SYDNEY, N.S. -- It's been a while since we've seen people lined up for a concert.
Musicians have had to entertain audiences virtually for a year now.
"I really hope that there's some live performance aspect to this year's ECMAs," said Cape Breton musician Jordan Musycsyn.
Organizers of this years East Coast Music Awards (ECMAs) are hoping so too.
Nominees have been announced and plans are underway for this year's show in Sydney, N.S.
Musycsyn has been nominated for the first time and he's hoping to showcase his talent.
"I think it's probably the safest place to have the ECMAs," Musycsyn said. "However with people travelling from the different Maritime provinces, that is going to be the issue, I think."
Andy MacLean is the executive director for this year's event.
"We're very excited to move ahead with what we're calling a hybrid event, which would be a combination of online components and at the same time we want to have as many live in person gatherings as possible," MacLean said.
He says all of the live shows will be held at Centre 200, which has a COVID plan in place to allow 1,800 spectators, but trying to plan in the middle of a pandemic has its challenges.
"We have a plan A, plan B, plan D, and plan D," MacLean said. "We keep making plans all the time."
Another major event to be hosted in Nova Scotia is the women's world hockey championship, which is scheduled to begin in April, but still there are a lot of unknowns.
A statement to CTV today from Hockey Canada says in part that "Hockey Canada remains in regular communication with the IIHF and the province of Nova Scotia to ensure the event can be hosted in a safe environment. Along with the host organizing committee, our organization continues to work with public health officials to ensure the event can be safe for the Nova Scotia communities and the competing teams."
For organizers of the ECMAs, they're hoping the Atlantic bubble will return by May.
