Dean has earned his spot on the list given his tremendous success across the country with his latest album DIRT. Raised in Jaffray, British Columbia, the singer-songwriter has become a household name in Canadian Country music. This year alone, he has been nominated for Country Album of the Year at the 2013 JUNO Awards and sold out his “The Dirt Tour” across Canada. He has charted four smash hits from his sophomore album, including the Gold-selling anthem “Canadian Girls,” “It’s Friday” ft. Great Big Sea, “Bob Marley” and his latest single “Dirt,” currently the #1 Most Added Single at radio this week.

Dean begins the summer festival circuit this June, with plans to release a brand new single this August in anticipation of his upcoming third album this November 2013.

Related posts:

1. James Otto to play at Billy Dean’s Birthday Bash
2. Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts & Dean Brody Added to Boots & Hearts
3. Miranda Lambert Named People’s Most Beautiful

Fire It Up, the winning album, is the seventh studio album for Johnny. After being released last spring, the album reached number two on the Canadian Albums Chart and was also certified platinum. It includes duets from Canadians Serena Ryder and Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

You can check out the full JUNO Awards at CTV.ca/Junos.

Related posts:

1. Lionel Richie Has Best Selling Country Album of 2012
2. POLL: ACM Awards – Album Of The Year
3. Johnny Reid Announces 2012 Tour

The choices of Miranda, The Band Perry and Rascal Flatts were among the top ten most requested acts by fans of the festival. Festival organizers listened to the fans and added the superstars to an already huge line-up. It’s currently the only announced date so far for Miranda Lambert, who will be hitting the road in January with Dierks Bentley on their co-headlining Locked & Reloaded tour across the United States.

Boots & Hearts will be making an announcement of more than 25 acts as we get closer to the event. Who else do you want to see added to the line-up?

Related posts:

1. Jason Aldean to Headline 2013 Boots & Hearts
2. Mike Fisher To Be Guest Speaker at Boots & Hearts
3. Boots & Hearts To Honor Capital Hoedown Tickets

Dean Brody opened the show with his hit “Canadian Girls,” kicking off a show that would see him win two awards: Best Male Artist and Album of the Year.

Other country faves taking home hardware at this year’s show included Carolyn Dawn Johnson, who won Female Artist of the Year and Hey Romeo, this year’s Group or Duo of the Year. Ottawa’s sweetest and brightest new talent, Kira Isabella, took home the Rising Star award. The Stellas, who have been out on the road with Johnny Reid, took home the award for CMT Video of the Year for their song “In This House.” Johnny, who had a whopping eight nominations tonight, was the recipient of the Fans’ Choice award.

This was the fourth year Reid has taken home the acclaimed Fans’ Choice Award:

“This has been a wonderful year. I have had an opportunity to cross this beautiful country and sing for so many people,” the Scottish-born Nova Scotia-based singer said . “Too many people to thank, but Saskatoon you have always had a special place in my heart. Thank you very much for this honour.”

The stage welcomed countless great performances, including Paul Brandt and a collaboration between Emerson Drive and Doc Walker. American faves, including Pistol Annies, Eric Church, and Jason Aldean made their way up north to rock the stage in addition to a solo performance by Miranda Lambert.

Also of note, the very lovely Taylor Swift made an appearance to both present an award and accept one herself. Taylor was the recipient of the New Generation award, which was introduced by Deric Rutan and Bryan Adams:

“I’m so happy to be in Saskatoon right now I can’t even tell you,” she said. “To country radio in Canada and the country music fans in Canada, you guys are the ones who choose to play my songs, you guys are the ones who choose to buy the albums and sell out the concerts and you’re the ones who make me so at home, I can’t wait to come back and see you every single time.”

Check out our recap of tonight’s winners:

Fans’ Choice Award
Johnny Reid

Single of the Year
They Don’t Make Em’ Like That Anymore – Jason Blaine

Album of the Year
DIRT – Dean Brody

Songwriter(s) of the Year
Is It Friday Yet? (written by Gord Bamford/Roger Brown/Byron Hill; performed by Gord Bamford)

CMT Video of the Year
In This House – The Stellas

Female Artist of the Year
Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Male Artist of the Year 
Dean Brody

Group or Duo of the Year 
Hey Romeo

Roots Artist or Group of the Year
Jimmy Rankin

Rising Star
Kira Isabella

Top Selling Canadian Album of the Year
Fire It Up – Johnny Reid

Top Selling International Album of the Year
Own The Night – Lady Antebellum

Image credit (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards)

Related posts:

1. CCMA Nominees Announced
2. Recap of The 2012 JUNO Awards
3. Nominees for the 2012 Juno Awards Announced

“All of today’s nominees deserve ample recognition for their excellence as well as their tremendous contribution to Canadian country music,” said Don Green, Executive Director, CCMA. “This year’s nominees reflect the depth of musical talent in Canada, and we’re so proud to be able to recognize those artists – both established and emerging – who have impacted Canadians with their music.”

