Hard work and determination has paid off for some Edmonton musicians who have been nominated for the 2020 Juno Awards.
Celeigh Cardinal received her first Juno nod this year, in the category of Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.
Just before the nominations were revealed, Cardinal was nervous.
“So, I listened to my album and I decided that I loved the album and I loved everything I had done with it and I was OK if I didn’t win because the album was everything I wanted it to be.”
Music has been Cardinal’s full-time job for the past five years, but that wasn’t always the case.
“I have been in the music industry for 20 years. It’s been a slow, slow process. I was a single mother for a lot of years, so I couldn’t put in as much time and energy.”
Now that her son is older, she is able to focus on her passion full-time.
“As an Indigenous woman, I feel like I’ve always had to work twice as hard,” Cardinal said. “Putting in this much time has given me the opportunity to hone my craft and understand who I am and what I want to present. Building an amazing foundation of family, friends, fans from all over Alberta. That’s going to be there forever.”
The Metis singer-songwriter’s Stories from a Downtown Apartment bares it all to the audience.
Other Edmonton nominees include Nuela Charles, nominated for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year and NÊHIYAWAK, nominated for Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.
Heavy metal band Striker is heading to the Juno Awards for the second time in the Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year category for the album Play to Win.
“You’re nominated alongside the names of Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, all these big famous stars. And then, you have us,” guitarist Tim Brown laughed.
Vocalist Dan Cleary said being nominated is a very validating experience.
“We’ve been a band for about 10 years now. It really does validate your existence as a musician a little bit, which is really nice.”
Like the rest of the band, Brown works a couple of day jobs, which include consulting for the City of Edmonton.
The band has even had a few brushes with big-name nominees.
The Juno Awards will take place on March 15 in Saskatoon, Sask.