CMA Touring Awards Nominees Announced

The 2017 CMA Touring Awards Finalists have been announced. Final voting for the awards, which highlight the contributions of vital behind-the-scenes members of the industry, begins Nov. 21 and closes Dec. 6. Each category has been expanded this year from three nominees to five.

CMA members in the following membership groups are eligible to vote on the 15 categories up for awards: Advertising/Public Relations/Media, Affiliated, Artist, Entertainment Services, Marketing/Digital, Musician, Personal Manager, Record Label, Talent Agent, Talent Buyer/Promoter, Touring and Venue.

“The CMA Touring Awards honor the unseen heroes of country music, the men and women who work behind the scenes to give our fans the best live music experience in entertainment,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern. “As you’ll notice, we’ve expanded the number of nominees from three to five in each category to acknowledge the many touring and industry professionals who are working at the highest levels.”

CATEGORY 1 – BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
Cheryl Harris – O’Neil Hagaman, PLLC
Lou Taylor – Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group
Rob Taylor – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC
Dwight Wiles – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC

CATEGORY 2 – COACH/TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR
Caleb Garrett – Luke Bryan
Jerry Martin – Darius Rucker
Larry Phye Jr. – Chris Stapleton
Danny Shelnut – Montgomery Gentry
Kavin Spears – Eric Church
Dean Tubbs – Charlie Daniels Band

CATEGORY 3 – FRONT OF HOUSE ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Jared Blumenberg – Florida Georgia Line
Dan Heins – Garth Brooks
Arpad Sayko – Chris Stapleton
Frank Sgambellone – Luke Bryan
Chris Stephens – Jason Aldean

CATEGORY 4- LIGHTING DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Dave Butzler – Garth Brooks
Scott Cunningham – Florida Georgia Line
Philip Ealy – Kenny Chesney
Justin Kitchenman – Luke Bryan
Gavin Lake – Eric Church

CATEGORY 5 – MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Bob Doyle – Bob Doyle & Associates
Clint Higham – Morris Higham Management
Jason Owen – Sandbox Entertainment
John Peets – Q Prime South
Clarence Spalding – Maverick

CATEGORY 6 – TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Todd Bunch – Eric Church
David Farmer – Kenny Chesney
Tracy Greenwood – Garth Brooks
Logan Kornegay – Thomas Rhett
Mark Sizemore – Luke Bryan

CATEGORY 7 – MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Marc Earp – Eric Church
Juan Gomez – Florida Georgia Line
Ed Janiszewski – Luke Bryan
Phil Robinson – Kenny Chesney
Martin Santos – Garth Brooks

CATEGORY 8 – PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Drew Brown – Jason Aldean
Gary Chrosniak – Luke Bryan
John Garriott – Chris Stapleton
Todd Ortmeier – Florida Georgia Line
Brian Petree – Garth Brooks

CATEGORY 9 – PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR
Jake Basden – Big Machine Label Group
Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom
Jesse Schmidt – Schmidt Relations
Nancy Seltzer – Nancy Seltzer & Associates, Inc.
Jensen Sussman – Sweet Talk Publicity

CATEGORY 10 – TALENT AGENT OF THE YEAR
Rob Beckham – WME
Joey Lee – WME
Darin Murphy – CAA
Kevin Neal – WME
Nate Ritches – Dale Morris & Associates

CATEGORY 11 – TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Ben Farrell – Lon Varnell Enterprises
Patrick McDill – Live Nation Nashville
Louis Messina – Messina Touring Group
Brian Traeger – Live Nation
Ed Warm – Joe’s Bar

CATEGORY 12 – TOUR CATERER OF THE YEAR
Concert Kitchens
Dega Catering
HSG Catering
Knoxville Catering
Mike Maxwell + Co. Motion Picture Catering

CATEGORY 13 – TOURING MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Nathan Barlowe – Keith Urban (Keyboard)
Wyatt Beard – Kenny Chesney (Keyboard)
John Thomasson – Little Big Town (Bass Guitar)
Lee Hendricks – Eric Church (Bass Guitar)
Jimmy Mattingly – Garth Brooks (Fiddle)

CATEGORY 14 – VENUE OF THE YEAR
Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN
Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
Grand Ole Opry House – Nashville, TN
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO

CATEGORY 15 – TOUR VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
John Breslin – Garth Brooks
Houston Creswell – Dierks Bentley
Milojko Dobrijevich – Jason Aldean
William Parisian – Florida Georgia Line
Ryan Rushing – Luke Bryan

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at lhollabaugh@musicrow.com.

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