CCMA Unveils 2025 CCMA Awards Nominees

This year’s awards also include the new Francophone Artist of the Year award. The honor will be given to a Francophone act (solo, duo, or group) that has demonstrated exceptional achievements within the current eligibility period. Francis Degrandpré, Fred Dionne, Sara Dufour, Vince Lemire and Salebarbes are the inagural group of nominees.

Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year, which includes Noeline Hoffman, Zach McPhee, Sacha, Tony Stevens and Cameron Whitcomb, and the Fans’ Choice Award, with nominees Jade Eagleson, High Valley, Brett Kissel, Tyler Joe Miller, MacKenzie Porter, The Reklaws, Owen Riegling, Josh Ross, Dallas Smith and Cameron Whitcomb, will be fan voted by Canadian country music fans. Votes can be cast here.

The 2025 CCMA Awards will also feature performances from Madeline Merlo and Tyler Joe Miller, Sacha and Restless Road, Dallas Smith and Alexandra Kay, Thelma & James and Cameron Whitcomb, with more to be announced soon.

2025 CCMA Awards Nominees:

Entertainer of the Year
Jade Eagleson
MacKenzie Porter
Owen Riegling
Josh Ross
Cameron Whitcomb

Ford F-150® Album of the Year
All Night Longer – Matt Lang
Bruce County (From The Beginning) – Owen Riegling
Going Home – Tyler Joe Miller
Golden Child – Meghan Patrick
Let Your Horses Run – The Album – Brett Kissel

Fans’ Choice presented by Bud Light
Jade Eagleson
High Valley
Brett Kissel
Tyler Joe Miller
MacKenzie Porter
The Reklaws
Owen Riegling
Josh Ross
Dallas Smith
Cameron Whitcomb

Female Artist of the Year
Hailey Benedict
Madeline Merlo
Jess Moskaluke
MacKenzie Porter
Sacha

Francophone Artist of the Year
Francis Degrandpré
Fred Dionne
Sara Dufour
Vince Lemire
Salebarbes

Group or Duo of the Year
High Valley
James Barker Band
The Reklaws
Tim & The Glory Boys
The Washboard Union

Musical Collaboration of the Year
“Broken Heart Thing” – Madeline Merlo feat. Dustin Lynch
“Do It Anyway” – Jade Eagleson feat. Jake Worthington
“Stoned Alone” (feat. Caitlyn Smith) – Meghan Patrick, Caitlyn Smith
“Want This Beer” – Josh Ross feat. Julia Michaels
“Won’t Forget” – Dan Davidson, Tim Hicks & Max Jackson
“Your Mama Would Hate Me” – Dean Brody, James Barker Band

Male Artist of the Year
Jade Eagleson
Brett Kissel
Tyler Joe Miller
Josh Ross
Cameron Whitcomb

Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year presented by Birkenstock
Noeline Hofmann
Zach Mcphee
Sacha
Tony Stevens
Cameron Whitcomb

Alternative Country Album of the Year presented by National Music Centre
Chandler – Wyatt C. Louis
One More Dollar To Go – Jake Vaadeland
Purple Gas – Noeline Hofmann
Story To Tell – Riley Taylor
To The River – Kyle McKearney

Single of the Year
“I Grew Up On A Farm” – The Reklaws
“Let Your Horses Run” – Brett Kissel
“Moonshines” – Owen Riegling
“Single Again” – Josh Ross
“Quitter” – Cameron Whitcomb

Songwriter(s) of the Year presented by SOCAN
Kelly Archer, Travis Denning, Chris Stevens – “I’m Gonna Love You” (Artist: Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood)
Ryan Beatty, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, Leven Kali, Raphael Saadiq, Shawntoni Ajanae Nichols – “BODYGUARD” (Artist: Beyoncé)
Ben Cottrill, David Schaeman, Nolan Sipe, Cameron Whitcomb – “Quitter” (Artist: Cameron Whitcomb)
Zach Crowell, Lalo Guzman, James McNair, Madeline Merlo, Michael Tyler – “Broken Heart Thing” (Artist: Madeline Merlo feat. Dustin Lynch)
Owen Riegling, Daryl Scott, Jesse Slack – “Moonshines” (Artist: Owen Riegling)

