Newsletter

Canadian bluegrass band the Dixie Flyers were honoured at the Ninth Annual Jack Richardson Awards (JRMAs) Sunday, Apr. 14 at the London Music Hall in downtown London. Formed in 1974, London’s Dixie Flyers were inducted into the JRMA Hall of Fame after an impressive career that includes nine recordings on Boot, Stony Plain and their own Flat-top label. The Flyers’ alumni list reads like a who’s who of the Canadian music scene: “I think over the 37 years, the band has consisted of only about 20 different members” said JRMA steering committee member Darin Addison. “Even though the band is not active now and everyone in the band is getting older, I think it’s the right time to recognize the Dixie Flyers.” Co-founders Bert Baumbach […]

Hey artists! Got that big radio interview coming up? They asked you to perform live? Probably a little nervous now, huh? As a radio guy, I can tell you we also get a little apprehensive before these interviews, although the more you do them, the less worried you get. My first interview was a doozy! I just landed my first daytime gig doing afternoon drive for a big market station when I was informed that Blackhawk would be dropping by! (For those that don’t know them, google them and stop making me feel old!) Wow! I loved these guys and I was easily more nervous than them because I was, and still am, a huge fan. When they arrived, I just didn’t bother trying to […]

By Stephanie Brooks These days, with so much on the go and the influence of technology in our lives ever-present, the days of mindlessly sitting at home at night after work channel-surfing are (mostly) a thing of the past. There are always other things to do, people to see, music to listen to, work to be done, and distractions to be had. But there are those few shows that you PVR, mark on your calendar, download from iTunes, gather your girlfriends or bring your buddies together for. The kind that no new iPhone app could distract you from. The kind that puts your life on hold for an hour and brings you into the lives and circumstances of its characters. The kind that you never […]

In this first and important Awards year, the CMAO has also established a very special award. The CMAO 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. This year’s Impact Award will go to the Canadian Country Music Association, which has celebrated and helped develop the careers of numerous Canadian country artists, including those from Ontario. By creating an annual awards show, the CCMA has placed our domestic artists squarely on the national stage, creating Canadian stars as they go, with its television show ratings often outranking some of its most popular competitors. The CCMA continually raises the bar for our country music industry by annually hosting Country Music […]

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 […]

For fans that are planning to attend the CMAO Awards show at The Markham Theatre, Markham on May 27th, Hilton Markham Suites is offering CMAO Members a Special Hotel Rate of $125.00 To reserve your booking: By Phone: 1-800-668-8800. Press 1. Provide group code: CMAO By group webpage: http://www.hilton.com

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 […]