It was a glitzy affair, as it is each April.
Juno what I mean?
The tallest trophy in the Canadian music land - the Juno - was handed out this past weekend in a mega-celebrity extravaganza held this year in Ottawa. There was northern B.C. content salted throughout the list of nominees, and Prince George got a little glint of Juno gold at the end of the night.
Karl Stobbe doesn't get to take a little sliver of the trophy home, but as associate concertmaster he does have a significant hand in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The WSO's collaboration with Steve Wood and the Northern Cree Singers on the project Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation ended up the victor in the category entitled Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment.
Another classical connection to Prince George came in the Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance category.
That award went to Kent Nagano and Orchestre Symphonique de Montral, but the finalists included the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on a Handel's Messiah collaboration.
The TSO's concertmaster is P.G.-born Jonathan Crow.
Two guitar players from P.G. got some attention in the Juno craze.
Hedley, with Prince George's Dave Rosin on guitar, was up for Juno Fan Choice Award. That trophy went to Shawn Mendes.
Vancouver country rocker Dallas Smith was up for Country Album of the Year and got to perform on the nationally broadcast show.
Prowling the stage was P.G.'s Jer Breaks, one of the band's guitar players.
That same category also had Skeena singer-songwriter Aaron Pritchett on the shortlist. The trophy eventually went to power vocalist Jess Moskaluke.
Finally, in the Traditional Roots Album of the Year category won by The East Pointers, some regional content was in the mix.
The High Bar Gang is an offshoot of Barney Bentall & The Grand Cariboo Opry, thanks to Bentall's post-rocker career as a working rancher in the Cariboo.
It was that same category one year ago that brought more gold to the Cariboo.
The 2016 Junos awarded that trophy to Horsefly duo Pharis & Jason Romero.
By cosmic fluke, the Romeros were performing in Prince George this past weekend.
