The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards were this past weekend, and they sure didn’t disappoint! The 2019 CCMA Awards presented by TD were broadcast live from Calgary, Alberta hosted by Dallas Smith and Billy Ray Cyrus.
The awards are an opportunity for artists, and industry professionals to be celebrated and recognized across the country for their work and contributions to the industry.
This year’s nominees included James Barker Band, and Brett Kissel leading the pack with 5 nominations each, followed by Paul Brandt, Lindsay Ell, Tim Hicks, The Reklaws, Dallas Smith, and Tenille Townes with 4 nominations each. The CCMAs are always a great time. Below is the full list of nominees and winners for the 2019 CCMA Awards.
When looking at the award categories for the 2019 CCMA Awards, there’s one thing that’s clear. There’s a lack of female representation in many of the categories. Most notably, the Entertainer of the Year category. It’s been an enormous year for so many female Canadian country artists that it’s surprising that there aren’t any inclusions in this category. For example, Lindsay Ell made history with her single “Criminal”. That being said, congrats to all the winners in all categories, both male AND female!
2019 CCMA Awards Winners
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Paul Brandt
Dean Brody
Tim Hicks
Brett Kissel
Dallas Smith (winner)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Fall – Dallas Smith
Feels Like That – The Reklaws (winner)
The Journey BNA Vol. 2 – Paul Brandt
Love A Girl – Tebey
New Tattoo – Tim Hicks
State Of Mind – Hunter Brothers
APPLE MUSIC FANS’ CHOICE
Gord Bamford
Paul Brandt
Dean Brody
Tim Hicks
Hunter Brothers
James Barker Band
Brett Kissel (winner)
The Reklaws
Dallas Smith
Guylaine Tanguay
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lindsay Ell
Jess Moskaluke
Meghan Patrick
Guylaine Tanguay
Tenille Townes (winner)
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
High Valley
Hunter Brothers
James Barker Band
The Reklaws
The Washboard Union (winner)
INTERACTIVE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lindsay Ell (winner)
Aaron Goodvin
James Barker Band
Brett Kissel
Nice Horse
MNP MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Paul Brandt
Dean Brody
Tim Hicks
Brett Kissel
Dallas Smith (winner)
RISING STAR
Shawn Austin
Jade Eagleson (winner)
Eric Ethridge
JoJo Mason
Sons Of Daughters
ROOTS ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion – Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion
Both Ways – Donovan Woods (winner)
Heart Of Glass – Jessica Mitchell
Juliet – Dan Davidson
What We’re Made Of – The Washboard Union
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Criminal – Lindsay Ell
Dive Bar – Gord Bamford
Good Together – James Barker Band
Somebody’s Daughter – Tenille Townes
Walls Come Down – Meghan Patrick
ANTHEM ENTERTAINMENT SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR
Brett Kissel, Seth Mosley, Brad Rempel
Song: Cecilia (Performed By: Brett Kissel)
Gord Bamford, Bart Butler, Brice Long
Song: Down (Performed By: Gord Bamford)
James Barker, Todd Clark, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood
Song: Keep It Simple (Performed By: James Barker Band)
Corey Crowder, Jess Moskaluke, Jared Mullins
Song: Save Some Of That Whiskey (Performed By: Jess Moskaluke)
Barry Dean, Luke Laird, Tenille Townes (winner)
Song: Somebody’s Daughter (Performed By: Tenille Townes)
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Camouflage – Jess Moskaluke
Criminal – Lindsay Ell
Feels Like That – The Reklaws
Somebody’s Daughter – Tenille Townes (winner)
Walls Come Down – Meghan Patrick
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kirby Barber
Lisa Dodd (winner)
Curtis Ebner
Doug Elash
Justin Kudding
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Ben Bradley
Flavio Cirillo
Rich DaSilva
Chad Melchert (winner)
Rob Wells
FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Linsey Beckett
Tyler Beckett
Denis Dufresne
Mike Sanyshyn
Tyler Vollrath (winner)
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Paul Chapman
Ryan Davidson
Matt McKay (winner)
Darren Savard
Geoff Torrn
KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Little
Bart McKay (winner)
Brendan Waters
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Barber
Denis Dufresne
Shane Guse
Mitch Jay (winner)
Connor Riddell
STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Darrek Anderson
Mitch Jay (winner)
Doug Johnson
MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (LARGE MARKET)
Steph Hansen – CISN-FM/CKRY-FM – Edmonton, AB/Calgary, AB
A.J. Keller – CFCW – Edmonton, AB
Amanda Kingsland – CKBY-FM – Ottawa, ON (winner)
Rebecca Lafrance – CKKL-FM – Ottawa, ON
Peter Walker – CJKX-FM/CHKX-FM – Oshawa, ON/Hamilton, ON
MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (MEDIUM OR SMALL MARKET)
Shilo Bellis – CJXL-FM – Moncton, NB
Paul Ferguson – CHCQ-FM – Belleville, ON (winner)
Luca James – CKGY-FM – Red Deer, AB
Cory Noel – CKLJ/CKVG – Olds, AB/Vegreville, AB
BOOKING AGENCY OF THE YEAR
The Feldman Agency (winner)
Invictus Entertainment Group
Paquin Artists Agency
Sakamoto Agency
United Talent Agency
COUNTRY CLUB OF THE YEAR
Cook County Saloon – Edmonton, AB
OK Corral & Cabaret – Kelowna, BC
Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall – Calgary, AB
Rock ‘N’ Horse Saloon – Toronto, ON (winner)
COUNTRY FESTIVAL, FAIR OR EXHIBITION OF THE YEAR
Big Valley Jamboree – Camrose, AB
Boots And Hearts Music Festival – Oro-Medonte, ON
Calgary Stampede – Calgary, AB
Cavendish Beach Music Festival – Cavendish, PE (winner)
Havelock Country Jamboree – Havelock, ON
COUNTRY MUSIC PROGRAM OR SPECIAL OF THE YEAR
CBC q Live At The Grand Ole Opry – CBCq
The Dungarees Christmas Special – Rogers Media and The Dungarees
Girl Power Hour – Rogers Media (winner)
Jess Moskaluke’s A Small Town Christmas – MDM Recordings Inc.
