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Sarah McLachlan, roots singer Allison Russell and emerging country singer Cameron Whitcomb will perform at the 55th Juno Awards in Hamilton on March 29.
McLachlan and Russell will join forces on stage for a special tribute to Joni Mitchell, who is receiving this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mitchell is being recognized for the ways she “has redefined songwriting and left an immeasurable mark on music worldwide,” the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences said in a release.
Mitchell is a five-time Juno winner, including best vocal jazz album for her 2001 album Both Sides Now.
McLachlan and Russell have both previously been members of the “Joni Jam” live band, a group of musicians assembled by Brandi Carlile to perform with Mitchell after her 2015 brain aneurysm.
Russell performed Both Sides, Now at the 2025 SOCAN Awards in September, where the music icon received the Global Impact Award.
McLachlan frequently covers Mitchell’s songs during her live shows, most notably River, which she added to her 2006 album Wintersong.
WATCH | Russell, Carlile perform with Joni Jam:
Cameron Whitcomb of Nanaimo, B.C., makes his Junos debut this year, with five nominations (just behind Tate McRae and Justin Bieber) and a performance of songs from his nominated album The Hard Way.
Whitcomb got his start after competing on American Idol in 2022, and has since grown a fan base who relate to his revealing, vulnerable take on country. “I got clean because my best friend got clean. He nearly OD’ed and went into treatment,” he told Rolling Stone in an interview.
“I got clean, and I started writing about it. I was writing songs that were for me, and not necessarily what I thought other people wanted to hear…. It was crazy the reaction that I got,” he said.
WATCH | The audio for Whitcomb’s Juno-nominated single Options:
McLachlan, Russell and Whitcomb join the previously announced performers the Beaches, Arkells, William Prince and Daniel Caesar.
The lineup for the Juno Week Kickoff concert, taking place on March 26, was also announced: James Barker Band, Robyn Ottolini, Sacha, Kalsey Kulyk and the Redhill Valleys.
Junofest, a two-night concert series presented by CBC, will take place on March 27 and 28 and includes shows at multiple venues across Hamilton. Almost 70 artists and groups are performing, including Great Lake Swimmers, Katie Tupper, Sebastian Gaskin and Terra Lightfoot.
On the morning of March 28, there will be an honouring ceremony in tribute of the voices pushing Indigenous music forward, with performances from Little Creek Singers, Siibii, and YB Nakota.
