“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

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2. Capital Hoedown Tickets On-Sale Tomorrow!
3. CMT Hitlist Tour To Stop In Ottawa

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:

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2. 2012 Stagecoach Lineup Announced
3. Brad Paisley Announces New Tour For 2012

Tara posted this on her Facebook music page back in October after her return back from overseas.

So proud to be Canadian. Thank you Troops for giving us a life changing experience in Afghanistan. God Bless you all for the amazing & courageous work you do. We love you all so much and are SO THANKFUL.

You can check out pictures from her trip to Afghanistan HERE and you join her in the live chat HERE at 6:30pm EST.

You can also check out our exclusive pictures of Tara from her performance in Ottawa this summer at the Capital Hoedown HERE!

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3. Tara Oram Gets CCMA Nod for Female Artist of the Year

The music festival kicked off with a performance by Hank, who unfortunately were forced to play before gates were open to the public. The die hard hillbillies packed at the entrances to try to race for their spots did hear them, and the second the gates were open there was a rush of people running to get their spots by the main stage.

Friday’s headliners of Lady Antebellum were opened by funnyman, and their friend, Oklahoman Blake Shelton. Opening with “All About Tonight,” the screams started the second he stepped on the stage and wouldn’t stop until 2 minutes after his set was finished. He knew how to interact with the audience, and Blake made sure he’d walk the entire stage throughout his hour-long set which featured hits like “Hillbilly Bone,” “Austin,” “Some Beach,”  “God Gave Me You,” “Honey Bee,” “Kiss My Country Ass,” and even a mash-up featuring “My Prerogative” when he was talking about the music his family used to listen to. Just as funny as he is on tv, Blake was a fan favorite and his “100% Pure BS” shirts were everywhere the next two days. Surprisingly, Blake did not perform “The Baby” or “Don’t Make Me.”

Lady Antebellum had packed the field to almost full capacity in the general admission area. Their set featured their big hits “Need You Now,” “Just A Kiss,” and new single “We Owned The Night.” They even surprised fans with Hillary’s version of Sara Evan’s “Stronger” which she was one of the writers for, as well as a new song they tested out called “Friday Night” which they will have on their new album “Own The Night” in September. Fans were packed right up against the barricade for their show, with signs and arms raising up in the air anytime one of the three band members would look their way.

It was a fantastic way to kick-off the first night of the first ever CMT Music Festival here in Ontario, Canada.

Saturday’s line-up started early but somehow fans got back up and forced themselves to get over early for Tara Oram and Colt Ford. It was my second time this month to see Tara Oram live, but this time on a much bigger stage. She was switched from the second stage to the main one last minute, and her fans ran to see her on the large stage which featured a catwalk. She had sold her personality to the crowd, interacting with one fan that had pizza and asking for a slice, then asking another fan dressed in just overalls if he was wearing anything under it. She was cute, and once again the Carrie Underwood comparisons were popping up in the crowd.

It was Colt Ford’s birthday Saturday afternoon at his show, which his drummer, Rick, made sure to announce to the crowd. The country-rapper had the crowd sing Happy Birthday to him as a cake was brought out from backstage. He had quite his own bunch of fans out in the crowd who were rapping right along and dancing to “Chicken And Biscuits” and singing right along to “Dirt Road Anthem” which was made popular by Jason Aldean. Colt actually filmed the crowd during the later song to send to Jason to show him Canadian fans singing their song.

Ronnie Dunn was one of the highlights of the entire festival. The country music legend who was one half of the Brooks & Dunn powerhouse held his own onstage… but you wouldn’t expect anything else. He actually played an extended set for the crowd, not wanting to leave and telling his band “one more” three times during his encore. Not only did he play his hit solo songs “Bleed Red” and “Cost Of Living,” but he opened up the Brooks & Dunn hit list for “Cowgirls Don’t Cry,” “Red Dirt Road,” and “Ain’t Nothin’ Bout You” which the crowd ate right up. Ronnie joked all night that he didn’t “know how to use the stage” since no matter where he went, people would scream for him to go to their side. I’m still not sure why he mostly plays opener sets now as a solo artist, since he proved on Saturday that he can do just fine headlining on his own without Kix Brooks.

