Artist of the Year (Sponsored By FACTOR)
Miesha and The Spanks AB
Children’s Artist of the Year
Al Simmons – MB
Classical Artist or Ensemble of the Year (Sponsored By Canadian Music Centre {CMC})
Allegra Chamber Orchestra – BC
Classical Composer of the Year
Farshid Samandari - "Light of Lights" – BC
Country Artist of the Year
Corb Lund – AB
Electronic & Dance Artist of the Year
Ruby Singh – BC
Francophone Artist of the Year (Sponsored by APCM)
Missy D – BC
Global Artist of the Year
Rooky Kamiz – SK
Indigenous Artist of the Year
FONTINE – MB
Instrumental Artist of the Year
Apollo Suns – MB
Jazz Artist of the Year
Aretha Tillotson – AB
Metal & Hard Music Artist of the Year
FKA Rayne – BC
Pop Artist of the Year
Haley Blais – BC
Producer of the Year
Liam Moes & Shane Stephenson – BC
R&B Artist of the Year
Sadé Awele – BC
Rap & Hip Hop Artist of the Year
Super Duty Tough Work – MB
Recording of the Year
William Prince – MB
Rock Artist of the Year
Kris Ulrich – MB
Roots Artist of the Year
Jake Vaadeland – SK
Songwriter(s) of the Year (Sponsored By The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)}
Celeigh Cardinal, Dave & Joey Landreth "Light of the Moon" – AB
Spiritual Artist of the Year
Marika Siewert – BC
Video Director of the Year (Sponsored by Manitoba Film & Music)
Sandy Rossignol - Blue Moon Marquee "Hound Dog On a Chain" – BC
WCMA Canadian Music Awards Industry Winners
Audio Engineering Award
Ryan Worsley - Echoplant Sound – BC
Community Excellence Award
Community Arts Mentorship Program (CAMP) – SK
Excellence in Visual Design
Bronwin Parks - Feisty Creative – BC
Impact in Artist Development
Birthday Cake Media – MB
Impact in Live Music (Sponsored by Canadian Live Music Association)
Paquin Artists Agency – MB
Impact in Music Marketing
Birthday Cake Media – MB
