Alberta nominees up for big hardware at Western Canadian Music Awards

Edmonton rapper ARDN. (ARDNMusic/Instagram)

Music is alive and well in Alberta as artists of all genres and industry professionals secure nominations for the 2026 Western Canadian Music Awards.

Music industry organizations from six provinces and territories make up the Western Canadian Music Alliance, which hosts the awards.

Albertans make up nearly a third of the nominees across the artistic and industry categories, including:

Artistic nominees

• Alicia Lov - Pop Artist of the Year
• ARDN - Breakout Artist of the Year, Rap and Hip Hop Artist of the Year
• Aretha Tillotson - Jazz Artist of the Year
• Bijaan - Rap and Hip Hop Artist of the Year
• Brock Davis Mitchell - Video Director of the Year
• Caity Gyorgy and Mark Limacher - Jazz Artist of the Year
• Calling All Captains - Breakout Artist of the Year, Rock Artist of the Year
• Cikwes - Spiritual Artist of the Year
• Duo Majoya - Classical Artist or Ensemble of the Year
• Electric Religious - Pop Artist of the Year
• Emilie Cecilia LeBel - Classical Composer of the Year
• Jashan Makan/Bhaveek Makan - Video Director of the Year
• Jr. Rhodes - Rap and Hip Hop Artist of the Year
• Kyle McKearney - Indigenous Artist of the Year
• La Parranda Venezolana - Global Artist of the Year
• Mandy Faye - Children’s Artist of the Year
• Marc Beaudin - Francophone Artist of the Year
• Mariel Buckley - Roots Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year
• Mike Schlosser - Producer of the Year
• Montuno West - Global Artist of the Year
• Mouraine - Rap and Hip Hop Artist of the Year
• Mr. Matt - Children’s Artist of the Year
• Nuela Charles - Pop Artist of the Year
• Ollee Owens - Blues Artist of the Year
• Sargeant X Comrade - R&B Artist of the Year
• Secondhand Dreamcar - Blues Artist of the Year
• The Daniel Pelton Collective - Instrumental Artist of the Year
• The Mbira Renaissance Band - Afrobeats Artist of the Year, Global Artist of the Year
• Valley of Despair - Metal and Hard Music Artist of the Year
• Vincent Ho - Classical Composer of the Year

Industry Nominees

• Chronograph Records - Impact in Music Marketing
• Justine Gile - Impact in Artist Development
• Molly Little - Excellence in Visual Design
• Molly Little and Jill Chipman - Excellence in Visual Design
• National Music Centre - Impact in Artist Development, Impact in Music Marketing
• Padraig Buttner-Schnirer - Audio Engineering
• SHE-Q Audio - Community Excellence
• Winterruption Festivals - Impact in Live Music

Members of Alberta Music and several other industry organizations can vote for the winners until June 17.

The awards will be announced at BreakOut West in Victoria, which runs Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.

The annual event is a music development conference and music festival hosted by the Western Canadian Music Alliance.

This is the 24th year for the festival, which will have 50 artists performing across multiple venues in Victoria.