Newsletter

Dear members: I want to thank all the members who showed confidence by supporting my bid for re-election; I’m honoured to represent the CMAO as President again. The results of the AGM were as follows: Re-elected were: Sam Arraj (President), Cathie Faint, Wendell Ferguson and Brian Allen (Vice President). Newly Elected were: Jane Harbury and Amanda Power I’m very excited about the team we have in place and I would like to welcome Jane Harbury and Amada Power to the Board. They both have a wealth of experience which will help to elevate the CMAO to the next level. In addition, I’m also very pleased that Cathie Faint, Wendell Ferguson and Brian Allen were re-elected. Over the past two years, they have brought strength, knowledge, […]

If you’re attending Country Music Week this year in Edmonton, be sure to watch out for the many artists from Ontario that will also be in attendance. For starters, there’s Johnny Reid. Johnny’s career continues to be hot as a pistol and show no signs of cooling down. Now, listening to him talk, you’d know instantly that he’s a Scot, but he and his family came here many years ago and made a home for themselves in Brampton, Ontario. He’s nominated for Fan’s Choice, Songwriter of the Year and his management company, Johnny Mac Entertainment, is also nominated. Then there’s Deric Ruttan from Bracebridge. His song “Main Street 1979” is up for the Single of the Year, as well as a co-write with Pembroke’s Jason […]

By Stephanie Brooks At the second annual Boots and Hearts country music festival – the largest of its genre in Canada – held August 1-4 this year at Bowmanville’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, there was truly something for everyone. The festival featured carnival rides, games, mechanical bull riding, a family area, three stages, dance tutorials, charity tents, camping, food, drinks, lounges, merchandise shopping, meet-and-greets, a sports zone, motocross show, contests, radio station tents… the list goes on. With so much on-the-go, it was tough to know which activity to partake in next, but it was clear there was one thing everyone came for and stayed for: the music. With such a phenomenal lineup reminiscent of one reserved solely for Nashville, none of the other experiences […]

On Monday July 29 the CMAO held its Annual General Meeting at Cosmo’s Music Complex in Richmond Hill. A quorum was present and thereby able to pass some changes to the by-laws, hear the financial statements, discuss other business and elect the current Board Of Directors. As two directors had stepped down and some came to the end of their terms, there were 9 candidates running for the 6 available positions. Wendell Ferguson, Cathie Faint, Brian Allen and Sam Arraj were re-elected and two new board members were elected: Amanda Power and Jane Harbury. You’ll be learning more about these new directors in coming months through our “Behind the Board” feature. The CMAO would like to thank all the members who attended, all those members […]

Campbellville, Ontario’s Steve Rivers and his band took home $1000 and the MICHIGAN STATE TITLE on Friday, August 9th in Bay City, MI in the second round of the 2013 Texaco Country Showdown, America’s largest Country music talent show. Rivers and his band beat out 8 contestants from across Michigan and will now represent that State in Walker, Minnesota on October 12th at the Northern Lights Casino as they compete in the National-Regional competition against 10 others. With 5 National-Regional competitions across the US, winners of each will advance to the championship in Nashville, Tennessee in January 2014 to perform at the Ryman Auditorium and compete for $100,000 and the Texaco Country Showdown National Title, “Best New Act in Country Music.” “This is amazing,” said […]

Many of our CMAO members submitted musical and promotional material hoping to be the lucky one who got to go to CCMA week in Edmonton this September by winning a spot performing alongside all the big stars at FanFest. After an independent jury went over the numerous entries, Brooklin’s Lindsay Broughton was chosen to be Ontario’s representative. She was entered in an online facebook competition along with the 9 other provincial country music associations’ chosen representatives. Sadly, Lindsay didn’t win this competition, as we know she would have done us proud. But that won’t hold back her career. She’s full speed ahead as usual. And the CMAO would like to offer congratulations to the contest winner, Edmonton’s Alee. Good luck in Edmonton, Alee!

by Brian Allen One of the most obvious characteristics separating the successful and the unsuccessful is perspective – how they see the world and their place in it. I have been very fortunate throughout my career to observe success and failure at close range. The majority of successful artists seem to be very aware of their contextual place in the industry, respect how much effort it took to achieve their level and are very mindful of the effort it will take to stay there. They constantly audit themselves and are very diligent with reality checks, using an ambitiously high set of standards to measure themselves. You won’t hear many of the most successful artists say “that’s good enough”. A surprising contingent of high achievers is […]

By Stephanie Brooks For a sibling duo from farm country Ontario, performing for industry experts and hundreds of fans at Canada’s biggest country music awards show week was merely a dream a year ago. But Jenna and Stuart Walker have quickly grabbed the nation’s attention and proven hard work, great talent and a humble attitude go a long way. They’re The Reklaws, and they’re here to stay. Two months ago, the brother-sister team was one of six jury-selected acts chosen to participate in this year’s inaugural Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Discovery Program. The initiative provides education, resources and support to Canadian country artists, including an opportunity to perform in Edmonton at the Country Music Week Discovery Showcase and the prospect of winning the CCMA […]

The CMAO DemoRama LIVE is a “must attend” open mic that is different from the rest which includes open mic, song critique (optional), “Best of” competition (optional) , “Best of ”Showcase, panel of experts, featured artists, sponsor prizes, etc. The CMAO DemoRama LIVE event will travel through Ontario each month with a Best of CMAO DemoRama LIVE showcase(s) at The Free Times Café in Toronto (or larger venue TBD) in the spring of 2014. The winner of the Best of CMAO DemoRama LIVE will receive a pair of VIP tickets to the 2014 CMAO Award Show, VIP reception passes, sponsor prizes TBD as well as the winner announced during the 2014 CMAO Award Show. CMAO DemoRama LIVE (DemoRama/Open Mic): Open mic – 1 song live […]