CMA Touring Awards Nominees Announced
The Country Music Association has announced the nominees for the 2019 CMA Touring Awards, which highlight behind-the-scenes members of the touring industry.
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.
Final voting for the 2019 CMA Touring Awards opens Thursday, Nov. 7 and closes Wednesday, Nov. 20. This year’s Touring Awards will take place Tuesday, Jan. 21 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works.
Final nominees for the 2019 CMA Touring Awards are as follows:
CATEGORY 1 – BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR
- Renee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc.
- David Boyer – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
- Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
- Mary Ann McCready – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
- Dwight Wiles – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC
CATEGORY 2 – COACH/TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR
- Kelley Beck – Blake Shelton
- Caleb Garrett – Luke Bryan
- Ronnie Goodwin – Eric Church
- Larry Phye, Jr. – Chris Stapleton
- Rob Shepherd – Darius Rucker
CATEGORY 3 – FRONT OF HOUSE (FOH) ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
- Jared Blumenberg – Florida Georgia Line
- Billy Moore – Eric Church
- Chris Rabold – Kenny Chesney
- Arpad Sayko – Chris Stapleton
- Ian Zorbaugh – Old Dominion
CATEGORY 4 – LIGHTING DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
- Michael “Sparky” Anderson – Blake Shelton
- Scott Cunningham – Florida Georgia Line
- Gavin Lake – Eric Church
- Chris Reade – Dierks Bentley
- Alec Takahashi – Thomas Rhett
CATEGORY 5 – MANAGER OF THE YEAR
- Clint Higham – Morris Higham Management
- Mary Hilliard Harrington – Red Light Management
- Jason Owen – Sandbox Entertainment
- Chris Parr – Maverick
- John Peets – Q Prime South
CATEGORY 6 – TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
- Todd Bunch – Eric Church
- Kevin Canady – Blake Shelton
- Tommy Garris – Old Dominion
- Jason Hecht – Chris Stapleton
- Mike Kelly – Darius Rucker
CATEGORY 7 – MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
- Bryan “Opie” Baxley – Kenny Chesney
- Wesley Crowe – Thomas Rhett
- Stuart Delk – Rascal Flatts
- Marc Earp – Eric Church
- Scott Tatter – Dierks Bentley
CATEGORY 8 – PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR
- Jay Ballinger – Dierks Bentley
- Todd Ortmeier – Florida Georgia Line
- Jason Parkin – Darius Rucker
- Kevin Twist – Thomas Rhett
- Ed Wannebo – Kenny Chesney
CATEGORY 9 – PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR
- Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom
- Carla Sacks – Sacks & Co.
- Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt Relations
- Jensen Sussman – Sweet Talk Publicity
- Wes Vause – Warner Music Nashville
CATEGORY 10 – TALENT AGENT OF THE YEAR
- Marc Dennis – CAA
- Darin Murphy – CAA
- Aaron Tannenbaum – CAA
- Nate Towne – WME
- Jay Williams – WME
CATEGORY 11 – TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
- Ben Farrell – Lon Varnell Enterprises
- Ali Harnell – Live Nation Nashville
- Patrick McDill – Live Nation Nashville
- Louis Messina – Messina Touring Group
- Ed Warm – Joe’s Bar
CATEGORY 12 – TOUR VIDEOGRAPHER/PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
- Zach Belcher – Dierks Bentley
- Jeff Johnson – Carrie Underwood
- Michael Monaco – Luke Bryan
- Matt Paskert – Jake Owen
- Jill Trunnell – Kenny Chesney
CATEGORY 13 – TOUR VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
- Brian Carico – Blake Shelton
- Milojko Dobrijevich – Jason Aldean
- Chris Jones – Eric Church
- Ryan Rushing – Luke Bryan
- Mark Willcox – Chris Stapleton
CATEGORY 14 – TOURING MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
- Wyatt Beard – Kenny Chesney
- Tyler Chiarelli – Florida Georgia Line
- Dan Hochhalter – Dierks Bentley
- Bennett Lewis – Maren Morris
- Pete Sternberg – Brothers Osborne
CATEGORY 15 – VENUE OF THE YEAR
- Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN
- Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH
- Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
- Joe’s Bar – Chicago, IL
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
The CMA Touring Awards, originally called the SRO Awards, were created by the CMA Board of Directors in 1990 to honor outstanding professional achievement within the touring industry. The first awards were presented at a black-tie gala hosted by K.T. Oslin and Roger Miller during CMA’s Entertainment Expo, also known as the Talent Buyers Entertainment Marketplace. Ten awards were presented at the first gala and the number swelled to 19 over the years before settling at the current 15. The SRO Awards were renamed the CMA Touring Awards in 2016.
Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.
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