It has been 8 years since The JUNOS were in Calgary, and you can feel the energy in the city and excitement for the return of Canada’s music awards show.

Additional tickets for the sold out show were released Friday, and the broadcast will be in 4K – the first for any awards show in the world.

"The reception has been amazing and having the broadcast sold out was great for us. We will be around 11,000 people," said CARAS President Alan Reid.

The evening will be full of some of the best in Canadian Music, including performances by icons Bryan Adams & Buffy Sainte-Marie, first time performers like Shawn Hook and Scott Helman, and a simulcast of The Weeknd’s performance which will also be part of the IHeartRadio awards in Las Vegas.

"Canadian artists have had the most incredible year. Not since the 90's when Shania and Alanis and Celine were on the charts have we seen this kind of chart action around the world," Reid said. "Canadians were 7 of the top 10 tracks on Billboard in December. It was great to have IHeart come on board. The Weeknd had a difficult decision and we are thrilled he chose to come here. They wanted him and asked for the footage and we are thrilled with that partnership."

Justin Beiber will not be at the JUNO Awards despite multiple nominations. Other high profile nominees that will not be in attendance include the likes of City and Colour, and The Sheepdogs who are touring overseas. This does open up the door for other artists to appear according to Executive Producer John Brunton. 6 acts are making their Juno debuts this year.

"I have always felt that I wanted to have a mix. With the way the world is working you are sometimes booking a tour a year and a half in advance. It often is a conflict with touring. It has always been important that the JUNOS not only celebrated established artists but could be a point of discovery. I remember the night that Leslie Feist played on our show. She became a star overnight to people that didn't know about her. Even for some well-established acts they get a chance to speak to a very broad audience. You want to draw people in with the big stars but also speak to a younger generation. It is a constant balancing act," he said. "I love all the acts. Bryan Adams and Burton Cummings on our stage, the Weeknd is one of the biggest stars in the world and has come to Calgary to see the show. Shawn Hook is just blowing up on the charts next week and is playing all the big talk shows next week. There are so many good acts and you never know who will be the star of the night. It used to be that a Canadian band every couple years would break out internationally now it seems to be monthly. It makes it an interesting challenge because it used to be obvious who you would want to invite and it was the big bands because they were the stars. Now huge numbers of new bands are breaking through. We are a major force in the world when it comes to music."

The set – unveiled to media on April 1^st – is spectacular. Featuring a massive moving light display the chameleon of a stage was designed by Alex Nadon who starts work after the previous year’s show planning the next one.

"You will see in the look that we use it is a theatrical marquee. There are so many different acts that the biggest trick is to try and come up with a home for so many different styles. A theatre feels like a space that can support any kind of artist. We created it completely out of video and becomes something completely different. We designed a set that is really versatile, we want the artists to be able to show up and be able to make changes. It's about creating an environment that can change very quickly."

The hosting duo of Calgary’s Jann Arden and Amazing Race host and Olympic Gold Medalist Jon Montgomery only happened because they were asked to do it together. They met half an hour before their first interview and it is obvious they have clicked.

"We fight likes siblings which is nice fights. We make up quickly. We seem to be smoking the same cigarette," Montgomery said, prompting a look from Arden

"He is way racier than I am with the jokes. Even going through the script yesterday he knows what's funny for him, but there are things where I am like I don't think I can deliver that joke but he can," Arden added. "I am so glad that John is doing it and it is a great choice and I hope he likes me. There is a great team of writers. They are letting us have a lot of input and can say if we are not comfortable. Anything can happen with these shows. That is the nice part of shooting something live, we have to roll with the punches and react to how the crowd is."

"We didn't feel that we were being pigeonholed into doing something we didn't want too and they made us feel like we had a voice in making sure that the jokes resonated with us. We have been given some freedom and some input into making it our own and it will come across," added Montgomery

Both are known for their sense of humour which is often off the cuff and improvised. Being tightly scripted poses a different challenge for the hosts. Arden believes it will be a great evening.

"We have very restrictive times; you can't run this over or someone’s performance will get cut at the end. Someone is just about to break out and then it cuts to the news.. We have to adhere to a schedule and it is down to seconds. If we have to stretch, I am just going to throw it to John. We are going to make this show our bitch."