Thorn nominated for 2026 Western Canadian Music Award

Vancouver harpist Elisa Thorn has been nominated as Jazz Artist of the Year from the Western Canadian Music Awards for her recent release, xiik. “This is a happy surprise because my album sits as quite an outlier from the rest of the nominees, whose music aligns with the more traditional/straight-ahead definition of jazz,” Thorn says. The winner of the award is determined by a vote split equally between the jury and the members of the music industry associations of western Canada. Winners will be announced during the annual BreakOut West music conference, which will be held Sept. 30–Oct. 4 in Victoria, B.C.