Celebrating women and gender-diverse innovators in the Canadian music scene, Women in Music Canada (WIMC) has once again shared the long list of nominees for its annual honours, with 2025 nods going to recent Exclaim! cover stars Allison Russell and BAMBII, as well as Nemahsis, DijahSB, LU KALA, Tia Wood, Alysha Brilla and more.
Brilla is being recognized as International Leader of the Year, while the other aforementioned artists are up for the Artist of the Year award. Other nominees are listed below across categories including Change Maker of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Excellence in Live Music, Organization of the Year, Career Achievement Honours and Women in Music Canada Rising Leaders.
The awards will be handed out at the third annual honours event, taking place at Toronto's Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Annabel's on March 6. Tickets are on sale now.
Women in Music Canada Honours 2025 Nominees:
Artist of the Year (presented by Amazon Music)
Allison Russell
Bambii
DijahSB
Lu Kala
Nemahsis
Tia Wood
Change Maker of the Year (presented by National Arts Centre)
Gina Lam - Ginalina
Jinting Zhao - SHE-Q Audio
Dr. Charlie Wall-Andrews - Toronto Metropolitan University / SOCAN Foundation
Entrepreneur of the Year (presented by Believe and TuneCore)
Billie Jo Aasen - The Festival Company
Natalie Aloessode-Bernardin - Amixie Solutions
Cara Heath - With a Bullet
Chelsey June - Twin Flames
Ebonnie Rowe - Honey Jam Canada
Excellence in Live Music
Diana Cerovich - Biltmore Theatre
Taylor Jack - Whitecap Entertainment
Shannon Josdal - Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
Carly McFadden - Folk on the Rocks
Samantha O'Connor - Ink Entertainment
Organization of the Year
Arthaus Community
FabCollab
Misfit Music Management
Music Managers Forum Canada
International Leader of the Year
Alysha Brilla
Career Achievement Honour
Leela Gilday
Lisa Logutenkow
Veronica Syrtash
Women in Music Canada Rising Leaders
Alexandra Idiart-Benavides - The Vault
Harpo Mander - 5X Fest
Alex Simpson - LiveNation / Lavender Live
Kingsley Swim - Project Warp and the Framework
Laura Wilson-Lewis - Warner Music Canada