JUNO OPENING NIGHT AWARDS

The JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards is a star studded annual event that takes place in the JUNO Award’s host city the night before the televised broadcast award ceremony. It is an elegant evening where CARAS and the Music Industry honour the best in Canadian music. Approximately 1,300 artists, industry executives, sponsors, VIP’s and local dignitaries attend the exclusive reception and ceremony. 

Over the years, guests enjoy a reception and enter into the dining space where dining tables and two dynamic stages are designed and set for the evening's program.  

Typically the room features two stages - a presenter stage, uniquely designed each year, and a performer stage where 5-6 live performances by Canadian artists were scripted throughout the dinner courses. In 2023 we we flipped the script and combined the stages for some stunning set changes and included a central stage in the audience where presenters and performers were featured. 

The lineup is always very diverse, representing the wonderful wide range of talent our nation has to celebrate. All genres have been represented in the past by such artists as the African Guitar Summit, Shania Twain, Neil Young, Deadmua5, Shawn Mendes, A Tribe Called Red and many, many more. 

Highlights of the evening include an In Memoriam moment acknowledging industry greats that have recently passed, and the presentation of two speacial awards; the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award and the MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award. In some years the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award was also presented. 

The Canadian “modest greatness” of the JUNO Awards. Each year we are blown away by the breadth and depth of musical talent that we have in this country – it’s astounding! The people involved – from the artists, to the management, to the labels – are down to earth, friendly, and a pleasure to work with. 

In 2014, the  9 ft. tall by 4 ft. deep "JUNO" letters, digitally mapped to project imagery during presentations and performances (that post-show were donated to a Winnipeg school’s art program) were pretty cool too!