British Columbia’s dynamic music industry had a strong showing at the 45th annual Juno awards on Sunday evening in Calgary.

B.C.’s talented musicians were nominated for more than 30 Juno Awards. Husband and wife duo Pharis and Jason Romero of Horsefly took home the Juno for Traditional Roots Album of the Year for their release, A Wanderer I’ll Stay. David Pimental of Port Moody, professionally known as Pomo, won the Juno for Electronic Album of the Year for The Other Day and Kamloops-born Dan Bremnes’ album, Where the Light Is, won the Juno for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year. Dean Brody, originally from Jaffray, performed at the Juno awards show and won Country Album of the Year for Gypsy Road. Dear Rouge, a Vancouver-based electronic pop group, also performed last night and took home the Juno for Breakthrough Group of the Year.

Some of the other British Columbian artists who were nominated for Junos included Carly Rae Jepsen and Shawn Hook for Juno Fan Choice Award, Hedley and Marianas Trench for Group of the Year, Alex Cuba for World Music Album of the Year and Diana Krall for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year.

Newcomer Tobias Jesso Jr. of North Vancouver was also up for three nominations, including Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Adult Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for the smash hit When We Were Young, which was co-written with Adele.

B.C. has the third-largest concentration of independent labels, sound recording studios and other music businesses in Canada and has produced an impressive number of stars with international audiences. B.C. also has a reputation in the music business for its top recording studios.

B.C.’s music industry also delivers significant tourism benefits through visitor spending on concerts, music festivals, food and beverages, hotel accommodations and local attractions.

In February 2016, the Province announced a $15-million grant to support the creation of a BC Music Fund to grow and promote the music industry. Administered by Creative BC, the fund will strengthen the dynamic music sector by stimulating foreign direct investment, enhancing music tourism, stimulating the creation and retention of jobs and encouraging increased activity in regional centres. Creative BC is an independent not-for-profit agency created in 2013 to build the capacity of B.C.’s creative sector.

Quote:

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, and Minister Responsible for Labour –

“Congratulations to the B.C. nominees and winners for tremendous achievements at this year’s Juno Awards! Talented musicians like these contribute to the cultural fabric of our province and demonstrate the creativity we have here in B.C.”

Learn More:

Creative BC: http://www.creativebc.com

BC Creative Economy: http://www.gov.bc.ca/creativeeconomy

BC Jobs Plan: www.bcjobsplan.ca

A backgrounder follows.