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
“Beer Weather” – Cold Creek County
“Cherry Bomb” – River Town Saints
“Lawn Chair Lazy ” – James Barker Band
“Still Loving You” – Meghan Patrick ft. Joe Nichols
“Workin’ On Whiskey” – Jessica Mitchell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Born to Love – The Lovelocks
Country Side – Jason Blaine
Grace and Grit – Meghan Patrick
Shake These Walls – Tim Hicks
Till The Wheels Come Off – Cold Creek County
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
Genevieve Fisher
Jessica Mitchell
Leah Daniels
Meghan Patrick
Tianna Woods
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR sponsored by Havelock Country Jamboree
Deric Ruttan
Jason Blaine
Marshall Dane
Tebey
Tim Hicks
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR sponsored by Remington Group
Autumn Hill
Cold Creek County
James Barker Band
River Town Saints
The Abrams
ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Kelly Prescott
Jessica Mitchell
Lindi Ortega
The Abrams
The Western Swing Authority
RISING STAR AWARD sponsored by Slaight Music
Buck Twenty
Dani Strong
Meghan Patrick
River Town Saints
The Abrams
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
“Bow Chicka Wow Wow” – Meghan Patrick
“Cherry Bomb” – River Town Saints
“Dance With My Daughter” – Jason Blaine
“Lawn Chair Lazy” – James Barker Band
“What Love Is All About” – Johnny Reid
RECORD PRODUCER(S) OF THE YEAR
Dan Brodbeck (Dani Strong)
Dave Thomson (Jessica Mitchell)
Gavin Brown (The Abrams)
Jason Barry (Dean Brody, Genevieve Fisher, The Western Swing Authority, Tianna Woods)
The Agenda, Leah Daniels (Leah Daniels)
INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR sponsored by Seeds & Co.
Amanda Kingsland, Rogers Radio
Catherine Faint, Catherine Faint Entertainment
Dave Woods, In The Country
Mike Denney, MDM Recordings
Steve Coady, Warner Music Canada
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
CFCO-FM 92.9 (Country 92.9), Chatham
CHCQ-FM (Cool 100.1 FM), Belleville
CICS-FM (KICX 91.7), Sudbury
CJQM-FM (Country 104.3), Sault Ste Marie
CKXC-FM (Country 93.5), Kingston
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (SMALL MARKET)
CHAW-FM (Country 103), Little Current
CHVR-FM 96.7 (Star 96 FM), Pembroke
CICX-FM (KICX 106), Orillia
CJDL-FM (Country 107.3), Tillsonburg
CKYC-FM 93.7 (Country 93), Owen Sound
Tickets for the CMAOntario Awards are available for purchase through the Centennial Hall box office – online at The Country Music Association of Ontario Announces the 2017 CMAOntario Award Nominees, by calling 1.888.999.8990, 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 our 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.