Paul McGuire’s Country Countdown – ole TV
MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Big Loud Management
Cache Entertainment
Invictus Entertainment Group (winner)
MDM Artist Management Services
Starseed Entertainment
MUSIC PUBLISHING COMPANY OF THE YEAR
BMG Rights Management Canada
ole / Anthem Entertainment Group (winner)
Royalty Records Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Warner/Chappell Music Canada
RECORD COMPANY OF THE YEAR
MDM Recordings Inc.
Open Road Recordings
Sony Music Entertainment (Canada) Inc.
Universal Music Canada
Warner Music Canada (winner)
INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR
Steve Coady – Vice President, Radio Promotions – Warner Music Canada (winner)
Mike Denney – President – MDM Recordings Inc.
Brianne Deslippe – Vice President of Promotion/General Manager – Canada – Big Loud Records
Ron Kitchener – President, CEO – RGK Entertainment Group Inc.
Shannon McNevan – Director of A&R – Universal Music Canada
CREATIVE DIRECTOR(S) OF THE YEAR
Design Team: Bronwin Parks
Album: All In, Artist Merchandise (Artist: Chris Buck Band)
Design Team: Alee, Photography: Uryelle Dimailig
Single: Don’t Make Me Miss You (Artist: Alee)
Design Team: Buckspring Inc., Photography: Andrik Langfield, Tanner Wendell Stewart, Jonathan Taylor Sweet, Paul Tellefsen (winner)
Albums: The Journey YYC Vol. 1, The Journey BNA Vol. 2, The Journey YYC-BNA Deluxe Volume;
Single: Bittersweet feat. Lindsay Ell; Tour Graphics: The Journey Tour (Artist: Paul Brandt)
Design Team: Bronwin Parks
Album: Sides, Single: Danger Danger, Artist Merchandise (Artist: KIRA)
Design Team: Scotty Kipfer, Photography: Brad Kelly
Taking My Time (Artist: Scotty Kipfer)
RECORDING STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Barrytone Studios – St. Clements, ON
Bart McKay Productions – Saskatoon, SK
MCC Recording Studio – Calgary, AB
OCL Studios – Chestemere, AB
Revolution Recording – Toronto, ON (winner)
RECORD PRODUCER(S) OF THE YEAR
Jeff Dalziel (winner)
Album: Juliet (Artist: Dan Davidson)
Danick Dupelle, Tebey
Single: Who’s Gonna Love You (Artist: Tebey)
Adam Gregory, Bart McKay
Album: Perfect World (Artist: Adam Gregory)
Mitch Merrett, F. Reid Shippen
Album: Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion (Artist: Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion)
Joey Moi, Dave Cohen
Album: The Fall (Artist: Dallas Smith)
RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Amazon Music
Apple Music (winner)
Spotify Canada Inc.
RON SAKAMOTO TALENT BUYER OR PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Paul Biro – Sakamoto Agency (winner)
Jim Cressman – Invictus Entertainment Group
Adam Oppenheim – Stampede Entertainment Inc.
Lisa Zechmeister – Republic Live
VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Stephano Barberis
Video: 20 Dollars In My Pocket (Artist: The Lovelocks), Video: 24 Reasons (Artist: Kadooh), Video: Dive Bar (Artist: Gord Bamford), Video: Downtown Kids (Artist: David James), Video: Everything Girl (Artist: Dave Hartney), Video: Make ‘Em Like You (Artist: Dallas Smith), Video: Walls Come Down (Artist: Meghan Patrick);
Ben Knechtel (winner)
Video: Ain’t My Fault (Live From Toronto / 2019) (Artist: Jade Eagleson), Video: Count The Ways (Artist: Jade Eagleson), Video: Dear Drunk Me (Artist: Chad Brownlee), Video: Feels Like That (Artist: The Reklaws), Video: Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere (Artist: Chad Brownlee), Video: Got Your Name On It (Artist: Jade Eagleson), Video: Keep It Simple (Artist: James Barker Band) Video: Long Live The Night (Artist: The Reklaws), Video: Lost (Artist: Hunter Brothers) Video: Never Be The Same (Artist: James Barker Band), Video: Save Some Of That Whiskey (Artist: Jess Moskaluke), Video: The Worst Kind feat. Lindsay Ell (Artist: Tim Hicks);
Wes Mack
Video: Camouflage (Artist: Jess Moskaluke), Video: Never Have I Ever feat. Sons of Daughters (Artist: Wes Mack), Video: PBR State of Mind (Artist: Wes Mack);
Travis Nesbitt
Video: Can’t Help Myself (Artist: Dan Davidson), Video: Don’t Hold Back (Artist: The Dungarees), Video: I’ll Get Along (Artist: Danny Hooper), Video: Little Log Cabin (Artist: Danny Hooper), Video: These Are My People (Artist: Dan Davidson);
Joel Stewart
Video: Feel Like That (Artist: The Washboard Union), Video: She Gets Me (Artist: The Washboard Union), Video: You Are (Artist: Aaron Goodvin), Video: Zamboni (Artist: The Road Hammers).
In country music, the Front Porch has long been a place of reflection. A place where you can look at the life you have inside that front door. A place where time almost seems to stand still, where you can get away. It’s also a place where you can go to observe the world as it passes by you. To think about your place out there beyond the driveway.
