Artists & Industry from Alberta Earn 43 Western Canadian Music Awards Nominations

Alberta artists, music companies, and industry professionals are making a strong showing at the 2026 Western Canadian Music Awards, earning 43 nominations across artistic and industry categories.

Representing genres that span pop, roots, rock, rap and hip hop, jazz, classical, global, Indigenous, and children’s music, Alberta nominees showcase the breadth of talent being developed across the province. Alberta is also well represented in industry categories recognizing artist development, music marketing, visual design, audio engineering, community impact, and live music, demonstrating the strength of the teams and organizations working behind the scenes to support Alberta artists at every stage of their careers.

These nominations reflect a vibrant and growing music community and celebrate the artists, creators, businesses, and industry leaders helping shape Alberta’s music sector both at home and on the national stage.

2026 Western Canadian Music Awards Alberta Nominees

The Mbira Renaissance Band earned two nominations for Afrobeats Artist of the Year and Global Artist of the Year.

Mariel Buckley is a two time nominee for Roots Artist of the Year and Songwriter(s) of the Year.

Calling All Captains also received two nominations for BreakOut Artists of the Year and Rock Artist of the Year.

This years Edmonton Music Prize recipient ARDN snagged two nominations for BreakOut Artists of the Year and Rap & Hip Hop Artist of the Year.

Molly Little earned two nominations in Excellence in Visual Design, including a collaborative nomination alongside Jill Chipman

National Music Centre is recognized with two nominations for Impact in Artist Development and Impact in Music Marketing

Among the remaining artistic nominees are Ollee Owens and Second Hand Dreamcar (Blues Artist of the Year), Mandy Faye and Mr. Mike (Children’s Artist of the Year), Duo Majoya (Classical Ensemble of the Year), Emilie Cecilia LeBel and Vincent Ho (Classical Composer of the Year), Alicia Lov, Electric Religious and Nuela Charles (Pop Artists of the Year), Bijaan, Jr. Rhodes,  and Mouraine (Rap & Hip Hop Artist of the Year), Cikwes (Spiritual Artist of the Year), Marc Beaudin (Francophone Artist of the Year), La Parranda Venezolana and Montuno West (Global Artist of the Year), Kyle McKearney (Indigenous Artist of the Year), The Daniel Pelton Collective (Instrumental Artist of the Year), Sargeant X Comrade ( R&B Artist of the Year), Aretha Tillostson and Caity Gyorgy and Mark Limacher (Jazz Artist of the Year), Valley of Despair (Metal & Hard Music Artist of the Year).

Alberta music companies and industry were also recognized with nominees – Brock Davis Mitchell and Jashan Makan & Bhaveek Makan (Video Director of the Year), Justine Gilles (Impact in Artist Development), Winterruption YEG (Impact in Live Music), Mike Schlosser (Producer of the Year), Padraig Buttner-Schnirer (Audio Engineer of the Year), She-Q Audio (Community Excellence Award) and Chronograph Records (Impact in Music Marketing)

The winners of the 2026 Western Canadian Music Awards and Industry Awards will be announced this fall in Victoria, BC during BreakOut West. Now in its 24th year, BreakOut West continues to develop, support, and celebrate the best of Western Canadian music through its annual conference and music discovery festival.

Taking place September 30 – October 4, 2026, the five-day event features professional development programming, international market development opportunities, one-on-one mentor meetings, workshops, networking events, and more. The festival will also showcase more than 50 artists performing across multiple venues throughout Victoria, highlighting the best emerging talent from Western Canada alongside select national and international acts.

Voting is open until June 17 at 11:59 p.m. CT to members of Alberta Music, Manitoba Music, SaskMusic, MusicBC, Music NWT, and Music Yukon.

For a full list of nominees visit BreakOutWest.ca