Dean Brody was the Canadian act opening up for Sara Evans and Rascal Flatts Saturday night. There was nearly a two-hour break between Ronnie Dunn and his set, so fans took the chance to ride the Ferris Wheel, check out the donkey mascot in the kids zone, or grab one of the many choices of food from the vendor tents at the festival. There wasn’t a lack of activities for fans to take-in during the three-day party, and even hair feather extensions were available at two different tents.

Dean Brody hit the stage right after fans were able to recharge and get ready for an amazing Saturday night in Oro Station. the “Dirt Road Scholar” is up for multiple Canadian Country Music Award nominations this year, including Fan Choice which is voted on by fans. Ronnie Dunn is a tough act to follow no matter who you are, but the British Columbia native handled it well, and the country music fans were singing his songs right back to him. The only thing wrong with his set is that he stayed at the back of the stage, so the fans near the catwalk were frustrated on not being able to see him.

Sara Evans is another artist that I was lucky enough to see live earlier this month. The superstar waved to her fans all night long, and even blew kisses to a few lucky boys in the crowd. While everyone was enjoying her old hits, she got the most applause and reaction when she started the introduction to “Stronger,” a song she describes as a gift from God that fell in her lap. It was her first single in a few years after Sara had decided to put her career on hold and stay out of the spotlight while she got her personal life in order. She seemed generally shocked at how loudly the fans were singing the words right back to her.

Rascal Flatts had the largest, and biggest effects of the entire festival. With a screen that had shown LED images all night, three doors opened to reveal Joe Don Rooney, Jay DeMarcus and Gary LeVox to the screams of 10,000 fans in the field. They covered all their hits, and made sure to interact with the entire audience and moving around to each part of the stage for each song. Fans were dancing in the crowd to “Fast Cars & Freedom,” “Life Is A Highway,” and the opener of “Why Wait.” Sadly, their set skipped the super popular “I Melt,” “Easy,” and fan favorite “Backwards,” but it was impossible to notice until after the show. The boys knew exactly how to work an outdoor stage and were the best performers of the festival. Fans who weren’t fans of the richest group in country music in 2010 were quickly changed into one at the end of their set.

While we usually love to live-tweet and live blog at concert and festivals, we were unable to do that this time around as cell phone towers were jam-packed and calls and Tweets were not getting through. While there was internet provided for media, it wouldn’t stay up long enough to let us live Tweet on the spot. Sorry about this!

Were you at the CMT Music Festival? Let us know who you loved in the comments!

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3. CMA Music Festival Brings in $30 Million; Will Air August 7th on ABC

With the weather holding out, crowds steadily increased as travelers got into town and local fans got off work. The festival kicked off with Mackenzie Porter, one of the later additions to the Hoedown line-up. We heard her sound checking earlier, and her cover of the Dixie Chicks’ “Sin Wagon” had Ottawa up on its feet early on. A young girl who was raised on an Alberta cattle ranch, and may be recognized as the sister of former Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter. While the young girl may not have been as experienced as the rest of the line-up, her talent and voice shined through and was an impressive start to the festival. We had the chance to meet MacKenzie before her performance, and she’s a down-to-earth, but talented, singer.

Tara Oram was next on the bill to help kick-off the Capital Hoedown. While she was running late and we did miss our interview with her, she was fantastic and knew how to take control of the stage the second she was on it. Wearing a dress similar to Carrie Underwood’s “Undo It” music video, her cover of “Twist” had the crowd laughing and dancing right along with her. An interesting choice was to take out one of her own original songs for a Sheryl Crow cover of “Strong Enough.” We heard some people in the crowd comparing her to Carrie Underwood, and the resemblance is pretty similiar – right down to the fashion choices. One thing I did miss was “Go To Bed Angry” which wasn’t performed live, however, her cover medley which included “Twist and Shout” had the crowd dancing and helped kick off the party atmospheer tha

Doc Walker seemed to be the second most popular act of the day, as the field was filling up to the estimated 15,000 – 20,000 persons for Kenny Chesney at 9 pm last night. While they mostly stayed to their specific spots on the stage, unlike Tara who took control of the entire stage and interacted with the audience throughout, the boys were still good and had the fans screaming. They were a good choice as the warm-up act right before the headliner Chesney. The Canadian group played their hits which most of the crowd surprisingly knew and sang right back to them.

