Award News
On June 2nd, the Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) announced the winners of the 12th Annual CMAOntario Awards, presented by Slate Music and held at Hammerson Hall at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga. Topping the list with two awards each were Jason Blaine, Owen Leagueling and the James Barker Band. Winners and special award winners in 17 categories were recognized. Performing were 2024 CMAOntario Award winners Leagueling, Blaine, Nicole Rae and Elise Sanders, as well as nominees Carly June, Griffin Palmer, Rivertown Saints, Sugar Crush, Carrie McCullough, Ryan Langdon and The Western Swing Authority.
Leading up to the awards ceremony, Mississauga hosted a weekend of events including Songs & Stories: Songwriters in the Round, the R2i TuneUp conference, a street fair, bonfire and tailgate parties as part of the CMAOntario Festival & Awards Weekend from May 31 to June 2. The CMAOntario Festival & Awards Weekend will return to Mississauga in 2026. See the full list of winners below and more information on the awards here.
The winners of the 12th annual CMAOntario Awards are:
“SINGLE OF THE YEAR” sponsored by Pure Country
The Road That Raised You – Jason Blaine
Album of the Year Sponsor: Country 106.7 Kitchener
The Greatest Show on Earth – Megan Patrick
SOCAN sponsored Songwriter of the Year
Jason Blaine, The Road the Raised You Up, Recorded by Jason Blaine
Woman Artist of the Year sponsored by IBEW Local 353
Elise Sanders
Male Artist of the Year sponsored by IBEW Local 353
Owen Leegling
Group or Duo of the Year, sponsored by Country 103
James Barker Band
Record Producer of the Year
Sean Moore
Roots Artist or Group of the Year
Mackenzie Lee Meyer
“Breakthrough Artist of the Year” sponsored by Slate Music
Owen Leegling
Music Video of the Year sponsored by Jim Dunlop Productions
About Honky Tonkin' – The Reclaws ft. Drake Milligan
Dirty – Nicole Ray
(Tie)
Industry Person of the Year sponsored by Manrkē
Dave Woods
Francophone Artist or Group of the Year
Renee Ray
Fans' Choice is sponsored by Tourism Mississauga
Tim Hicks
Musician of the Year sponsored by Cithara Guitars
Shane Goose
Compass Award
James Barker Band
Holly and Steve Cussey Generous Spirit Award
Walter Nowakowski
Impact Award
Charlie Major
Radio Station of the Year (large market), sponsored by Fielding Estate Winery
KX 94.7, Hamilton
Best Radio Station of the Year (Mid-Market) sponsored by Music in the Fields, Lucknow
Hot Country 93.9, Brantford
Radio Station of the Year (Small Market)
Pure Country 106, Orillia
– The Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) inducted its Hall of Fame in 2013 and has since added internationally acclaimed conductor Boris Brott and legendary Canadian comedian and announcer Gordy Tapp, among others. New to the list is local singer-songwriter Chris McCool, leader of the internationally acclaimed world music ensemble Sultans of String. McCool is a seven-time Canadian Folk Music Award winner, the recipient of numerous other accolades and four Juno Award nominations. McCool’s induction was announced at the start of the 2024-2025 “BPAC Presents” season.
– Of the many awards handed out at this year's Canadian Music Week, one particularly stood out to this writer: at Tuesday's RadioDays North America Awards luncheon, my longtime colleague and Billboard Canada contributor David Farrell was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by CMW. It was only fitting that the veteran music industry journalist and editor was presented with this honour by two people who have made significant contributions to Farrell's career: Gary Slaight and CMW president Neill Dixon. Congratulations, David.
– This year's Polaris Music Prize longlist announcement event, hosted by the Canada Council for the Arts, will be held on June 11th at Sonic Boom Records in Toronto. The event will unveil the 40 albums nominated for the prestigious cash award, as selected by a jury of more than 200 members. From this longlist, 10 shortlist finalists will be selected. The announcement video will be released at 6pm ET.
Industry News
– The critically acclaimed Canadian “semi-round” songwriter series, Four Chords and the Truth, will make its New York debut on June 10th at City Winery with a lineup packed with talent including Juno Award-winning country singer-songwriter Tenille Townes, hit songwriter Lowell (co-writer of Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em” and The Beaches’ “Blame Brett”), Nova Scotia folk artist Dave Gunning, emerging songwriter Stacey Ryan and Four Chords founder/curator/host and songwriter Andrea England. Notably, Lowell is just the recipient of the inaugural Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter of the Year award at Billboard Canada’s Power Players event.
– Applications are now open for Music Nova Scotia's Export Accelerator Program. The program is designed to help Nova Scotia's artists showcase their work at numerous national and international music conferences and events, including ITCH, A3C, Folk Music Ontario, Come Together and Viva Sounds in the fall and winter of 2024. Applications are due three weeks prior to the start of the festival. More information here.
–A packed house at Hamilton's Capitol was enthralled by acclaimed indie rock singer-songwriter and author Dave Bidini's solo matinee performance (Lou Molinaro Presents Show). Always an engaging performer, he delivered a well-crafted set consisting of masterful Bidini Band original solos and covers of songs by the band he is most closely associated with, the Rheostatics (“Legal Age Life At Variety Store” was a highlight). Highly cultured, Bidini brought to life characters such as hapless NHL star Brian Fogerty and Moncton racers, and one song detailing road life with the band drew laughs. With local musicians such as Tom and Thompson Wilson, Martin Verrall, Dean Fulton and Darryl Gould (opening), it was no surprise that the enthusiastic crowd was packed. It was a fun afternoon.
– Interest in the Toronto punk scene remains strong, and one of its leading figures, The Scenics, has just released a new collection of ten songs recorded in 1976, eight of which have never been released. New Part In Town is best described as proto-punk, and it's clear that the band was heavily influenced by the genre's pioneers. It features a nine-minute version of the Television classic “Little Johnny Jewel,” and there's even a song called “Jonathan Richman.” The group is built around the writing of vocalists/songwriters Ken Badger (guitar) and Andy Meyers (bass), giving the album a fresh, adventurous sound. More archival material is expected to appear in the coming year.