We've just wrapped up Canadian country music's biggest weekend, filled with performances and fan expos and songwriters' circles by some of the genre's biggest names — Terri Clark, Shania Twain, Dean Brody, Gord Bamford, Brett Kissel and Jess Moskaluke, to name just a few. And while everyone was having a line-dancing good time, the Canadian Country Music Association was handing out its awards to the fortunate nominees of the weekend.
Starting with an awards luncheon on Friday, followed by a gala reception Saturday and closing the weekend with the big awards broadcast on Sunday night, a lot happened. Check out the winners below, with names bolded.
Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award
- Gord Bamford
- Dean Brody
- Chad Brownlee
- Tim Hicks
- High Valley
- James Barker Band
- Brett Kissel
- Jess Moskaluke
- Dallas Smith
- Shania Twain
Ford album of the year
- Country Music Made Me Do It, Meghan Patrick
- Past the Past, Jess Moskaluke
- The Project, Lindsay Ell
- We Were That Song, Brett Kissel
- What We're Made Of, The Washboard Union
Female artist of the year
- Lindsay Ell
- Madeline Merlo
- Jess Moskaluke
- Meghan Patrick
- Shania Twain
Male artist of the year
- Gord Bamford
- Chad Brownlee
- Brett Kissel
- Dallas Smith
- Bobby Wills
Group or duo of the year
- High Valley
- Hunter Brothers
- James Barker Band
- The Reklaws
- The Washboard Union
Roots artist or group of the year
- The Lovelocks
- Jessica Mitchell
- Lindi Ortega
- The Washboard Union
- Donovan Woods
SiriusXM Rising Star
- Dan Davidson
- Aaron Goodvin
- Hunter Brothers
- Leaving Thomas
- The Reklaws
Single of the year
- "Chills," James Barker Band
- "Country Music Made me do It," Meghan Patrick
- "Drive me Away," Jess Moskaluke
- "Lonely Drum," Aaron Goodvin
- "Side Effects," Dallas Smith
Video of the year
- "The Bad Guy," Meghan Patrick
- "Drive me Away," Jess Moskaluke
- "Hometown Kids," The Reklaws
- "Sky Stays This Blue," Dallas Smith
- "We Were That Song," Brett Kissel
Songwriter(s) of the year
- Dean Brody, Matt Rovey: "8th Day" (performed by Dean Brody)
- Dan Isbell, Meghan Patrick, Jeremy Stover: "Country Music Made me do It" (performed by Meghan Patrick)
- Zach Abend, Corey Crowder, Jess Moskaluke: "Drive me Away" (performed by Jess Moskaluke)
- James Barker, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood: "It’s Working" (performed by James Barker Band)
- Alexander Black, Aaron Goodvin, Cathy Gravitt: "Lonely Drum" (performed by Aaron Goodvin)
Interactive artist or group of the year
- Tenille Arts
- Hunter Brothers
- Brett Kissel
- Leaving Thomas
- Nice Horse
Bass player of the year
- Kirby Barber
- Chris Byrne
- Lisa Dodd
- Justin Kudding
- Travis Switzer
Drummer of the year
- Matthew Atkins
- Ben Bradley
- Flavio Cirillo
- Rich DaSilva
- Chad Melchert
Fiddle player of the year
- Denis Dufresne
- Ali Raney
- Mike Sanyshyn
- Tyler Vollrath
- Mark Whitehead
Guitar player of the year
- Derek Caven
- Paul Chapman
- Matt McKay
- Darren Savard
- Geoff Torrn
Keyboard player of the year
- Scott Galloway
- Mike Little
- Bart McKay
- Dale Wallace
- Brendan Waters
Specialty instrument player of the year
- David Barber (banjo)
- Denis Dufresne (banjo)
- Shane Guse (mandolin)
- Mitch Jay (dobro)
- Connor Riddell (banjo)
Steel guitar player of the year
- Chris Altmann
- John Ellis
- Mitch Jay
- Doug Johnson
- Mark Whitehead
Music director of the year (large market)
- Larry Donohue, CFCW, Edmonton, Alta.
- Steph Hansen, CISN-FM/CKRY-FM, Edmonton, Alta./Calgary, Alta.
- Amanda Kingsland, CKBY-FM, Ottawa, Ont.
- Peter Walker, CJKX-FM/CHKX-FM, Oshawa, Ont./Hamilton, Ont.
Music director of the year (medium/small market)
- Shilo Bellis, CJXL-FM, Moncton, N.B.
- Jenn Dalen, CKGY-FM, Red Deer, Alta.
- Paul Ferguson, CHCQ-FM, Belleville, Ont.
- Cal Gratton, CJVR-FM, Melfort, Sask.
- Cory Noel, CKFM-FM, Olds, Alta.
Booking agency of the year
- APA Agency
- The Feldman Agency
- Invictus Entertainment Group
- Sakamoto Agency
- United Talent Agency
Country club of the year
- Cook County Saloon, Edmonton, Alta.
- The Dakota Tavern, Toronto, Ont.
