The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) is excited to announce The Road Hammers, Robyn Ottolini, The Good Brothers and more will perform as part of the CMAOntario Festival & Awards Weekend, taking place September 3 – 5, 2021 at Ancaster Fairgrounds in Hamilton. The CMAOntario Festival & Awards Weekend will host three drive in concerts in Hamilton including the New Faces Showcase & Concert, the Legacy Revival, and the 9th Annual CMAOntario Awards, presented by Slaight Music.
On Friday September 3 the New Faces Showcase and drive-in concert will give fans a chance to take in some of Ontario’s hottest new music, and up-and-coming talent with performances by: Aaron Allen, 2020 CMAOntario Rising Star Award winner; Charissa, Americana singer-songwriter; Kansas Stone, 2019 CMAOntario nominees, who will release new music in 2021; Owen Barney, who landed in the Top 20 of Canadian country radio with his 2020 summer hit Thank Her For That; Robyn Ottolini, whose single F-150 is certified Gold by Music Canada; Ryan Langdon, 2019 CMAOntario nominee who is hot off his EP debut Lit in the Sticks; Genevieve Fisher, 2020 Female Artist of the Year nominee; and The Road Hammers, country rock trio who recently released their new single “The Boys Are Back At It”.
On Saturday September 4 the Legacy Revival drive-in concert will feature Ontario’s treasured pioneers in a celebration of the music that paved the way for so many of today’s country artists. Hosted by Wendell Ferguson, The Legacy Revival will feature: multi-award winning country vocal group The Good Brothers; Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Marie Bottrell; lead singer and founding member of the award winning country-roots group Prairie Oyster Russell deCarle; French songwriter, and founding member of progressive-folk band Garolou, Michel Lalonde; and Canada’s folk-country matriarch Sylvia Tyson.
Hosted by Jason McCoy and Beverley Mahood, the CMAOntario Award Show, will close out the CMAOntario Festival & Awards Weekend on Sunday, September 5 with performances and 18 award presentations at this drive-in finale. Presented by Slaight Music, the 9th Annual CMAOntario Awards will include performances by Tim Hicks, nominated for five awards at the 2021 CMAOntario Awards; Buck Twenty, nominated for four awards; Aaron Allen, nominated for two awards; Owen Barney, nominated for two awards; Sacha, nominated for the Rising Star of the Year Award; David Boyd Janes, nominated for Male Artist of the Year; Reney Ray, nominated for the Francophone Artist or Group of the Year Award; The Redhill Valleys, nominated for the Roots Artist or Group of the Year Award; and the CMAOntario Awards house band The Western Swing Authority, who are nominated for two awards.
CMAOntario is committed to presenting and promoting the work of Ontario’s country music industry, and will continue to work closely with partners in Hamilton to ensure the safe presentation of the drive-in concert events. The CMAOntario Festival & Awards Weekend is presented by Slaight Music, with support from Ontario Creates.
