William Prince Leads Western Canadian Music Award Nominees

Western Canada is getting ready to celebrate some of its best musicians.

On May 14, the Western Canadian Music Alliance revealed its 2024 Western Canadian Music Award (WCMA) nominees.

Leading the list of contenders with four nominations is folk/roots star William Prince, while other artists recognized with multiple nominations include Miesha And The Spanks, Logan Staats, Ariel Posen, Garrett T. Willie, Fontine, Celeigh Cardinal and Boy Golden.

The winners of the awards in both the Artistic and Industry categories will be unveiled during BreakOut West, set for Saskatoon, SK from September 25-29.

Now in its 22nd year, BreakOut West develops, supports and honours the best of western Canadian music, with its annual conference, festival and the WCMAs.

Voting for the WCMAs is now open to members of all western Provincial and Territorial Music Industry Associations. Only members will be sent an email regarding login information to vote (please contact your music association if you don't receive an email). Voting will conclude at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, on Sunday, May 26.

BreakOut West 2024 officially begins on Wednesday, September 25 with the start of its five-day career development conference and international industry program. It offers immersive content, international market deep dives, one-on-one mentor meetings, workshops and more. 50+ artists from western Canada and beyond will perform at multiple venues across the host city. Festival wristbands will be announced soon.

Stay tuned for more announcements about this year’s specialty award recipients, as well as details on the winner reveal celebrations. Find out more about BreakOut West here, and a list of the full WCMA nominees below.

2024 Western Canadian Music Awards Artistic Nominees

Blues Artist of the Year
Blue Moon Marquee - BC
Brandon Isaak - BC
Garret T. Willie - BC
Kinjo & Young - AB
Paul Black - BC

BreakOut Artist of the Year (Sponsored By FACTOR)
Boy Golden - MB
Field Guide - MB
Miesha and The Spanks – AB
Slow Leaves - MB
William Prince - MB

Children’s Artist of the Year
Al Simmons - MB
Micah! - MB
Mom Bop - BC
Seeka Sings - AB
The Zing Zangs - BC

Classical Artist or Ensemble of the Year (Sponsored By Canadian Music Centre (CMC))
Allegra Chamber Orchestra - BC
Emily Carr String Quartet - BC
Suzie LeBlanc - BC
UltraViolet - AB
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra - BC

Classical Composer of the Year
Dorothy Chang - Fifteen feet Closer to the Sky "All That Glitters" - BC
Emilie Cecilia LeBel - field studies "and the higher leaves of the trees seemed to shimmer in the last of the sunlight's lingering touch of them" - AB
Farshid Samandari - Light of Lights "Light of Lights" - BC
Jeffrey Ryan - A Left Coast "Everything Already Lost" - BC
Vincent Ho - Cheng² Duo "Horizon Images" - AB

Country Artist of the Year
Corb Lund - AB
Don Amero - MB
Kalsey Kulyk - AB
Nice Horse - AB
The Prairie States - AB

Electronic & Dance Artist of the Year
Kelland - BC
Rose Motion - BC
Ruby Singh - BC
RUMPUS - BC
Talltale - AB

Francophone Artist of the Year (Sponsored by APCM (Association des professionnels de la chanson et de la musique))
Alexis Normand - SK
Beau Nectar -SK
Fire & Smoke - MB
Missy D - BC
Suzie LeBlanc - BC

Global Artist of the Year
Jocelyn Pettit -BC
Notas de 4 - AB
Rooky Kamiz - SK
Rubim de Toledo - AB
Rumba Calzada - BC

Indigenous Artist of the Year
Celeigh Cardinal - AB
FONTINE - MB
Garret T. Willie - BC
Logan Staats - BC
PIQSIQ - BC

Instrumental Artist of the Year
Apollo Suns - MB
Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira - BC
Merrie Klazek - BC
Rubim de Toledo - AB
West of Mabou - SK

