The JUNOS are coming! The JUNOS are coming! But, before we get to the JUNOS, we’ve got JUNO Week and JUNO Fest.

JUNO Week starts March 30th with the JUNO Cup Jam. Featuring performances at The Bourbon Room with Adrian Sutherland (Midnight Shine), Amanda Rheaume, Barney Bentall (High Bar Gang), Cosmo Ferraro (Ferraro), Darryl James (The Strumbellas), Devin Cuddy Band, Doug Oliver (Cold Creek County), Gord Bamford, Jay Bodner (Eagle & Hawk), Jim Bowskill (Blue Rodeo/Sheepdogs), Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo), JJ Shiplett, Jon Gallant (Billy Talent), Jonathan Roy, Matt Sobb (MonkeyJunk), Matthew Barber, Menno Versteeg (Hollerado), Peter Kesper (NQ Arbuckle), Steve Marriner (MonkeyJunk), Beard Guy (Walk Off the Earth), Tim D’eon (Wintersleep) and Vince Fontaine (Eagle & Hawk/Indian City). I’m overwhelmed at the talent in that list and you’ll be overwhelmed by their performances. Tickets are just $25 and they’re on sale now.

One of my favourite highlights of the week happens next. On March 31st, the JUNO Cup pits NHL Legends against Canadian musical greats. This game is always a hoot and the lineup this year is stacked! Watch as Brad Dalgarno (New York Islanders), Brendan Bell (Ottawa Senators), Chris Phillips (Ottawa Senators), Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators), Gary Roberts (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jim Kyte (Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators), Luke Richardson (Ottawa Senators), Mark Napier (Montréal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers), Paul Coffey (Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins) and Troy Crowder (New Jersey Devils) coached by Grey Cup Champion Henry Burris from the Ottawa Redblacks vs. Aaron Pritchett, Adrian Sutherland (Midnight Shine), Amanda Rheaume, Barney Bentall, Beard Guy (Walk Off The Earth), Chad Brownlee, Cosmo Ferraro (Ferraro), Dallas Smith, Darryl James (The Strumbellas), Devin Cuddy , Doug Oliver (Cold Creek County), Gord Bamford, Jay Bodner (Eagle & Hawk), Jim Bowskill (Blue Rodeo/The Sheepdogs), Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo), Jon Gallant (Billy Talent), Jonathan Roy, Kathleen Edwards, Matthew Barber, Matt Sobb (MonkeyJunk), Sam Roberts, Steve Marriner (MonkeyJunk) and Vince Fontaine (Eagle & Hawk) with Legendary Ottawa 67’s bench boss, Brian “Killer” Kilrea coaching The Rockers.

Watch for more names to be added to these lists! And yes, tickets are $20 and on sale now, you can get one here!

Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1 we get JUNOfest, over two nights, the musicfestival features more than 100 artists playing on stages in more than 15 venues across Ottawa and it’s an integral part of the 2017 JUNO Week. You can see Kelly Prescott, Caveboy, Repartee, The Dirty Nil, Dilly Dally, Bleecker, The Julian Taylor Band, Sykamore, The Abrams, Cold Creek County, Common Deer, The Strumbellas, Stuck on Planet Earth, The Honest Heart Collective, Colin Linden, The Balconies and so many more acts!

Wristbands are only $30, they’ll get you into all of the venues and you can get them here. You can check out the schedule and plan your weekend by following this link. 

On April 2nd we get to the big show, the JUNOS. This year’s lineup features more than 35 JUNO nominees, including Shawn Mendes, Arkells, The Strumbellas, The Weeknd, Monster Truck, Alessia Cara, The Tragically Hip, Chad Brownlee, Coleman Hell, Marians Trench, The Dirty Nil, Whitehorse, Tasha The Amazon, Holy Fuck, Cold Creek County, and more! For the full list of nominees check out the official JUNOS page.

There are so many of our favourites are in the lists above and we can hardly wait!

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Trish Cassling

Writer/Photographer/Editor

Toronto Music Blogger