Newsletter

The CMAO attended several Ontario festivals this summer and handed out ‘Rumper Stickers’ as part of our summer social media contest. People could pick up their stickers at participating Festivals, and be snapped wearing it by the roaming #cmaosummerstickers patrol, or could take a photo themselves, and enter the contest through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for their chance to win VIP tickets to the 2014 CMAO awards. We had some amazing entries, helped promote Ontario country music and most of all- we had a blast! Our Official Winners of the contest have been chosen and we are happy to congratulate Meghan Lake, Amanda Fawcett, Julie Hebert, Candice Joanisse, and M.H. Pearce, who have each won a pair of VIP tickets to the 2014 CMAO awards […]

Graham Trude is an ex-soldier posted out of Edmonton, Alberta with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) Tank Regiment. Graham served in Panjwai, Afghanistan in 2009 as an armoured crewman operating out of the Leopard (2A6M) Main battle tank. Graham relocated back to his home town of Collingwood, Ontario in 2010 after his contract with the military and has established an annual concert event for a military-based organization called “Wounded Warriors Canada”. The event takes place at the Royal Canadian Legion in Collingwood, Ontario as a Country music acoustic concert, and involves a great amount of support from the local and surrounding communities. Previous headliners have included Juno and CCMA nominees Jamie Warren and Diane Chase. Over the past two years, it has raised more […]

Sep. 23, 2013 – BURLINGTON, ON Canada — James Anthony (born James Anthony Pecchia,1955, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian guitarist. A natural musician at age 10, he played Ontario Place at 15 and turned pro at 17. James’ experience in the music industry is reminiscent of legendary players of the past. James is a guitar virtuoso that some would compare with Roy Buchanan “The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World” or Danny Gatton, known as the Master of the Telecaster, and the Humbler. James grew up on Renforth Drive in Etobicoke, Ontario and went to school at Sir Adam Beck, Eatonville, Bloordale, Silverthorne and Burnhamthorpe Collegiate. Throughout his career he has been a sought-after sideman. His first road experience was with “Reggae star” Jay […]

Dear members: I want to congratulate the CMAO’s Kira Isabella and The Stellas for taking home Female Artist and Group or Duo of the Year at the CCMAs, respectively. Early this year, the CMAO membership awarded Kira and The Stellas with the same awards; our membership got it right. In addition, I would like to congratulate the CCMA on another successful country music week. The CCMA continues to be a rock solid organization by being the core foundation for the country music community in Canada. Also, the CCMA has shown phenomenal leadership by establishing a collaborative environment with and for all the provincial country music associations. The CMAO is kicking off its Open Mic series CMAO DemoRama Live, which takes place on September 21, 2013. […]

By Stephanie Brooks September’s 31st annual Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards shone a light on the industry’s best this year, giving out awards to deserving talent from across the country – one of which was Ontario’s own The Stellas, for Group or Duo of the Year. For the husband and wife team from Whitby, Ontario, winning one of Canadian country music’s most coveted national awards was something they weren’t expecting. “It was the ultimate shock,” says Marylynne Stella. “We had no clue we were going to be taking it home. We hadn’t prepared anything because we were basically waiting to see which friend of ours was going to take it!” Their success, though, should come as no surprise. The couple, who performed at Bowmanville’s […]

We’re proud to feature the second in a series of articles taken from Brian Allen’s “Winning The Music Game”. Great instincts are often very obvious qualities of successful decision makers, and there are myriads of career-critical decisions to be made on the road to success. People with well-developed instinct just seem to know what works, how and why it works and when it works. They may not always be able to articulate their reasoning, but they are unusually gifted in this regard. The great hockey player Wayne Gretzky was often described as having an uncanny ability to predict where the play was headed, and subsequently position himself to be in the thick of the action exactly when it developed. Instinct is a very difficult skill […]

From September 4th to the 8th, Canadian Country Music Week took place in Edmonton Alberta. During awards dinners, luncheons and shows there were hundreds of delegates, artists, industry people and general public at every event. And we know we’re bragging a little, but Ontario was well represented at every one of them. The following deserving people and organizations picked up awards: Pete Walker from CJKX (KX-96) was named the Music Director of the Year – Secondary Market, while Orillia’s KICX picked up Radio Station of the Year in a Secondary Market. Musicians Pee-Wee Charles (Ed Ringwald) and Jason Barry picked up Steel Guitar Player of the Year and Guitar Player of the Year, respectively. Charles works with many country artists, including George Canyon, Western Swing […]

At press time this event was just about to take place. We knew we had 31+ registered performers plus the multi-talented Stuart Cameron on board, as well as a full panel of industry experts. We just know the show was a success. Next month we’ll have a full report on both the event and the winners. Here’s the deets! What: The CMAO DemoRama LIVE is an open mic focusing on live performances of original songs, followed by a song critique (optional), “Best Of” competition (optional), DemoRama LIVE Best Of Showcase, panel of industry experts, featured artists, sponsor prizes, etc. Where: The Free Times Café in Toronto When: Sept 21st, 2013 – doors open at noon with a 1pm start time Who: Juno Award winner Stuart […]

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