A personal fave, Johnny Reid, leads the nominations with a total of eight. Country cutie Dean Brody follows close behind with seven of his own.

Performers expected to light up the stage at the Awards include Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, Eric Church, Paul Brandt, Dean Brody, George Canyon, Johnny Reid, Deric Ruttan, Gord Bamford, Terri Clark, Chad Brownlee and High Valley.

Check out the list of nominees below!

FANS’ CHOICE AWARD
Gord Bamford
Dean Brody
Terri Clark
Hey Romeo
Johnny Reid

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Canadian Girls – Dean Brody
Fire It Up – Johnny Reid
Is It Friday Yet? – Gord Bamford
Somebody Somewhere – Dallas Smith
They Don’t Make Em’ Like That Anymore – Jason Blaine

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
16 & 1 – Doc Walker
DIRT – Dean Brody
Fire It Up – Johnny Reid
Give It Away – Paul Brandt
Roots And Wings – Terri Clark

SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR
Canadian Girls (written by Dean Brody; performed by Dean Brody)
Fire It Up (written by Marty Dodson/Alan Frew/Johnny Reid; performed by Johnny Reid)
Is It Friday Yet? (written by Gord Bamford/Roger Brown/Byron Hill; performed by Gord Bamford)
Mainstreet, 1979 (written by Deric Ruttan; performed by Deric Ruttan)
They Don’t Make Em’ Like That Anymore (written by Jason Blaine/Deric Ruttan; performed by Jason Blaine

CMT VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Canadian Girls – Dean Brody
Fire It Up – Johnny Reid
Give It Away – Paul Brandt
I’m Your Man – Ryan Laird
In This House – The Stellas

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Victoria Banks
Terri Clark
Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Tara Oram
Michelle Wright

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gord Bamford
Jason Blaine
Dean Brody
Chad Brownlee
Johnny Reid

GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
Doc Walker
Emerson Drive
Hey Romeo
High Valley
The Stellas

ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Ridley Bent
Shane Chisholm
Sean Hogan
Corb Lund
Jimmy Rankin

RISING STAR
Kira Isabella
Ryan Laird
Codie Prevost
Dallas Smith
The Stellas

Related posts:

1. Nominees for the 2012 Juno Awards Announced
2. Capital Hoedown Tickets On-Sale Tomorrow!
3. CMT Hitlist Tour To Stop In Ottawa

While there are tons of songs in country music that pay tribute to the troops, we had the difficult task of narrowing it down to just our top ten. Take a look at our top 10 playlist for Memorial Day and let us know what your favorite songs for tribute are on our Facebook page or in the comments to our post.

 10. Just A Dream – Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood‘s 2008 platinum single from her “Carnival Ride” album takes a different side of a tribute for fallen heroes. She takes on the role of a widow of a soldier and her moving single takes the number ten spot on our list. The song starts out sounding like a love song about a young girl going to the chapel to get married, but quickly changes to a story about the funeral of a soldier who was lost in battle. The single earned Carrie a 2010 GRAMMY nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart.

9. Brothers – Dean Brody

Canadian country singer Dean Brody‘s debut single remains one of his top singles to date. His song, which peaked in the top ten of the Canadian Country Singles Chart, also made an imprint on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the USA in the top 30. The song’s narrator deals with not wanting to see his brother leave for war and wanting to do anything to keep him home, but his brother tells him that it’s what brothers are for. The single later deals with the sacrifice an older brother gives up for his younger brother.

8. Sleeping With The Telephone – Reba McEntire & Faith Hill

Reba McEntire‘s “Duets” album brought together some of the top voices in not only country, but pop music too. Reba teamed up with country’s power vocalist Faith Hill for a track about being the wife to a soldier serving overseas. While the song never saw radio airplay, it’s still an emotional single about waiting every night for a phone call about her loved one and the thoughts always running through the wife’s head. It’s another song to remind country fans that it’s not only the soldiers that sacrifice everything to keep their country safe, but their families too.

 7. Travelin’ Soldier – Dixie Chicks

The Dixie Chicks once had the best harmonies in country music, and their single about love with a soldier was quickly forgotten during its short chart run. It was the single that was pulled by radio stations across the United States due to the controversy surrounding the group’s political stance. Regardless of the statements made, the girls still have a touching story about a young girl who falls in love with a man who was sent out to war. She finds out that he was killed in action when his name was announced at a football game.

