A tribute to Joni, and a possible Weeknd coronation in absentia: Junos watch 2026

Joni Mitchell performs "Both Sides Now" during the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

HAMILTON — Some of Canada’s biggest musical acts are headed to the Hammer.

The Juno Awards will be handed out at Hamilton’s TD Coliseum this weekend, with the annual celebration of homegrown music taking place over two nights.

Here are five things to look out for over the second-biggest weekend in Canadian music (behind only the Weeknd, of course.)

Joni Mitchell’s return to Canada

Joni Mitchell, born in Alberta and raised in Saskatchewan, is set to make a rare public appearance in her home country to accept a lifetime achievement award on Sunday.

It’s not yet clear whether she’ll sing at the ceremony, but Sarah McLachlan and Allison Russell are on deck to perform in her honour.

Mitchell last stopped by the Junos in 1981, when she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by then-prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

Mitchell hasn’t attended any public events in Canada since 2013, when she participated in a tribute event at Massey Hall “Joni: A Portrait in Song” to mark her 70th birthday. Rufus Wainwright and Kathleen Edwards sang, and Mitchell read an original poem and performed a short set at the end of the event.

A brain aneurysm in 2015 kept her out of the public eye for a period, and she wasn’t present to receive an honorary degree in Saskatoon in 2018 or a lifetime achievement award in Montreal in 2019.

Mitchell has slowly returned to performing in recent years, including a memorable turn at the Grammys in 2024.

Junos organizers say Mitchell’s health will be the determining factor in whether she sings Sunday.

Mitchell will become the second artist to receive the Junos’ lifetime achievement award after Anne Murray last year. The only other time it was handed out was in 1989, to the awards’ namesake, broadcast executive Pierre Juneau.

Could The Weeknd be crowned absentee king of the Junos?

The Weeknd is no stranger to breaking records. He was the first artist to have more than 100 million monthly Spotify listeners; his song “Blinding Lights” was the first ever to reach five billion streams on the platform, and he has the highest-grossing tour by a male artist of all time.

But he could soon achieve a distinctly more homegrown milestone: winningest Junos artist in history.

The current reigning regent is Anne Murray, who has 24 Junos (not including a lifetime achievement award and an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame) to the Weeknd’s 22.

The artist born Abel Tesfaye is up for five additional Junos this year, four of which will be handed out on Saturday, ahead of the broadcast celebration.

Even two wins would put him on par with Murray, and a third would break her record.

But while the Junos has consistently celebrated the Weeknd’s work, he hasn’t attended the ceremony since 2016.

Extra show, light on the awards

There are 47 Juno Awards, but you wouldn’t know it to tune into the televised ceremony.

Only four winners will be announced on Sunday night: fan choice, breakthrough artist or group, group of the year, and contemporary R&B recording of the year.

The rest — including major prizes such as album of the year, artist of the year and single of the year — will be handed out at a gala the day before that will be livestreamed on cbcmusic.ca/junos.

Many of the nominees in those categories won’t be in attendance. In addition to the Weeknd, Justin Bieber and Tate McRae are expected to skip the celebrations.

But if Sunday’s show seems a little light on the hardware, it’ll make up for it in music.

Performers include Arkells, The Beaches and Daniel Caesar, who is set to receive a special international achievement award.

Meanwhile, comedian Mae Martin, who ventured into music with their confessional debut album “I’m a TV” last year, will host the Sunday-night festivities.

A fete for Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado has earned her spot in the pantheon of Canadian music greats. She’s being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame this year, and the Junos will mark the occasion with a tribute to her work. Alessia Cara, Jully Black, Shawn Desman and Tanya Tagaq will perform a medley of her songs alongside Furtado’s band, arranged by musical director Herag Sanbalian.

The “I’m Like a Bird” singer has long been a friend of the Junos, hosting for the first time in 2007 and again in 2024.

In October, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the release of her first album “Whoa, Nelly!” Furtado announced she planned to retire from live performance “for the foreseeable future.”

“I have enjoyed my career immensely, and I still love writing music as I have always seen it as a hobby I was lucky enough to make into a career,” she wrote in an Instagram caption. “I’ll identify as a songwriter forever.”

Cameron Whitcomb ascension

Of the four artists with the most Juno nominations this year, relative newcomer Cameron Whitcomb — Canada’s answer to Benson Boone — is the only one expected to be in attendance.

The backflipping 23-year-old nabbed five nods, the same number as The Weeknd. That’s behind only Justin Bieber and Tate McRae, who received a leading six nominations each.

Whitcomb got his start on “American Idol” in 2022, where the judges praised his energy but urged him to cut back on the physicality of his performances.

After that, he decided to pursue music more seriously. He’s kept up the intensity of his performances while also making himself more vulnerable. He started writing songs about his addiction and recovery, and built a social media following by making short-form videos.

These days, he boasts 1.3 million followers on Instagram and 1.6 million on TikTok.

Whitcomb will face off against Bieber, McRae and The Weeknd for the fan choice prize, album of the year for his debut “The Hard Way” and single of the year for “Options,” a track about the lure of drugs and alcohol for someone in recovery. He’s also up for breakthrough artist of the year and country album of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press