Nelly Furtado to host, Elliot Page will present at Junos in Halifax

HALIFAX, N.S. — No one could announce it better than Maestro Fresh Wes.

“The 2024 Junos will be smashin’ it … get your tickets and your IG page and start postin’ it ‘cause Nelly Furtado is the one who will be hostin’ it,” he said, reading from a poem he wrote during a Junos press conference on Tuesday morning in Halifax.

The Ontario-born Godfather of Canadian hip hop, who is now living in Saint John, N.B., will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards in Halifax on March 24.

During a scrum with reporters, he expressed what that meant to be the first hip hop artist and only the fourth Black person to be inducted.

“This is big for Canadian hip hop, this is big for Black music in Canada to be the first MC inducted in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. It’s been a long time coming,” he said.

Wes said Halifax feels like home because this is where he filmed the TV show Mr. D for years. He also announced a partnership with the NSCC foundation to establish the Maestro Fresh Wes Scholarship, to encourage more Black students to go into the trades.

“We don’t have a shortage of rappers but we definitely have a shortage of Black people involved in trades,” he said.

Top Juno takeaways

The big announcements — first of several to come which will include performers and nominees — were made on the stage of the Marquee Ballroom on Gottingen Street on Monday morning. Other key takeaways:

There were also several announcements HRM residents will want to know:

• Tickets go on sale Friday, starting at $57.50.
• Submissions for 50 artists to play at the two-night Juno Fest opened Tuesday.
• Juno Week is March 21-24 where nominees and local artists will be performing at 10 venues across the city.
• The Juno awards are at the Scotiabank Centre on March 24 at 9 p.m.
• Volunteer program opens mid-December.

What to expect

The last time the Junos came to Halifax was in 2006 when Pamela Anderson hosted and the likes of Coldplay and Michael Bublé walked the red carpet. Junos typically bring in $12 million in economic spinoffs as about 2,500 people will travel here for the show.  Allan Reid, president and CEO of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), said Edmonton, the last host, got $13.4 million.

With Juno Week, there are far more things to do than just the big night, said Reid.

“The songwriters circle is one of the most amazing events of Juno weekend,” he said. “Artists come out and strip their songs down to vocal and guitar and talk about the root of where those songs came from.

There will be outdoor and indoor venues, which are still yet to be determined. When asked if the homeless encampments on Grand Parade and elsewhere will be an issue, Reid said they’ll work with HRM to figure it out.

“We don’t want to displace anyone in the city, that is a crisis that is happening across Canada right now. We will work closely with the city on anything that does happen.”

There are a lot more announcements to come and the nominees will be announced in February.

Buffy Sainte-Marie and Drake

After a recent CBC story that cast doubts on the Indigenous heritage of Buffy Sainte-Marie, there have been media reports of Indigenous groups calling for the Junos to take back Sainte-Marie’s Juno Award for Indigenous album of the year.

Reid said they are reviewing the matter and consulting with the Indigenous music advisory committee. The category requires someone to be Indigenous and a Canadian citizen, he said and any changes to requirements will be done after the review is complete.

He was also asked if rap superstar Drake would toss his hat into the Juno ring this year. Relations between Drake and the Junos have been notoriously rocky since 2011 when Drake hosted the award show but didn’t win in any of his six nominated categories.  

“Drake is always welcome to submit back to the Junos,” Reid said on Tuesday. “We’d love to have him come back at some point.”

Parting words from the Maestro

Halifax better get ready for a party.

“I’m gonna smash the stage, for sure,” he said. “The performances are going to be incredible … it’s a celebration, we’re partying, man.

“We’re all celebrating in Halifax, man. I’m excited about it.”