6. 8th Of November – Big & Rich

Big & Rich released a tribute to a real-life soldier Niles Harris and the 173rd Airborne Brigade who were ambushed on November 8th, 1965 by 1200 Viet Cong during Operation Hump. Forty-eight American soldiers lost their lives on that day. John Rich and Big Kenny were so touched by their friend’s story that they wrote this song and put it on their 2005 album “Comin’ To Your City.” The music video has an introduction by Kris Kristofferson on Niles, who was one of the soldiers saved by Lawrence Joel, who was the first black American soldier to receive a Medal of Honor. Niles is the one who gave Big Kenny his top hat that he is known for wearing.

5. Have You Forgotten? – Darryl Worley

Country music singer Darryl Worley released an important single in 2003 that dealt with remembering the events of September 11th. The first single from his 2003 album hit number one in only three weeks, and stayed there for a total of seven – not bad for an album that only had four brand new songs, including the title track, and songs from two previous albums. It’s a strong song that deals directly with never forgetting the men and women lost on the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and going after Bin Laden.

4. Arlington – Trace Adkins

 Trace Adkins is one of the most supportive country singers for American troops. The history buff released the touching tribute to the soldiers who sacrificed everything for the United States with “Arlington” in 2005. The second single from his “Songs About Me” album tells the story of a fictional soldier who was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. While the single peaked at only number sixteen on the Billboard Country Singles Chart, it’s Trace’s vocals and story telling ability that makes the song so perfect for this holiday weekend.

3. American Soldier – Toby Keith

This is one of my favorite singles by Toby Keith, one that is often forgotten. Toby recently played this song live to the USO on his tour overseas just a few weeks ago at the military bases in the Middle East. We could have picked almost any song out of Toby’s library for this list, or he could have made our entire list, but we chose this song. It’s a moving song about the life of an American Soldier and what they really give up in the name of freedom. Is there anyone out there right now in country music that has more American pride that Toby himself?

2. If You’re Reading This – Tim McGraw

When Tim McGraw performed “When You’re Reading This” live at the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) in 2007, he gave country music goosebumps. The song was so powerful that immediately following the telecast, radio stations played his performance and the live version of the song debuted at number thirty-five on the Billboard Hot Country Songs from unsolicited airplay. His performance received a standing ovation at the Las Vegas award show, when Tim revealed that behind him were families of fallen heroes. It’s one of the most touching moments in country music award show history, and Tim’s tribute to soldiers makes our list at number two.

1. Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning – Alan Jackson

Alan Jackson is one of country music’s greatest singers and songwriters of all time. The legend put together a touching tribute to the September 11th terrorist attacks, and debuted the song on the November 7th, 2001 Country Music Association (CMA) awards. It’s the number one song on our top 10 Memorial Day songs playlist because of how perfect the song is in a changed world today. No matter where you were on September 11th, 2001 you remember where you were when you heard the news of the tragedy. Alan might just be a “singer of simple songs,” but his simple song is the ultimate Memorial Day song.

Related posts:

1. Songs About Mama
2. Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl” Debuts At #1 On Billboard’s Digital Country Songs Chart
3. The Best Valentines Day Songs

Next year’s line-up is as follows:

Friday, August 10 – Reba, Ronnie Dunn, Gord Bamford, and Marshall Dane

Saturday, August 11 – Taylor Swift, Dean Brody, Tara Oram, Chad Brownlee, and others TBA

Sunday, August 12 – Brad Paisley, The Band Perry, Terri Clark, High Valley and others TBA

To keep up to date on all artist and line-up updates, stay tuned to Keepin’ it Country and capitalhoedown.net. We will be interviewing Marshall Dane, who is opening the Hoedown, in a few minutes. Watch for that interview tonight!

Related posts:

1. Here Is The Lineup For The 2012 Capital Hoedown!
2. ACM Honors Tickets to go On-Sale This Week
3. Doc Walker Wants to Give You Two 3-Day Capital Hoedown Tickets

Reba will be headlining!

The rest of the linkup includes:

Friday
Reba
Ronnie Dunn
Gord Banford
Marshall Dane

Saturday
Taylor Swift
Dean Brody
Tara Oram
Chad Brownlee

Sunday
Brad Paisley
The Band Perry
Terri Clark
High Valley

GA passes will cost $170 for 3 days and VIP front and centre passes will go for $445. The pre-sale starts tomorrow.

Are you excited? We are!

