"We were going to do it in March, we were going to do it in April, we were going to do it in May and finally, come hell or high water, it's going to come off on June 6th," says John Brunton.
The CEO of Insight Productions is talking about the 2021 Juno Awards, Canada's annual music industry award show. Brunton and Insight Senior Vice President Lindsay Cox had already lived through one heartbreaking cancelation a year earlier when the Junos were a last-minute scratch due to the outbreak of the pandemic. They managed to find a way, with the help and goodwill of many of the biggest names in Canadian music, to program this 50th anniversary event as a virtual showcase.
Viewers tuning in Sunday, June 6 at 8 p.m. on CBC will see Anne Murray induct Jann Arden into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as part of the show, with Jessie Reyez, Justin Bieber, Maestro Fresh Wes, Serena Ryder and more confirmed to perform. There will also be appearances by Alessia Cara; Andrew Phung; TikTok sensations The Basement Gang; Hall of Fame inductees Buffy Sainte-Marie and Gordon Lightfoot; Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy; Michael Bublé; Paul Brandt; Sarah McLachlan; Shania Twain and many more, including The Tragically Hip performing alongside Feist.
How did they pull such a tricky show together under the cloud of COVID? Listen in as Brunton and Cox tell all.