Troy Junker has literally gone the distance to follow his dream. (Photo credit: Ash Jahromi)

By Nigel Maxwell

Chasing dreams

Former Prince Albert resident named national music grant recipient

Jul 8, 2021 | 3:00 PM

A former student at Carlton Comprehensive High School has been included with an elite group of musicians from across the country.

Troy Junker, 28, was one of 28 people selected by TD Bank and SOCAN for a National grant called the TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship. The program provides emerging music creators with funding, mentorship, and the opportunity to participate in a progressive webinar series that will hone their skills of entrepreneurship, while providing them with the tools and resources needed to turn their talent into a sustainable career. The selection committee received over 1,000 applicants.

“It’s going to help me in the sense like just being able to continue learning about just how the music industry is moving forward and apply the knowledge to myself,” Junker told paNOW.

In 2014, Junker was working at a Uranium mine when he made the decision to follow in his friend’s footsteps, move to Toronto, and follow his music dream. While there, he enrolled in and completed the Music Business Management course at Durham College.

“I just felt like I needed to go to the epicentre of where the industry was happening, so I could just learn how it actually worked,” he explained.

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Junker’s passion for rapping dates back over ten years to his days in Grade 9. He explained he loved the way he could express himself.

“Being able to either tell my story, or a lot of people have just messaged me and said the lyrics I say, they can relate to it,” he said.

In addition to the program and mentorship opportunities from industry executives, Junker also receives a $3,000 grant which he plans to use to buy a new camera—Junker films all his own music videos. When asked what advice he may pass on to aspiring musicians back at home, he said follow your heart.

“I would just say listen to yourself and follow your passion. If you really feel like this is the road for you then just continue pursuing it,” he said.

Junker recently release his project titled, The Path, which has accumulated over 100,000 streams across platforms and charted number two on the Indigenous Music Countdown on Sirius XM.

He has also released a new song called 10X10, and it was featured on two of the biggest Canadian Spotify playlists. The song passed over 5,000 streams in a weekend and 4,000 views on YouTube.

There was one other grant recipient, with connections to Saskatchewan. Andrea An, a Vietnamese-Canadian singer/songwriter, was born and raised in Saskatoon. The multi-talented pop, R&B, and country artist started taking piano lessons at age six and by the time she was a teenager, had also taught herself to play guitar.

An has generated over 500,000 views on YouTube and Facebook and played festivals like the Trifecta Music Festival and the Country Thunder VIP area. She was nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2021 Saskatchewan Country Music Association Awards.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell