2017 CMAO Awards Head to London, Ontario

The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAO) is excited to announce London, Ontario as the host city for the 2017 CMAO Awards. Set to take place Sunday, June 11, 2017, the 5th Annual edition makes its first move outside of the Toronto area in an effort to bring the Country music celebration to a wider community throughout Ontario, motivated by 4 consecutive sold-out years.

“The Country Music Association of Ontario was created to nurture new talent and celebrate our established community throughout this province,” said Bruce Good, President, Country Music Association of Ontario. “To do so effectively, the Board of Directors felt it was time to move our awards show to another venue in another city. After much deliberation and a partnership with Tourism London, we are extremely excited to bring the CMAO Conference and Awards Show to London, Ontario in June 2017. We look forward to presenting a weekend of education and talent to a city that has embraced music of all genres for many years.” 

“London is thrilled to be announced as hosts for the 2017 CMAO Awards in 2017,” said Chris Campbell, Director of Culture and Entertainment Tourism, Tourism London. “We are excited to work with the CMAO to enhance existing programming for Ontario artists and fans alike and look forward to working together to further grow and develop opportunities for Ontario’s country music industry. Working to grow an event like this further enhances London as a music and entertainment destination.”

The Awards are preceded by a weekend of activities, launching with the official CMAO kick-off on Friday, June 9th and the R2I TuneUp Conference, June 10-11 at the Delta London Armouries Hotel. Now in its fourth year, the confab offers two full days of educational seminars and networking opportunities for both aspiring and established industry professionals and artists. The festivities conclude with the presentation of the CMAO Awards on June 11th at Centennial Hall. 

Canadian Country star and perennial favourite Jason McCoy hosts the awards with The Western Swing Authority supporting the evening’s performances as the show’s house band. A full line-up of performers and award nominees will be announced in April 2017.

Tickets for the CMAO Awards will be available to the public for purchase as of Tuesday, September 13th at 11:00am through the Centennial Hall box office online at www.centennialhall.london.ca – by calling 1.888.999.8980, or in person at the venue (550 Wellington St.). Early bird pricing ranges from $49.95 (plus taxes and service fees) for regular reserved seating to $200.00 (plus taxes and service fees) for fan VIP packages. Full ticket pricing goes into effect as of January 1, 2017. Details for corporate and group rates are available on the venue’s website.   

CMAO members can take advantage of a pre-sale beginning Friday, September 2nd at 11:00am. Promo codes to access the pre-sale will be sent to CMAO members via email through the Association.

Delegate registrations for the R2I TuneUp Conference will be made available for purchase beginning January 1, 2017.

The CMAO Awards and R2I TuneUp Conference are presented by Slaight Music with support from the Ontario Media Development Corporation.