Hamilton, Burlington artists prominent in list of Juno Awards nominees
Arkells looking to nab their fourth-straight Group of the Year win
Arkells and the Juno Awards, like two peas in a pod.
Hamilton’s beloved alt rock band will once again be front and centre at next month’s awards ceremony after picking up their seventh Juno nomination for Group of the Year, a title they’ve won four of the last five years.
And they aren’t the only homegrown artists who got some love when Juno nominees were announced this week.
Below, are some of the area musicians up for awards March 24:
Arkells
Arkells have won Group of The Year for three consecutive years and will look to make it four after being nominated for the award for the seventh time.
Since 2012, the band has claimed the ceremony’s premier prize six times — more than any other Canadian group in history. But their seven total nominations for the category don’t yet eclipse record-status, with hard rock group Rush still leading the pack at 14 total nods.
Josh Ross
A first-time nominee, Hamilton country singer Josh Ross is up for this year’s Tik Tok Juno Fan Choice Award. The Waterdown native and former construction worker is joined by some elite company, with international stars like DVBBS and The Weeknd also tapped for the award.
Walk off the Earth
Perennial nominees Walk off The Earth are up for a double with nods in two categories: Tik Tok Juno Fan Choice and Group of the Year awards.
Known for their covers of pop songs, the Burlington indie group are no strangers to the annual awards show, having been nominated for a dozen Junos since 2013 — a resumé that includes a Group of the Year win in 2016.
Zoon
Hamilton musician Zoon is nominated for Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of The Year for their album “Bekka Ma’iingan.”
The local shoegaze band are firsttime Juno nominees. Core member and Anishinaabe artist Daniel Monkman wrote on social media that the group made the album in a bedroom, with no “big time budget” or connections to major labels.
Logan Staats
Mohawk artist Logan Staats is nominated for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year for his album “A Light in the Attic.”
Another first-time nominee, Staats is also a well-known activist from Six Nations of the Grand River. He was one of the dozens of people arrested in downtown Hamilton in 2019 for protesting Coastal GasLink’s pipeline plans in northern British Columbia.
Brooke Nicholls
Hamilton’s Brooke Nicholls is up for the Contemporary Christian/ Gospel Album of the Year for her album “Glory to God,” her second nomination in the category since 2020.