Newsletter

In The Country with Dave Woods I’ll let my first article for the CMAO newsletter serve as an introduction. I host an online radio show called In The Country. Broadcasting since March of 2009 from Ontario, the show airs live twice weekly – with plenty of podcasts available if you’ve missed any! I’ve interviewed hundreds of the biggest names and rising stars in Country music from Canada and around the world. And of course, many of those guests have been Ontario Country artists. I love having the opportunity for longer form interviews (30 to 60 minutes) to allow the artists to share stories and insight into what drives them to make music. One of the main answers seems to be: they have no choice. The […]

Join local Toronto duo The Lovelocks (Ali Raney -fiddle, vocals, and Zoe Neuman – guitar, vocals) as they celebrate the release of their debut EP on Thursday, February 13th, 2014, 8pm, at Revival Bar (783 College Street, Toronto). Recently signed to MDM Recordings/Universal Canada, The Lovelocks are best described as The Dixie Chicks go Lumineering with a Mumford & Sons-ian alt-country approach to soaring vocals, sweet harmonies and sultry strings. Woven together with beautiful harmonies and a desire to create music that gives voice to both the bitter and sweet in life, keep your eyes peeled on these rising stars! Says Pete Walker, KX96FM On-Air Host and Music Director: “Peppy, perky and harmonious – what more could anyone want? In a perfect world, we’d all be infected […]

Excerpt #5 from “Winning The Music Game” by Brian Allen The Three Phases of Self-Development The 3 phases of self-development that most successful career artists navigate are remarkably similar. The first stage is called FREEDOM, because the majority of people embark on their journey with an abundance of dreams but little skill to develop them. Therefore, they are not limited by anything other than their imagination to make a choice as to whether they want to commit to following their dreams or not. Remember the old saying “ignorance is bliss”? Remember the first notes you played? The world of music is fresh, exciting – a new land waiting to be explored. As musicians, we have all struggled to learn how to play our favourite songs […]

Ottawa’s Kira Isabella continues her meteoric rise in country music with a new record deal. The 20 year old “little girl with the big voice” has achieved another benchmark in her career with a signing to Nashville’s HitShop Records. Kira started singing at age 7 and hasn’t looked back since. One of the youngest artists signed to Sony Music Entertainment here in Canada back in 2009, she’s scored major airplay with her hits, “Love Me Like That” and “A Little More Work”. Those hits and the resultant public acceptance have translated into award nominations and wins. In 2012, she walked away with the Rising Star award at the CCMA’s. In May of 2013 she won the CMAO’s Female Artist of the Year at the inaugural […]

This month, we begin a new monthly newsletter feature called “Patrice’s Pick” by Patrice Whiffen. Each month we will feature a new interview or video by Patrice in which she shares the screen with great Ontario artists you know and love. We’ve started our own CMAO Youtube channel, so subscribe now to keep up to date on all the content we will be sharing with you this year! http://www.youtube.com/thecmaontario About Patrice: To Patrice Whiffen, country music is a lifestyle. As the appropriately deemed, “Country Music Junkie,” she strives to share her passion for country music with the world. As a radio broadcaster with an inside view of the world of country music, Patrice currently works with radio stations across Ontario to bring listeners the newest […]

Calling all singer/songwriters, up & coming artists and established artists! DemoRama LIVE wants you! With 2 DemoRama LIVE events under our belt, the CMAO are excited about the New Year with another 3 or 4 more coming to a town near you! We are still working on the dates, but here’s some info on where we’ll be each month: January will be in Tillsonburg (my back still hurts…) with sponsoring radio station Country 107, February in Barrie with sponsoring radio station KICX 106 featuring Special Guest & Expert Panellist Kate Todd (confirmed), and March in Owen Sound with sponsoring radio station Country 93. Details will be posted on our sites as they are confirmed. Our first event was hosted by the Free Times Café in […]

Dear members: We have some exciting news! The 2014 CMAO awards show tickets will be going on sale in early December 2013. Want to make a country music fan happy? Your gift-giving problem just got solved – get them awards show tickets! For 2014, we will return to the beautiful Markham Theatre, so put May 26th in your calendars. Last year, the show was a sell-out, so don’t miss out. Also, everyone should be on the lookout for the 2014 CMAO Awards eligibility criteria and nomination process, which will soon arrive in your inboxes. Keep your eye on your emails. The majority of our members will be receiving their membership renewal notices. I want to remind you that it is important you renew as soon […]

by Michelle Wright The following is an open letter from multi-award winning, Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member, (and CMAO member) Michelle Wright. Michelle writes of her recent experiences in the Dominican Republic while on a mission with World Vision: Forged in the Fire: As a woman living in North America, it seldom enters my mind that I can’t do something simply because I am a woman. True, even in 2013, women face different challenges than men do. Ask any single mom trying to raise children on a salary much lower than that of her male co-worker. You’ll get a pretty clear sense of what these challenges are. But such struggles have nothing to do with a woman’s gifts, talents, or inner strength. And […]

Shelley Suzanne Snell was a beacon in the Canadian country music scene. Sadly, her bright light went out on October 8th. At only 51 years of age, Shelley succumbed to metastatic colon cancer at Sunnybrook Hospital. Although Shelley worked in all genres of music and for several companies along the way (mostly at Sony Music, but  also at BMG, Universal and the CHUM group), it was country music where  her real passion laid. Perhaps it was because she was raised on the east coast and attended many dances, ceilidhs and was born into a musical family, or perhaps because she just loved to dance. Shelley was passionate not only about the country acts she worked with in her many years in artist relations, but because […]