Music Nova Scotia Opens 2025 Award Nominations and Nova Scotia Music Week Showcase Applications
(March 20, 2025 – Halifax/Kjipuktuk) Nova Scotia Music Week (NSMW) 2025 will take place in Yarmouth/Kespukwitk from October 23-26, 2025. Music Nova Scotia is pleased to open both showcasing applications and award nominations for this year’s event!
Showcasing applications and award nominations will be open until Thursday, April 10, 2025, at 11:59pm AT. Please review the showcasing and awards manuals in full before submitting your application for full eligibility requirements.
After receiving feedback from the membership, MNS has made a significant change to open both the awards and showcasing applications at the same time, allowing for better communication between juries. Additionally, consultation was prioritized over the last year regarding the eligibility, criteria, and name of the African Nova Scotian Artist of the Year Award. The African Nova Scotian/Black Advisory Body, a joint group serving both Music Nova Scotia and the African Nova Scotian Music Association, met and advised that further community consultation was needed before the name or the eligibility of the award changed. This consultation will take place over the next 12 months to ensure the award continues to best serve the community it represents. For NSMW 2025, the eligibility and name will remain the same as previous years. All artists submitting to African Nova Scotian Artist of the Year are also welcome and encouraged to apply to their genre categories as well at no additional cost.
Both showcasing and awards manuals can be found on our website here.
You must be a member of Music Nova Scotia in good standing to submit showcasing applications and award nominations. If your membership is not up to date by the deadline to apply, your submission will not be considered eligible. To renew or create a new membership, click here.
Showcasing applications and award nominations are juried by panels of third-party music industry professionals with specific knowledge of the industry and the genres they are evaluating. If you are interested in joining Music Nova Scotia’s juror pool, please fill out this form.
Sign up for our mailing list here for festival updates and to be notified when additional delegate passes and festival wristbands go on sale!
The Host Hotel, The Rodd Grand Yarmouth, has limited capacity for NSMW delegates, partners, and staff. For those looking to book accommodations for NSMW 2025, Music Nova Scotia recommends using our Accommodations page here.
Music Nova Scotia would like to extend a huge thank you to NSMW’s Premier and Presenting Partners for helping make this year’s event possible: FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters, the Province of Nova Scotia, Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association, and Garrison Brewing Co.
For media and sponsorship inquiries, please contact:
Kelsey Whynot
Marketing, Communications, and Sponsorship Manager
For all other festival inquiries, please contact:
Dana Beeler
Events and Strategic Development Manager
