[Juno Awards Preview] A Year To Remember

A Year to Remember at Halifax's 2006 Junos Awards

The Juno Awards have been getting bigger and bigger every year, but it looks like this year's trip to Halifax could prove to be the best destination yet for the music awards with a number of announcements over the last month that are sure to inspire fans. Among the 11 musical performances that have been announced, some of the biggest names include Coldplay, Michael Bublé, Nickelback, the Black Eyed Peas, and Massari.

Since CTV took over broadcasting the awards in 2002 the Junos have been held in St. John's (2002), Ottawa (2003), Edmonton (2004), and Winnipeg (2005). Each year the show has seemed to become just a little bigger. Hosts like Shania Twain and the Barenaked Ladies took the stage and wowed the crowds, events took place all over the host cities, and of course, awards were handed out.But 2006 just seems to be a notch bigger than ever before. With Pamela Anderson as this year's host, and all the artists who will be performing, on top of the Juno Weekend events, it's easy to get a bit excited about this year's Juno festivities.

The full list of performers for the Juno Awards telecast on Sunday, April 2nd include: Coldplay, Michael Bublé, Nickelback, Black Eyed Peas, Hedley, Buck 65, Divine Brown, Massari, Bedouin Soundclash, Broken Social Scene and 2006 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Bryan Adams.

For fans attending the events in Halifax it doesn't stop there though. On Friday, March 31st at 7:30 p.m. at the Halifax Forum fans can check out the Juno Cup where Canadian musicians take on NHL Greats for a fundraiser supporting the music education program, MusiCan.

On Friday and Saturday, JunoFest takes to the clubs and music venues of Halifax and will include over 100 local, regional and national artists. Among the artists set to perform are Pilate, Corb Lund, Sloan, The Road Hammers, plus Juno nominees Elliott Brood and Ron Sexsmith.

Fans can also head over to Juno Fan Fare on Saturday to get autographs from their favorite Juno nominees, and on Sunday afternoon before the big Juno telecast, the Songwriters' Circle will include Alan Doyle, Martha Wainwright, and Ron Sexsmith, among others, talking about their careers and performing songs.

Finally, there's the industry's Gala Dinner and Awards, which is where most of the Juno Awards will be handed out. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of amazing artists won't get their time on national TV, but it also means that Sunday evening's telecast won't drag on for hours.

If you aren't lucky enough to have a ticket to the Junos, or to catch any of the other events over the weekend, you can tune in to CTV on Sunday, April 2, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (ET). Plus, stay tuned to The GATE's Juno Awards Spotlight for ongoing coverage, including interviews, photos, the 'Juno Blog', and the top stories from the Junos.

Source: thegate.ca