Though the three Yukon artists nominated for this year's Western Canadian Music Awards in Vancouver did not win, there was an important announcement made in the territory's favour.

JP Ellson, board president of the Western Canadian Music Alliance, said during the Industry Awards Saturday afternoon that the event will soon be hosted by Whitehorse.

'They're in the rotation for 2008,' he said.

This year's event, which was a four-day conference and music festival as well as an awards ceremony, was attended by approximately 700 delegates.

Many of the people who attend the festival work in music promotion, including music labels and booking agents for festivals and other venues, and use the festival as a means of networking and discovering new talent.

'This is something we've been striving for,' Mark Smith, Music Yukon's president, said in an interview Monday. 'Our government is very supportive of bringing the awards to Whitehorse.'

The alliance, which oversees the awards, is a coalition of the Yukon and the four westernmost provinces.

After 2008, the event will rotate from year to year among the five members and will reappear in the Yukon every five years.

'They all support the basic operating expense of running the event,' said Smith. 'And once you're into the loop, the events are worth a lot of money.'

Smith said an impact study conducted two years ago showed the event poured about $2 million into the local economy.

'We should be able to get at least 600 people for the festival here, which will translate into about $2 million to $2 1/2 million,' said Smith.

The Yukon nominees up for awards were Bob Hamilton for Engineer of the Year, Kim Barlow for Outstanding Independent Album and Boy, led by Whitehorse's Stephen Kozmeniuk, for Best Rock Recording.

Though Barlow and Kozmeniuk did not win their awards, both artists performed at several successful showcases where they were seen by industry professionals.

'The Caribou label night was very well-attended,' said Smith. 'All the internationals were there.'

Four musicians with the Yukon-based independent label Caribou Records performed Saturday night: Kim Barlow, Kim Beggs, Indio Saravanja and Anne Louise Genest.

As if having the awards was not enough, another startling announcement was made at the festival.

Canadian music icon Randy Bachman, former guitarist for the classic rock band The Guess Who, said he will be coming to Whitehorse to play a show in July 2006.

Bachman made the announcement during a Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers showcase Sunday afternoon involving three other musicians, including Genest.

'Her songs are the standard bar drinking songs the kind that everyone can sing along to, but are very hard to write,' Bachman said when asked of his impressions of Genest's music.

'She has a really good style, of pure, old-fashioned '50s country music.'

The other two musicians performing in the showcase with Genest and Bachman were up-and-coming pop star Kyle Riabko and Entertainer of the Year winner Corb Lund.