- Gabby's Country Cabaret, Langley, B.C.
- Ranchman's Cookhouse and Dancehall, Calgary, Alta.
- The Roxy, Vancouver, B.C.
Country festival, fair or exhibition of the year
- Big Valley Jamboree, Camrose, Alta.
- Boots And Hearts Music Festival, Oro-Medonte, Ont.
- Calgary Stampede, Calgary, Alta.
- Cavendish Beach Music Festival, Cavendish, P.E.I.
- Rockin' River Country Music Fest - Merritt, B.C.
Country music program or special of the year
- Canadian Coast to Coast (Fabmar Communications)
- The Casey Clarke Country Countdown (Casey Clarke Productions)
- The Casey Clarke Show (Casey Clarke Productions)
- The Dungarees Christmas Special (Rogers Media and The Dungarees)
- Jess Moskaluke: Home Movie (Corus Entertainment)
Management company of the year
- Big Loud Management LLC.
- Invictus Entertainment Group
- MDM Artist Management Services
- RGK Entertainment Group Inc.
- Starseed Entertainment Inc.
Music publishing company of the year
- ole
- Royalty Music Publishing Inc.
- Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
- Universal Music Publishing Canada
- Warner/Chappell Music Canada
Record company of the year
- MDM Recordings Inc.
- ole red dot
- Open Road Recordings Inc.
- Universal Music Canada
- Warner Music Canada
Industry person of the year
- Steve Coady, vice president, radio promotions, Warner Music Canada
- Jim Cressman, president, Invictus Entertainment Group
- Mike Denney, president, MDM Recordings Inc.
- Shannon McNevan, director of A&R, Universal Music Canada
- Robert Ott, chairman, CEO, ole
Creative director(s) of the year
- Design Team: Rory Gardiner, Loren Stevenson; Photography: Doyle Smith (Be You, Rory Gardiner)
- Design Team: Jason Graham, Photography: John Gaucher (In Comes The Night, Bobby Wills)
- Design Team: Mitchell Nevins, Photography: Margaret Malandruccolo (Loud, Tim Hicks)
- Design Team: Antoine Moonen (Mediavandals), Photography: Delaney Royer (Past the Past, Jess Moskaluke)
- Design Team: Mitchell Nevins, Photography: Phil Crozier (The Squeeze, The Road Hammers)
Recording studio of the year
- Barrytone Studios, St. Clements, Ont.
- Bart McKay Productions, Saskatoon, Sask.
- MCC Recording Studio, Calgary, Alta.
- OCL Studios, Chestermere, Alta.
- Revolution Recording, Toronto, Ont.
Record producer(s) of the year
- Gord Bamford, Phil O'Donnell (Neon Smoke, Gord Bamford)
- Spencer Cheyne, Brett Kissel, Justin Kudding, Bart McKay, Matt McKay, Luke Wooten (We Were That Song, Brett Kissel)
- Jeff Dalziel (What We’re Made Of, The Washboard Union)
- Danick Dupelle, Tebey (Love A Girl, Tebey)
- Dan Swinimer (Downtown Kids, David James)
Retailer of the year
- Apple Music
- Spotify Canada Inc.
- Sunrise Records
Ron Sakamoto talent buyer or promoter of the year
- Paul Biro, Sakamoto Agency
- Jim Cressman, Invictus Entertainment Group
- Emmanuel Patterson, Live Nation Entertainment
- Julia Rambeau, MRG Group
- Denise Ross, Live Nation Entertainment
Video director of the year
- Stephano Barberis (videos: "The Bad Guy," Meghan Patrick; "Coming Clean," Shirley Gnome; "Dirt Covered Rhinestone," Jade Mya; "Heart Of A Woman," Johnny Reid; "Hold The Line," Jesse Mast; "Might As Well Be Me," Chad Brownlee; "Neon Smoke," Gord Bamford; "Out Of The Blue," Chad Brownlee; "Sky Stays This Blue," Dallas Smith; "Something To Wrap My Heart Around," JoJo Mason; "What We’re Made Of," The Washboard Union)
- Gavin Michael Booth (videos: "Born and Raised," Hunter Brothers; "Slide Over," Tim Hicks; "Sombrero," Scotty James; "Those Were The Nights," Hunter Brothers; "You Get To Me," River Town Saints
- Ben Knechtel (videos: "Chills," James Barker Band; "Drive Me Away," Jess Moskaluke; "Hometown Kids," The Reklaws)
- Travis Nesbitt (videos: "Anywhere With You," The Dungarees; "Ring The Bells," The Dungarees; "Say We Did," Dan Davidson; "Shine," The Washboard Union)
- Joel Stewart (videos: "All About Her," Paul Brandt; "In Comes The Night," Bobby Wills; "Kill Your Love," Jess Moskaluke; "Past The Past," Jess Moskaluke)
Related:
Terri Clark gets real about her 20-plus years in country music
2018 CCMA Awards: Serena Ryder, James Barker Band and Jessica Mitchell added as performers
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Jess Moskaluke and Brett Kissel lead this year's CCMA Awards nominations