Video of the Year
“Hey Mom I Made It” – Sacha
“Let Your Horses Run” – Brett Kissel
“Life for Me” – Jess Moskaluke
“Ride It Out” – Alli Walker
“Single Again” – Josh Ross

MUSICIAN AWARDS

Bass Player of the Year
Lisa Dodd
Lisa Jacobs
Ben Miller
Brandi Sidoryk
Holt Stuart-Hitchcox

Drummer of the Year
Matt Atkins
Flavio Cirillo
Rich DaSilva
Brendan Lyons
Joseph Poulin
Greg Williamson

Fiddle Player of the Year
Linsey Beckett
Tyler Beckett
Denis Dufresne
Jesse Grandmont
Catherine Robertson

Guitar Player of the Year presented by PRS Guitars
Chris Bray
Russell Broom
Ryan Davidson
Marcus Ramsay
Brennan Wall

Keyboard Player of the Year
Ben Cottrill
Matt Koebel
Brendon Schmidt
Brendan Waters

Specialty Instrument Player of the Year
Denis Dufresne
Johnny Gasparic
Shane Guse
Tyler Vollrath

Steel Guitar Player of the Year
Michael Eckert
Bruce Hoffman
Matt McKay
Kevin Neal
Marcus Ramsay

RADIO AWARDS

Radio Station of the Year (Large Market)
CFCW (Edmonton, AB)
CHKX-FM (Hamilton ON)
CISN-FM (Edmonton, AB)
CJJR-FM (Vancouver, BC)
CKKL-FM (Ottawa, ON)

Radio Station of the Year (Medium or Small Market)
CFCH-FM (North Bay, ON)
CHAT-FM (Medicine Hat, AB)
CHCQ-FM (Belleville, ON)
CICX-FM (Orillia, ON)
CIGV-FM (Kelowna, BC)

INDUSTRY AWARDS

Booking Agency of the Year
Action Entertainment Collaborative
Fame Group Agency
The Feldman Agency
Invictus Entertainment Group
Paquin Entertainment Group

Country Club of the Year
Cook County Saloon (Edmonton, AB)
King Eddy (Calgary, AB)
Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall (Calgary, AB)

Country Festival, Fair or Exhibition of the Year 
Big Valley Jamboree (Camrose, AB)
Boots and Hearts Music Festival (Oro-Medonte, ON)
Calgary Stampede (Calgary, AB)
Cavendish Beach Music Festival (Cavendish, PEI)
LASSO Montréal (Montréal, QC)

Country Music Program, Special, or Digital Feature of the Year 
Heartstrings & Honky Tonks (CFCW, Silverplow Productions & Design Co.)
A Kane Brown Christmas Special (Sony Music Entertainment (Canada) Inc.)
A Kissel Country Christmas (Brett Kissel, Abbey White)
On the Porch with Front Porch Music (Front Porch Music)
Pure Country Top 50 Countdown (iHeartRadio Canada)

Country Personality(ies) of the Year
Dan Davidson & Stella Stevens (CFCW)
Tracy Lynn (CFWC-FM)
Jason McCoy (CICX-FM)
Sam McDaid (CIKZ-FM)
Paul McGuire (CFXJ-FM)

Management Company of the Year 
The Core Entertainment
MDM Artist Management Services
RLive Management
Starseed Entertainment
Willing Entertainment

Music Publishing Company of the Year presented by CMRRA 
Anthem Entertainment Group
Big Loud Publishing
Sony Music Canada Publishing
Universal Music Publishing Group
Warner Chappell Music Canada

Record Company of the Year 
Big Loud Records
Sony Music Entertainment (Canada) Inc.
Starseed Records
Universal Music Canada
Willing Records

