This year’s Juno award nominees have arrived, and amongst the major pop stars and starlets, a humble, hardworking Calgary musician made the cut.
Mariel Buckley is based in Calgary (formerly from Edmonton) and was nominated for her 2025 album, Strange Trip Ahead. It’s a major achievement for the artist, who has been writing songs, performing live and releasing albums in Alberta since 2012.
“I’m totally floored, to be honest,” Buckley said in an interview. “Although nobody makes art for the awards, recognition for hard work is a wonderful feeling. I’m so grateful and pumped to be alongside three amazing artists I’m lucky to call my friends. Hard to beat that!”
Buckley will be making her way to the Junos for the first time as a nominee in the Contemporary Roots Album of the Year category. She’s been praised for her songwriting prowess by Brooklyn Vegan, Holler, and Exclaim! In recent years, she’s made an intentional move toward contemporary production, revisiting grunge and 90s alt/indie rock influences in her sound.
In 2023, Buckley shared her thoughts on Alberta’s country music scene in an interview with CKUA: “Alberta and the prairies have some of the country’s best talent, by far,” she said. “Whenever big operations like this one roll through, I see it as an opportunity for our artists to stand out on the national landscape. It’s pretty cool to spotlight this part of the country, because it’s not often the focal point for industry and touring.”
The Juno Awards were held in Edmonton in 2023, and the awards ceremony will take place in Hamilton, Ont., this year at the TD Coliseum. Her bandmates Luke Breiteneder, Reid Thiel, and Ryan Funk are also from Edmonton.
Buckley is known for cultivating a strong sense of community amongst her listeners, many of whom feel they are on the outside looking in. She is fearlessly dedicated to grinding it out on the road, having conducted workshops in and around Alberta, offering guidance to emerging musicians with tips on launching profitable North American tours.
Strange Trip Ahead is unapologetically genuine, wry, hard-headed, and soft-hearted. It speaks to this province’s deep love for traditional country music, while updating that formula with contemporary instrumentation and production. Buckley wrote all songs on the record, splitting her time between Calgary and Nashville to record at Chateau Noir. The cover art for the album was also photographed by local artist Maggie Geis.
This is one underdog who is finally getting the recognition she’s long deserved. She joins New Brunswick’s Matt Andersen, Alberta’s Noeline Hofmann, Ontario’s The Young Novelists, and Manitoba’s William Prince as a nominee in the category.
The 55th annual Juno Awards Broadcast will take place in Hamilton, Ont., at TD Coliseum on Sunday, March 29, 2026. The awards ceremony will air live across Canada at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen and CBCMusic. You can also stream the event globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel.
We can’t wait to cheer on Buckley from her home province.
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