Related posts:

1. Florida Strawberry Festival adds Reba, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen to lineup
2. 2012 Stagecoach Lineup Announced
3. Brad Paisley Announces New Tour For 2012

The boys, backed up by a four-piece band, came out to the stage together to first perform “Hey Good Lookin’”. Just after, the show featured a set by Dean. He started by performing his current single, “Little Yellow Blanket”, followed by his hit song “Wildflower”, a performance that captivated the audience and even brought a woman in the front row to giving a rose to the artist. He played other crowd favourites including, “People Know You By Your First Name” and “Trail In Life”. Without a doubt, his live performance definitely showcases his voice and it’s unique quality and capability.

Aaron Lines followed Dean to the stage, playing past hits that spoke to his relationship with his wife and two daughters. He started with “Moments That Matter”, a song that got cheers from the crowd when one of the lyrics mentioned hockey – obviously a staple to the Canadian identity. He went on to play “You Can’t Hide Beautiful”, a song he wrote originally for his wife but is now hoping to teach the words to his young daughters so that they may be instilled with the message that beauty is about remaining true to yourself. His set included other hits such as “Turn It Up”, “Lights of My Hometown”, and the crowd favourite “Cheaper to Keep Her”. His humble personality and love for his family was quite evident in his set, making his performance very relatable to the crowd and remarkably enjoyable to watch.

Deric Ruttan was next to hit the stage, bringing to the show a high energy that spoke more to the rowdy young fans in the audience. He started his set with his first single, “When You Come Around”, followed with his popular song , “First Time in a Long Time”. Deric made sure to note that he enjoyed being back in his home province – he is from Bracebridge, Ontario. He went on to perform “Up All Night”, a song that brought the crowd to its feet for the first time during the show. He finished off with “Good Time”, a song that sums up the energy and kind of performance he wants to bestow on his fans with his talents.

Following their individual sets, the boys came out with their acoustic guitars and highlighted their talents in a raw and emotional way. Dean started the acoustic set with a song that joked about incest, one that the audience laughed to and enjoyed. Aaron and Deric slowed things down by singing two emotional songs, “I Haven’t Even Heard You Cry” and “Main Street, 1979″; each song spoke to emotional relationships with family members. Following suit, Dean sang “Brothers”, a lyrical representation of the hardships troops and their families face when they go to war. Each of those slower numbers resonated with the crowd, slowing down time and causing the audience to reflect on the aspects of their lives that these songs spoke to. Deric raised the energy at the end of the set by singing “What Was I Thinkin’”, a song he wrote that went number one for country star Dierks Bentley.

The show concluded with a set of covers that the fans had a chance to vote for on the CMT Canada website prior to the show. Joined by the band once again, the three boys performed “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle, “Forever and Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis, and “Summer of ’69″ by Bryan Adams, a performance that brought the crowd to their feet once again.

After the show, the artists took the time to meet each and every fan to take pictures and sign autographs, showing their humble sides. The concert definitely highlighted each artist’s lyrical and vocal capabilities, as well as their modest personalities. The Hitlist Tour is definitely a show any country fan should see if they want to marvel in the true and inspirational performance of some of the best artists in Canadian country music. Not only this, but their individual performances speak to a varied demographic of ages, simply because anyone in the crowd can find comfort in the lyrics of at least one of the meaningful songs.

The tour will make stops in London, Guelph, Belleville, and Parry Sound before wrapping up out East.

Check out this picture Lydia and I got with the boys:

Related posts:

1. CMT Hitlist Tour To Stop In Ottawa
2. Review: Keith Urban & Jake Owen in Tupelo, MS (8/26)
3. REVIEW: Taylor Swift’s Speak Now Tour Leaves Fans Enchanted

Dean Brody dominated the CCMA Awards this past September, winning Album of the Year for his current album Train In Life, as well as Single of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for the same-titled single. Dean has spent most weeks sitting at #1 on Canadian country radio over the past year. The artist will most definitely be performing his current hit “Little Yellow Blanket” which has moved into the Top 10 in only seven weeks – his fastest charting single thus far in his career.

Deric Ruttan received five nominations at the 2011 CCMA Awards for his 2010 CD release titled Sunshine. His second single from that album, “Up All Night” was the most-played Canadian country song of 2010. He is currently promoting his new live album Up All Night – Deric Ruttan which came out just weeks ago.

The show will also feature hit maker Aaron Lines, who was the most played Canadian artist on country radio from 2000 to 2010. With past wins at the CCMA’S for awards such as Male Artist of the Year and Rising Star Award, Aaron was recognized at the 2011 show with a nomination for Album of the Year for his CD Sunday Afternoon.

After the show in Ottawa, the tour will make stops in London, Guelph, Belleville, and Parry Sound before heading out East.

Tickets can be purchased at www.cmt.ca/cmthitlisttour.

Related posts:

1. Dean Brody Wins Album Of The Year
2. We Have The Winners For The 2011 CCMA Awards
3. Canadian Singer Stacey McKitrick To Release Debut Album