The Capital Region could soon boast a couple more Juno-winning bands, if nominations for Ocie Elliott and Spiritbox result in awards this May.
Both bands are up for breakthrough group of the year, and Spiritbox is also up for metal/hard music album of the year for its debut, Eternal Blue.
Jon Middleton of Ocie Elliott said just being nominated is an amazing feeling for he and the band’s other half, Sierra Lundy.
“But getting it would be the cherry on the sundae,” he told Black Press Media.
The nomination recognizes the duo’s work from 2021, when they released two folk-indie EPs, Slow Tide and A Place. Middleton, also a founding member of popular local band Jon and Roy, said the last couple of years have been difficult, missing out on the joy of touring, but it’s provided more time to record.
“We’ve actually managed to do quite well during the pandemic in general,” he said.
This year, both Ocie Elliott and Jon and Roy are heading back out onto the road nearly full time, with shows planned throughout the U.S. and Europe beginning mid-March.
READ ALSO: Ocie Elliott: Facing the Music
Metal band Spiritbox has similar plans, along with one Canadian stop in Toronto March 11. In September the group released Eternal Blue, which has since amassed 163 million streams worldwide, five million of them in Canada.
“I’m very excited and honoured to be nominated for two Juno awards this year. Growing up, and watching my favourite Canadian bands be represented at the Junos always inspired me, and for us to be a part of it now is a full-circle moment,” guitarist Mike Stringer said in a press release.
The Juno awards are set to be held in-person for the first time in three years at Toronto’s open-air Budweiser Stage on May 15.
READ ALSO: Charlotte Cardin leads with six Juno nominations
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