Breakout West is heading to Whitehorse this weekend.

The three-day music festival will be held from Friday through Sunday, and will feature 100 local live performances in celebration of the best of Western Canadian music.

Breakout West carries on in the Canadian tradition of great multi-venue urban music festivals like POP Montreal, North By Northwest and the Toronto and Vancouver International Jazz Festivals.

The event could draw as many as 400 out-of-towners to Whitehorse for nightly performances by independent artists city-wide, and closing with a Sunday gala awards show, in recognition of the best regional talent of the last year. There will also be a private conference for members of the music industry.

This is Whitehorse's first time hosting the event. With 50 bands, including Wool On Wolves, songwriter and producer, Steve Dawson, three-time Juno Award winner Jim Byrnes and the Sojourners as well as the Yukon's own Sasquatch Prom Date and Kim Beggs, Breakout West is set to be one of the biggest local live

entertainment events of the year.

The festival is being hosted by 10 venues throughout the city. Those include The Old Fire Hall, Tippler's, The Roadhouse Bar and Grill, Foxy's and the Centre de la Francophonie.

The annual Western Canadian Music Awards, a major draw for festival goers, will be presented at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Yukon Arts Centre.

"The awards show is all about having fun and playing music,” festival director Rick Fenton told the Star this week.

"Artists perform in collaboration; there's not a lot of speeches and talking. We like to kick things off with a bang, and we highly recommend that people go.”

Awards recipients are chosen by judges from across the West, with input from members of the Canadian Music Industry Association.

The event features a variety of awards including best blues, classical and country recordings, best aboriginal achievement, best independent album and even a section for best children's music recording.

A Hall of Fame award is also presented each year to a musician or band who have contributed to the development of Western Canadian music throughout the span of their career.

This year's hall of fame title will be presented to 54-40, who will also be performing at the awards gala.

The alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, B.C. has performed together for more than 30 years, with a string of top-10 Canadian hits in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, including Baby, Have Some Faith, Nice to Luv You, Music Man and You Don't Get Away (That Easy).

The band is perhaps best known for writing I Go Blind, a major hit for Hootie and the Blowfish in the mid 1990s.

"54-40 are a great band; they've made and kept a career in the West,” said Fenton. "It was a no-brainer selecting them for the award, and we are proud they have accepted.”

Past hall of fame award winners have included Streetheart, Harlequin, Loreena McKennitt and Chilliwack.

The independent ethos of the festival means Breakout West relies less on large commercial sponsors and more on local business.

"We don't have exact figures as to how much we will be spending in the community,” said Fenton. "But we'll be using local suppliers, bars, services; we try to keep it as local as possible.”

The festival generated $2 million for the city of Kelowna last year.

The greatest benefit is for independent musicians in Western Canada, said Fenton.

"There are so many independent artists making contacts, having the opportunity to network, to perform together,” he said. "We're happy when we can help artists further their careers. That's what it's all about.”

Breakout West is put on by the Western Canadian Music Alliance and is hosted by a different community annually. Last year's festival was held in Kelowna, B.C., with previous years in Brandon, Man. and Edmonton.

Tickets for the 2011 Western Canadian Music Awards are on sale at the arts centre box office for $50 apiece. Wrist bands will be available at any of the music venues on Friday night.