The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) is pleased to announce the nominees for the fifth annual CMAOntario Awards. Presented by Slaight Music, with support from the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the awards recognize the talent and achievements of Ontario's country music industry across 16 categories. Meghan Patrick leads the pack with seven nominations while James Barker Band, River Town Saints, Jessica Mitchell, Cold Creek County, Jason Blaine, Tim Hicks and The Abrams are among the multiple nominees being honoured at the ceremony on Sunday, June 11th at Centennial Hall in London, Ontario. See the full nominees listing for the 2017 CMAOntario Awards below.
Voting for the awards is restricted to CMAOntario members, with the exception of the Fans' Choice award, which is open to both public and membership voting. Eligible members will have the opportunity to vote on the final ballot as of today up until Wednesday, April 26th at 11:59PM EST. Music fans can cast their votes for the Fans' Choice award during the same period at www.cmaontario.ca/awards/voting.
This year's awards, hosted by Jason McCoy, will feature newly added performances by Genevieve Fisher, Jessica Mitchell, River Town Saints, and Aaron Pritchett alongside previously announced performers Jason Blaine, Cold Creek County and The Western Swing Authority.
The CMAOntario Impact Award, will be presented to one of Canada's most iconic bands, Blue Rodeo. The CMAOntario Impact Award recognizes an artist, group, industry personality or company/organization that has left an enduring and indelibly positive footprint on the landscape of country music in Ontario. Previous recipients include Prairie Oyster, Paula Chopik and Ed Leslie (producers of Havelock Country Jamboree) and the legendary Gordon Lightfoot.
The 2017 CMAOntario award nominees are:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR sponsored by KICX 106
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR sponsored by SOCAN
Deric Ruttan, Craig Wiseman - "Came Here to Forget"
performed by Blake Shelton
James Barker, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood - "Lawn Chair Lazy"
performed by James Barker Band
Jessica Mitchell, Dave Thomson, Patricia Conroy - "Workin' on Whiskey"
performed by Jessica Mitchell
Meghan Patrick, Patricia Conroy, Philip Barton - "Grace and Grit"
performed by Meghan Patrick
Tim Hicks, Todd Clark, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood - "Stompin' Ground"
performed by Tim Hicks
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR sponsored by Spring Tree Farm
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR sponsored by Havelock Country Jamboree
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR sponsored by Remington Group
ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
RISING STAR AWARD sponsored by Slaight Music
FANS' CHOICE sponsored by OMDC
Autumn Hill
Cold Creek County
James Barker Band
Jason Blaine
Meghan Patrick
River Town Saints
Tebey
Tim Hicks
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR sponsored by Long & McQuade
RECORD PRODUCER (S) OF THE YEAR
INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR sponsored by Seeds & Co.
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (LARGE MARKET)
CHKX-FM (KX 94.7), Hamilton
CJBX-FM (BX 93), London
CJKX-FM 95.9 (KX 96), Oshawa
CKBY-FM (Country 101.1), Ottawa
CKDK-FM 103.9 (Country 104), Woodstock
CKKL-FM (New Country 94), Ottawa
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (MEDIUM MARKET) sponsored by Lucknow's Music in the Fields
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (SMALL MARKET)
Tickets for the CMAOntario Awards are available for purchase through the Centennial Hall box office - online at www.centennialhall.london.ca, by calling 1.888.999.8980, or in person at the venue (550 Wellington St.). Pricing ranges from $59.95 (plus taxes and service fees) for regular reserved seating to $250.00 (plus taxes and service fees) for fan VIP packages. Details for corporate and group rates are available on the venue's website.
CMAOntario thanks all of their sponsors: City of London, Havelock County Jamboree, KICX 106, Long & McQuade, Lucknow's Music in the Fields, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), Remington Group, Seeds & Co., Slaight Music, SOCAN, and Spring Tree Farm.
About CMAOntario:
CMAOntario was formed in 2007 by Rob MacArthur, founding patron Linda Wright, and a number of interested and enthusiastic individuals who thought it was time to have a voice for country music in Ontario. The Association brings together the talent and the industry professionals. Its mandate is to foster and support the growth and development of Ontario's country music and its industry, provincially, nationally and internationally. CMAOntario has now hosted four annual Awards Shows with the assistance of presenting sponsor Slaight Music. These sold-out events featured performances from Ontario's top talent, including: Jason McCoy, Deric Ruttan, Jason Blaine, Tim Hicks, Tebey, Autumn Hill, Small Town Pistols, Michelle Wright, Marshall Dane and many more. CMAOntario is also proud to have presented three highly successful two-day Road to Independence educational conferences, with the financial contribution of the OMDC and presenting sponsor Slaight Music.
About Slaight Music
Slaight Music was started in 2011 with a mandate to support the Canadian music community through a variety of initiatives, and to develop Canadian talent via strategic partnerships with industry peers. We work with artists from across the country and across the musical spectrum, helping to further careers and get great music heard. We're also invested in the technology sphere, helping Canadian music entrepreneurs develop the next generation of digital platforms and services. And, we support a variety of music-related events, causes and charities.
About OMDC
The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport that facilitates economic development opportunities for Ontario's cultural media industries including book and magazine publishing, film and television, music and interactive digital media industries.
La Société de développement de l'industrie des médias de l'Ontario (SODIMO) est un organisme du ministère du Tourisme, de la Culture et du Sport de l'Ontario qui facilite les possibilités de développement économique des industries des médias culturels de l'Ontario, dont l'industrie de l'édition de livres et de revues, du cinéma et de la télévision, de la musique et des produits multimédias interactifs numériques.