Jazz Artist of the Year
Angela Verbrugge – BC
Aretha Tillotson - AB
Audrey Ochoa - AB
Daniel Hersog Jazz Orchestra - BC
Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra - MB

Metal & Hard Music Artist of the Year
Fall of Earth - AB
FKA Rayne - BC
KEN mode - MB
LOOK ALIVE - AB
Red Cain - AB

Pop Artist of the Year
Haley Blais - BC
Josh Sahunta - AB
Kayla Williams - AB
Kuzi Cee - AB
Michaela Slinger - BC

Producer of the Year
Andy Schichter - Park Sound Studio - BC
Lana Winterhalt - MB
Liam Moes & Shane Stephenson - BC
Ryan Dahle - BC
Ryan Worsley - Echoplant Sound - BC

R&B Artist of the Year
Emerald Osagie - BC
JJ Adrian - BC
NADUH - BC
Sadé Awele - BC
ZADA - BC

Rap & Hip Hop Artist of the Year
Arlo Maverick - AB
Junk & Massiah - BC
Mouraine - AB
Super Duty Tough Work - MB
Terell Safadi - BC

Recording of the Year
Ariel Posen - MB
Begonia - MB
Boy Golden - MB
Michael Kaeshammer - BC
William Prince - MB

Rock Artist of the Year
Ariel Posen - MB
Kris Ulrich - MB
Miesha and The Spanks - AB
Shred Kelly - BC
Whale and the Wolf - AB

Roots Artist of the Year
Celeigh Cardinal - AB
FONTINE - MB
Jake Vaadeland - SK
The Dead South - SK
William Prince - MB

Songwriter(s) of the Year (Sponsored By The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN))
Alexa Dirks, Matt Peters and Matthew Schellenberg - Begonia "Butterfly" - MB
Liam Duncan - Boy Golden "For Jimmy" - MB
Celeigh Cardinal, Dave & Joey Landreth "Light of the Moon" - MB
Logan Staats "A Light In The Attic" - BC
William Prince - "Stand In The Joy" - MB

Spiritual Artist of the Year
Anastasya Lea - BC
Brian Doerksen - BC
Cynthia Lok - BC
Marika Siewert - BC
Stirling John - AB

Video Director of the Year (Sponsored by Manitoba Film & Music)
Amy Mantyka - Beau Nectar "Two Lips" - SK
Jay Lawrance - Miesha and The Spanks "So Mad" - AB
Peter Kominek - VISSIA "Doorway" - AB
Sandy Rossignol - Blue Moon Marquee "Hound Dog On a Chain" - BC
Steve Bays - The Matinee "Cut to Pieces" - BC

2024 Western Canadian Music Awards Industry Nominees

Audio Engineering Award
Andy Schichter - Park Sound Studio - BC
David Ziehr - Echoplant Sound - BC
Neil Cooke-Dallin - Burning Rainbow Studio - BC
Ryan Worsley - Echoplant Sound - BC
Steve Bays - Trophy Club Mgmt - BC

Community Excellence Award
Community Arts Mentorship Program (CAMP) - SK
Good + Plenty Arts Collective - MB
National Music Centre - AB
West End Cultural Centre - MB
Women in Music Canada - MB

Excellence in Visual Design
Bronwin Parks - Feisty Creative - BC
Keenan Gregory – Kidpixel - AB
Mark Mushet - Mark Mushet Photography - BC
Megan Kwan - Super Sensitive Studios - BC
Roberta Landreth - MB

Impact in Artist Development
Birthday Cake Media - MB
Misfit Music MGMT - MB
National Music Centre - AB
Paquin Artists Agency - MB
West End Cultural Centre - MB

Impact in Live Music (Sponsored by Canadian Live Music Association)
King Eddy - AB
Midnight Agency - BC
National Music Centre - AB
Paquin Artists Agency - MB
West End Cultural Centre - MB

Impact in Music Marketing
All Good Promotion & Marketing - AB
Birthday Cake Media - MB
National Music Centre - AB
Phase Management Inc. - BC
West End Cultural Centre - MB