Albertans came home decorated after winning in several categories at the 2026 Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) last week. Held at BreakOut West in Victoria, the awards promote and recognize the independent music industry in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Yukon. This year, nearly a third of the nominees across the artistic and industry categories were from Alberta. Alberta winners include: “Before I even sat down after receiving the award, I had text messages from our producer and engineer, who wasn’t at the awards, but he had already found out … so he was full of congratulations,” said Chaka Zinyemba, leader of The Mbira Renaissance Band. “The band was pretty excited, surprised as well because I don’t think we expected to win right away on our first nomination.” “It’s great recognition of the work that we’ve put in. Also great recognition of the talent that exists in Alberta,” Zinyemba added. The Edmonton group formed in 2013 and is named after the instrument that lives at the core of the band’s music, the mbira. It’s a traditional African instrument made of a series of tuned metal keys mounted on a wooden board. This year they also released their first full-length album, Roto, after releasing a number of EPs throughout the past 13 years. “(The band’s) music is cyclical and rhythmic at the same time … but what’s really niche about our band is that we have musicians who come in from different angles, and so it then becomes like a fusion sound,” Zinyemba said. “At some point you’re hearing a bit of reggae, but at the same time some jazz, at the same time some traditional Zimbabwean Shona people pattern.” Zinyemba also clarifies that the WCMA Afrobeats Artist of the Year category differs from the traditional afrobeat genre. The genre itself describes a type of music from west Africa. The award category “seeks to recognize artists that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent, highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions,” according to the BreakOut West website. The Mbira Renaissance Band is doing one final live show this year on Friday at the South Common Rec Room.
