Newsletter

On April 9 in Toronto, many of the movers and the shakers in the Canadian country music scene convened on the waterfront of Lake Ontario at the Corus Entertainment building (home of CMT and other media companies) for a CMAO press conference. In the 8th floor atrium, the press and industry met, conversed, nibbled, conducted interviews, gathered sound bites and mingled in a fun, relaxed manner. At 10:30, they were directed into the beautiful 102 seat private theatre for some exciting announcements. CMAO President Sam Arraj welcomed the attendees and told them how excited the CMAO was that Ontario would at last have its own Country Music Awards show. He pointed out that other provinces have had their own provincial organizations in place for years, […]

On June 12, 2011, I was elected to the CMAO Board of Directors. At that time, I had a conversation with several of the Directors about what will be an incredible achievement for the organization; they all stated that putting together an award show to show off the incredible talent in Ontario would be a great achievement, but it was something that could realistically be accomplished in 4 years, as the organization was in the start-up phase. It’s now May 2013, and in a few weeks on May 27, 2013, the CMAO will be hosting its first Awards to show to celebrate Ontario country music. The ability to make the awards show a reality in a two year time span clearly shows you how much […]

PERFORMERS: We are thrilled to announce our star-studded line-up of performers for the CMAO Awards show on May 27th at the Markham Theatre. They are: Kira Isabella, Small Town Pistols, Jason Blaine, Michelle Wright, Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor with The Sadies’ Travis Good, The Heartbroken, Western Swing Authority, exciting newcomer Genevieve Fisher, Deric Ruttan and our host Charlie Major, who will also perform. This exciting show begins at 7.30pm. Come celebrate with some of Ontario’s and Canada’s top country talent. Don’t delay – buy tickets today at www.ticketbreak.com or by phone at 1-866-943-8849. NOMINEES: The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAO) is proud to announce the finalnominees for its inaugural awards taking place on May 27th at the Markham Theatre, Markham, Ontario. Jason Blaine and […]

I will not sugar-coat this! I never owned a Stompin’ Tom Connors album; I never saw him in concert; but I have sung along to ‘The Hockey Song’ at a Maple Leafs game. I can’t sit here claiming to be a fan knowing that real Canadians are out there, facing the scorn of their young ones as the needle reaches the end of the record and they have to put their phone down to put it back to the beginning of side 2 or else Grandpa will lose his mind. No, I’m not die-hard fan, but when I heard he passed away, a part of me went with him. You see, growing up in a small town got boring for a teenager hell-bent on looking for […]

Dear Members: I want to thank all who submitted nominations and congratulate all those who made it to the first ballot; the response has been spectacular. Please note that the balloting committee worked hard to sort through hundreds of nominations and put in many hours to verify and compile the list. The first ballot returns were due by March 18, 2013. For all of you who made the first ballot and did not garner enough votes to make the second ballot, please take pride in your accomplishments and keep following your hearts. There are going to be some disappointed members, but do understand that we have maintained an independent and fair process in all of this; I recommend that all of the artists who were […]

The CMAO are proud and honoured to welcome Slaight Communication Inc. aboard as the presenting sponsor of the inaugural CMAO Awards Show! https://cmaontario.ca/ In addition to Charlie Major and The Western Swing Authority, the CMAO are pleased to announce confirmed performances by Kira Isabella and The Heartbroken for the Awards Show. The event will take place at The Markham Theatre, in Markham, Ontario on Monday, May 27th. Tickets are now available online at www.ticketbreak.com or by phone at 1-866 943 8849. More performances to be announced.

What better way to warm up a frostbitten city in the dead of winter than with some steel guitars, bursts of flames, gunshots and 20,000 screaming fans? The Eric Church Blood, Sweat and Beers tour, celebrating his most recent album, Chief, delivered all that and more to Ottawa’s country-rock fans at Scotiabank Place on Saturday, February 16. Known for his bad-boy attitude and badass vibe, Church brought in a rowdy crowd of fans of all ages, but a more mature fan base (at least age-wise) than many other touring country shows these days. In what appeared to be a sold-out stadium, the three-hour show started with former professional golfer from Athens, Georgia, Colt Ford. Ford set the stage for the concert with his patriotic lyrics […]

Maddy Rodriguez is thrilled that she’s going to be gracing the stage of the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville this May 9th. This famed venue has become a Mecca for songwriters, and hosts early and late rounds almost every night of the week. Definitely a feather in young Maddy’s cap. Maddy received an honourable mention in the USA Songwriting Competition for her tune, “Falling Up”. Along with the other winners, she will be sharing the Bluebird stage with another Canadian, Edmonton’s Ben Sures, who also received an honourable mention. “Falling Up” is coincidentally also the title of a Shel Silverstein book. (Shel was an author/songwriter who wrote “Cover of the Rolling Stone”, A Boy Named Sue”, “Wasn’t That a Party” and “The Unicorn” among many others.) […]

The CMAO is buzzing with activity as we head towards the inaugural CMAO Awards. Since opening up the nominations in mid January, the response has been very encouraging. I had the opportunity to have discussions with some of the artists enquiring about nomination, and I’m very impressed with the variety and talent level that we have here in Ontario. The awards show tickets have been on sale for our members since Friday February 8, 2013 and they are now available to the general public. I encourage everyone to go and buy your tickets before they sell out, so you can take part of this historic moment and this unique Ontario celebration. Don’t forget, the first round of nominations will close on February 15, 2013. If […]