SOCAN names 2026 special-achievement honourees ahead of Oct. 26 awards
Peter Peter will receive the Global Impact Award at the 2026 SOCAN Awards for his work on Heated Rivalry.
Photo credit: SOCAN
SOCAN has named the Special Achievement Award recipients who will be honoured at the 2026 SOCAN Awards on Oct. 26 at REBEL in Toronto, with this year’s list spanning pop, hip-hop, songwriting and screen composition.
Jessie Reyez will receive the International Achievement Award, while Drake has been named Songwriter of the Year — Performer. Jenna Andrews will receive Songwriter of the Year — Non-Performer after a year that included co-writing “Free” and “What It Sounds Like” for KPop Demon Hunters, and Vancouver singer-songwriter Jade LeMac will receive the Breakout Songwriter Award.
The Cultural Impact Award goes to “Let Your Backbone Slide.” SOCAN credits Maestro Fresh Wes, Anthony Davis and Peter Davis as the songwriters, with BMG Rights Management Canada on behalf of BMG Rights Management (US) and Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd. listed as publishers.
Peter Peter will receive the Global Impact Award for his work on Heated Rivalry. The Quebec singer-songwriter moved into original scoring with the Crave series, and his work on the show earned him two Canadian Screen Awards earlier this year: Best Original Music, Drama and Best Original Music, Original Song for “It’s You.”
Andrew Lockington has been named Screen Composer of the Year, with SOCAN citing his work on Atlas, Landman, Mayor of Kingstown and Special Ops: Lioness. His screen credits also include San Andreas and Rampage, and SOCAN reported in 2024 that he had already won a dozen SOCAN Film Awards.
Nathan Micay will receive the Breakout Composer Award for his work on HBO’s Industry. His screen-composing career began before the series: in a 2025 SOCAN profile, Micay said he got his first screen-composing break in 2016 through Canadian independent film projects and was hired for Industry in 2020.
The Oct. 26 ceremony will be hosted by Arisa Cox and Andrew Phung. SOCAN says more than 100 music creators and publishers will be honoured during the event, with the complete list of 2026 SOCAN Award winners scheduled to be released that evening. SOCAN has also announced performances and appearances by Shawn Desman, Jamie Fine, Hailey Benedict and the 2025 Breakout Composers, the Chan brothers.
Royal Winnipeg Ballet opens its 2026–27 mainstage season at Winnipeg’s Centennial Concert Hall on Oct. 8 with Stravinsky Stories, a double bill that brings Alexei Ratmansky’s The Fairy’s Kiss to the company alongside the world premiere of a new Firebird by choreographer Houston Thomas.