Industry Person of the Year 
Justin Clark (Big Loud Records)
Warren Copnick (Sony Music Entertainment (Canada) Inc.)
Lindsay Hyslop (BBR Music Group)
Joelle Proulx (Agence Ranch)
Kevin White (Universal Music Canada)

Creative Team or Designer of the Year
Design Team: Robert Adam, Bryan Francisco, Brandynn L.P, Alyssa Gibson (Doutone Studio) – Single: “Bailing Twine” (Artist: Robert Adam)
Design Team: Austin Chaffe – 3 Pack Single: All The Time, If I Drink Enough, One Beer Away (Artist: The Reklaws), EP: Outliving (For Mom)(Artist: The Reklaws), Single: “Worth The Double” (Artist:Jade Eagleson), Single: “Silverado-si-do” (Artist:Jade Eagleson), Single: “Race To The Bottom” (Artist: Nate Haller), Single: “Drive” (Artist: Nate Haller), Brand Identity: Country Rising, Promotional Material: Lucknow’s Music In The Fields
Design Team: Stephane Lamontagne, JF Galipeau – Album: All Night Longer (Artist: Matt Lang)
Design Team: Kyle McKearney, Jeff Ojeda, Roberta Landreth – Album: To The River (Artist: Kyle McKearney), Single: “Tomorrow” (Artist: Kyle McKearney), Single: “Hold On Goodbye” (Artist: Kyle McKearney), Single: “Fight This Fire” (Artist: Kyle McKearney)
Design Team: Connor Scheffler, Andrew Parry – Single: “Life For Me” (Artist: Jess Moskaluke)

Recording Studio of the Year
80A Studios (Toronto, ON)
Manicdown Studios (Vancouver, BC)
MCC Recording Studio (Calgary, AB)
OCL Studios (Chestermere, AB)
Revolution Recording (Toronto, ON)

Record Producer(s) of the Year
Russell Broom, Kyle McKearney – Album: To The River (Artist: Kyle McKearney)
Danick Dupelle – Album: All Night Longer (Artist: Matt Lang)
Karen Kosowski – Single: “First Time Living” (feat. Gretchen Wilson)(Artist: Alli Walker), Single: “Whether You Love Me or Not” (Artist: Meghan Patrick)
Joey Moi – Album: Quit!! (Artist: HARDY)
Dan Swinimer – Single: “He’s The One” (Artist: Savannah Jade), Single: “When I Hear That Song” (Artist: Tony Stevens)

Retailer or Commercial Platform of the Year 
Amazon Music
Apple Music
SiriusXM Canada
Spotify Canada Inc.

Ron Sakamoto Talent Buyer or Promoter of the Year
Paul Biro (Sakamoto Agency)
Jim Cressman (Invictus Entertainment Group)
Brooke Dunford (Republic Live)
Adam Oppenheim (Stampede Entertainment Inc.)
Denise Ross (Live Nation Entertainment)

Video Director of the Year
Gord Bamford, Codi McIvor – “Just Getting’ Started” (Artist: Gord Bamford)
Alexandre Blais, Alexandre Charron – “He’s the One” (Artist: Savannah Jade)
Ben Knechtel – “Outliving” (Artist: The Reklaws), “Remind Me Again” (Artist: Zach McPhee), “Youth” (Artist: Sully Burrows)
Travis Nesbitt – “Won’t Forget” (Artist: Dan Davidson, Tim Hicks & Max Jackson)
Alex P. Smith – “You Didn’t Hear It From Me” (Artist: James Barker Band)

Innovative Campaign of the Year presented by TD
Wheels of Steel- A Cross Canada Journey on the Open Rails (Cameron Nickerson)
Golden Child: The Making of (Meghan Patrick)
SOUTHERN DRAW(L) The Broadway Interviews (Paige Penney and W/FRNDS)
Outliving (For Mom) EP Launch Campaign (The Reklaws, Starseed Entertainment)
“Ride It Out” – A Cultural Moment, Not Just a Song (Alli Walker)