'Heartbreaking': Five years after COVID-19, a look back on the Junos that never were

It’s been five years since that fateful day, but the memories haven’t faded for Kurt Dahl. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” Dahl says now, a half-decade after the world came to a stop with the global spread of COVID-19 — and the Juno Awards in Saskatoon were abruptly cancelled. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.

On March 12, it hit Saskatchewan. The province announced its first presumptive case of COVID-19, and the week-long celebration of Canadian music was called off. “My initial response was sadness, and that feeling of a real missed opportunity for our city,” Dahl says.



Here is a look back on the cancellation of the 2020 Junos, with reflections from SaskMusic president (and member of local rock band One Bad Son) Kurt Dahl; Tourism Saskatoon CEO Stephanie Clovechok; and 2020 JunoFest producer and organizer Kirby Wirchenko ...

CLOVECHOK: “I was at ground zero. As the (vice-president) of Tourism Saskatoon at the time, I was working closely with the local host committee and our CEO, Todd Brandt. Discussions were happening through the night, weighing every possible scenario.

The stage was set, the Junos team and many artists had already arrived, and our community was ready to shine. The decision to cancel was heartbreaking, made in collaboration with all levels of government and public health.” DAHL: “I was fairly involved in the planning around the Saskatoon event, and the night before the announcement, was out for dinner and drinks with several Juno folks.

of ‘it won’t hit us’ — and that COVID, in general, would stay across the ocean in Europe and China. How naive we all were. I started getting texts that evening from industry insiders, and by the morning, it was all over.

” WIRCHENKO: “I was standing in the Broadway Theatre, on the phone with the Junos president, as we were loading in the gear for the kickoff show that night. I had booked JunoFest — around 60 acts in 10 venues in two nights. It all got pulled, and on Friday the 13th, I laid myself and our entire staff of around 22 off.

” CLOVECHOK: “Rather than focusing on what was lost, I think it’s more powerful to reflect on what was built ...

Two years of planning brought together industry leaders, Indigenous communities, local businesses, and over 300 volunteers, all committed to making Saskatoon shine on a national stage.” DAHL: “An event like the Junos has a greater impact on a smaller community like Saskatoon than it does on larger communities like Toronto or Vancouver. Those cities have events like this all the time, and we simply do not.

The 2020 Junos were going to be a huge event for our city, as they would have shone a spotlight on all the incredible things that have happened in our music community since the last Junos in 2007.” WIRCHENKO: “In a country where much of popular art and culture was heavily influenced by the U.S, the Junos celebrated Canadian talent.

I was around in the 1980’s and 90’s — a really formative time in music where Canadian artists got far more comfortable being themselves.” CLOVECHOK: “The disappointment was real, but what stands out even more is the resilience of our industry. The pandemic hit our sector harder than any other, and yet, we found ways to adapt, to support local businesses, and to keep Saskatoon’s story alive on the national stage.

” DAHL: “I find I have a way of getting over things quickly, and then realizing a little later that I’m not really over it. So for me, it was back to business as usual by the next day, but a few days later it really hit me just how much of a blow this was. And that feeling then lasted several weeks.

I still have a feeling of disappointment when I think of the Junos, and I suppose that feeling won’t subside until we host them again.” WIRCHENKO: “About a week, honestly. .

It was easy to contextualize that it wasn’t just one industry, it was all.” CLOVECHOK: “There are times when ‘the show must go on’ just doesn’t apply. While it was a devastating call to make, we supported it fully, knowing that it was made with the best information available at the time.

” DAHL: “At the time I think I had a feeling of ‘we could have done it and been fine,’ but in hindsight, the number of cases across the country that quickly spread in the days after the announcement makes clear to me that it was the right decision.” WIRCHENKO: “I think it was absolutely the correct decision to not throw thousands of people together in tight confines, right as an airborne virus was taking hold. At that time we were around eight months away from even having the first COVID shots.

To push ahead and put on the event would have been folly.” CLOVECHOK: “Since those days, we’ve rebuilt airlift, hosted global conferences, and deepened partnerships that will define Saskatoon’s future. , and we are more ready than ever to write the next one.

” DAHL: “I have always said that Saskatchewan, and Saskatoon specifically, really punches well above its weight in terms of musical talent and musical successes over the years. The number of incredible artists that have broke through nationally or internationally is fairly incredible, given our small population. The Junos is one way in which we can showcase that talent to the rest of the country.

That was, of course, lost, but I hope we get the chance again soon.” WIRCHENKO: “The industry I work in — events, concerts, entertainment — was hit pretty hard. It is important to me because what we do does not cure disease.

It is not essential services. But what we try and do is give people those things that make life worth living. If you put one of our tickets on your fridge, wait excitedly for months, tell your friends about it incessantly, take off early from work to get to the show, and you internally shine for a week after — that is what makes doing this worthwhile.

It also makes our city better and that’s a good perk of a job, isn’t it?”.