TORONTO – Allison Russell paid a gentle tribute to her friend and mentor Joni Mitchell at the SOCAN Awards on Monday night, while superstar Drake emerged as the big winner. Singer-songwriter Allison Russell performs in honour of Joni Mitchell, who won the cultural impact award at the 2025 SOCAN awards in Toronto, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy KoganDozens of SOCAN awards were handed out to homegrown songwriters, composers and music publishers at Toronto’s Rebel concert venue. The SOCAN ceremony uses a conveyor-belt style of naming winners in small batches of around three to five awards in each genre with only some of them giving speeches. The track landed a pop music award, the international song award, and captured Blair this year’s songwriter award for a non-performer.