The short break between Doc’s set and Kenny’s was when the field really started to fill up in both the General Admission and VIP C areas. VIP C is right in front of the stage, and standing room only. As his crew rushed to add-on the extra lighting and carpeting for his set, the crowd’s energy level (and alcohol level) increased even more. The VIP C section was packed and people were crammed right against each other. There’s no room to sit in that section, so be aware if that’s your seats: the view is great but your legs do get a workout!

The second the video screens showed some clips of Kenny’s hat on the beach with a Corona, the screaming began and didn’t stop until the end of his just-over-an-hour set. Kenny had the entire crowd in the palm of his hand, and he was all smiles throughout the entire show. While we couldn’t get a good view on the crowd from our spot, rumor has it that it hit 20,000 fans. I completely expect to double that today with both Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert in the line-up tonight.

Kenny sang most of his big hits, but he did skip out on a few noticeables:  “There Goes My Life,”  “Keg In The Closet,” “Don’t Blink,” “Shiftwork,” “Everybody Wants To Go to Heaven,” and “Down The Road” were obvious hits missing from his performance. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t fantastic: his headlining show included just Kenny and an acoustic guitar on his current hit “You & Tequila” which he dedicated to Grace Potter who wasn’t there last night.

Kenny was all smiles, even with the mix problems during his first song and a half where his vocals were completely taken over by his band. He brought the beach to Canada, and rocked his version of beach-meets-country the rest of the night. He was a hit, but would you ever expecting anything else from country’s touring king? Even a beach-ball thrown his way didn’t effect him from giving it all to the crowd. Nor did the plaid shirt thrown onstage by a male fan during “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems.”

“Ottawa, you are looking incredibly sexy tonight,’ was how he closed off his single-song encore of “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” The first day of the Capital Hoedown was a party atmosphere, and Kenny Chesney made sure it stayed that way.

Related posts:

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3. MacKenzie Porter Added to Capital Hoedown’s Star-Studded Line-Up

“This nomination is a huge surprise, and it’s so cool to be nominated when you’ve been away for two years.”

Tara released “Chasing The Sun” in 2008. The Newfoundland native is a former Canadian Idol contestant, who placed sixth on the now-defunct reality singing competition. She also starred in CMT’s “The Tara Diaries,” and also had her own Christmas special on the network: “The Night Before Christmas.” 

Tara will be appearing at the Capital Hoedown in Ottawa, Canada this week, opening up for Doc Walker and Kenny Chesney on Thursday night. Are you going to be there? Who are you excited for?

Take a look this Canadian talent appearing at the Hoedown under the cut with “Go To Bed Angry.”

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1. Shania Twain Teaming up with Michael Buble
2. Shania Twain Honored as Top-Selling Female Country Artist
3. Canadian Tara Oram to Release Sophomore Album

“The word “excited” for this new album would be an understatement,” proclaims Oram. “It’s been almost two years in the making and a lot of time has been spent putting the puzzle pieces together to create an album that truly reflects the music I love and more importantly, love to perform. I hope country music lovers adore this project as much as I do. That’s my ultimate goal and would be my biggest accomplishment.”

The 12-song album by the Newfoundland native will have a positive message with an ode to classic country music.

Oram has received multiple Juno, CCMA, and ECMA nominations since signing with Open Road Recordings in 2008. She took home the CCMA Rising Star Award in 2009 as well as the ECMA for Country Recording Of The Year for “Chasing the Sun”. She also had her own reality television series on CMT “The Tara Diaries.”

See the full track listing under the cut.

1. 1929

2. Things I Should’ve Said

3. Easier Not To

4. The Cornfield Song

5. Can’t Get Past

6. Strong Enough

7. You Don’t Have To Worry

8. Kiss Me When I Fall

9. Pretty Red Dress

10. What If I Was Willing

11. Overalls

12. When You’re Lonely

picture courtesy of Open Road Recordings.

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