On Sunday night the Canadian Country Music Association presented their annual awards on Global TV and streaming on YouTube. The program was different than we’re used to, with performances and award acceptances pre-recorded in Nashville and Ontario at Burl’s Creek because of the COVID-19 pandemic. First and foremost, congratulations to the CCMA team and all of the performers and winners who came together to create the show and give fans something to celebrate in a year where those moments have seemed hard to come by. Job well done.

Seven awards were presented during the broadcast to go along with 34 others that were presented prior to the broadcast on Saturday night. The big winners of 2020 were Tenille Townes, Brett Kissel, and Dallas Smith, who each took home three CCMA awards, with The Washboard Union taking home two awards of their own.

Related: 2020 Canadian Country Music Association Awards Winners

The pandemic took away our chance to see the looks of surprise and shock and pure joy that come when an artist’s name is called in a room full of their peers and fans – but we still got to see smiles and acceptance speeches. We still got to hear how much these awards mean to the winners. And backstage we got a little more.

In the media room (virtually, 2020 y’all) we had the chance to hear from and ask questions of some of this year’s winners. All of them were gracious and happy to share their 2020 Canadian Country Music Association win stories and more.

We had a chance to ask Tenille Arts about her Rising Star award win as well as her Album of the Year and nomination and what it means to have accomplished those things in her career now. She told us that “Album of the Year was something I did not expect at all. Rising Star, I’ve been working towards that but to be in the Album of the Year category with so many people that I look up to and I’ve been listening to my entire life is a really really cool feeling”. She added, “I know everybody in the Rising Star category, they’ve been working for years. We’re rising stars but we’ve all been in this industry for a long time. So it’s super exciting to see all of them doing so well and that award is really special.” We look forward to seeing and hearing a lot more from Tenille Arts, including the new music she says she’s been writing and starting to record.

Lindsay Ell joined the media room to talk about her second consecutive Interactive Artist of the Year award. She talked about the ups and downs of the pandemic and lockdown, all of the differences that it has presented, especially with being at home instead of constantly on the road. She talked about how much she’s been working at home (“I’ve been putting in 14, 15 hour days every single day finishing the album, working on the package for the album…”) and about the silver lining she sees in this year. Lindsay talked about the opportunity that this year and these circumstances have given us all to take stock of our lives, work/life balance, what we want and need, and may give chances for things to change moving forward. It’s a wonderfully healthy outlook and we hope that anyone with the ability to take a moment here or there to feel those things, does.

Brett Kissel joined the Zoom room and talked about flying home to Edmonton from London, ON after their Saturday night drive-in concert so they could all be together to enjoy the show. It was an opportunity for the family (blood and band) to celebrate awards and a successful pandemic tour. He also spoke about his trio of wins for Fans’ Choice, Male Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year. When asked about Fans’ Choice specifically, he said, “I think it’s an extremely important award to share with my fanbase because it’s something that I’ve always said ‘if we are lucky enough to win it, we win it together.’ So that’s the biggest thing for me, is acknowledging that this isn’t just a trophy that I’ll keep on a mantle for myself. I’ve always brought it out on the road… and so people can hug and kiss and take selfies with it. It’s our award!” Congrats to Brett and his team on a huge night.

Note: We also have to shout out our pal Justine who crushed her gig introducing the Fans’ Choice Award. Justine is as dedicated and enthusiastic about Canadian country music as anyone we’ve ever met and seeing her on the broadcast was great!

Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Video of the Year winner Tenille Townes came into the room to chat next, with lots of smiles and happiness. We had the chance to ask Tenille a question and set it up by telling her that for a long time it felt like her name was at the top of the list every time we asked a Canadian country artist who they thought people should be listening to more. We asked what it feels like to have that respect from her peers and now to be seen and celebrated by fans too. She told us that “It’s surreal, it really is so incredible to just feel the embrace of people that I’ve grown up looking up to… And you know expanding into these last few years of releasing new music and just having people believe in it really does mean so much to me.” There is no doubt that Tenille Townes is one of the brightest stars in Canadian country right now, and it’s great to see her being celebrated accordingly.

Dallas Smith spoke to us about winning the Top Canadian Selling Album (The Fall) and Single (Drop) awards as well as his big Entertainer of the Year award. It was his second year in a row nabbing the prize and is a testament to his live shows and the kind of performer he is. We had a chance to ask Dallas about the Entertainer of the Year award on the back of our conversation not too long ago and how Dallas told us he’s missing the connection with fans. We asked if it was an incentive to be ready for when things get back to normal and he can get back up on stage to play live music. Dallas said, “It is. We just got back from playing a few shows in Calgary. It was nice to get refreshed a little bit, but it’ll be nice to get the shows back going again and getting a tour back going again. It’s incentive that fans are still there, they haven’t forgotten about us even though we haven’t been out to see them a whole lot lately. It’s nice to get that award and get that validation and know that there’s something there for us to work towards when we do go back to normal.” Having seen Dallas on stage in front of crowds that love him, we know that it’s going to be fantastic when he gets back up on stage and everyone can experience that again.

Related: Dallas Smith, The Fall 2020 Feature 

Next into the virtual media room was The Washboard Union. The band took home the Group or Duo of the Year award for the third straight year and the Roots Album of the Year award for the second straight year. It was great to have all three of them together and we got to ask what it feels like to win these awards again and if it still feels as special and gives that goosebump kind of feeling. They said, “It’s like the stakes get higher every time. We honestly didn’t think this was really a possibility for this year. The competition in the category for group is so extreme right now and the artists are amazing… so to be nominated even in that category is one thing, but to win that it really shows that, you know, the country fabric is really supportive of what we’re doing. And you know what, we’ve always done something our own way and this is what we choose to put out there and we’re just really thankful that people hooked onto it and said ‘yep, we’re along for the ride.’ And it’s as much of a ride for us as it is for any of the fans watching or the people who are following us today.” More than once in their time they mentioned that they are thankful for that connection to the fans through their music and we look forward to that continuing, regardless of any future trophies.

Last in the room before we all went our separate ways was the James Barker Band, spread out across four video feeds in four spots. The band took home their second career Single of the Year award for Keep It Simple, which was also the second time that they’ve had a song go to #1 on the charts, achieve Platinum status, and win Single of the Year (Chills in 2018). We asked how it felt to do it again for a second time and James said, “It’s awesome. It’s always crazy when you see a song, and Keep It Simple was definitely one that we were all excited about, I know doing interviews leading up to it we all said it’s definitely a different sound. It was the first one we released I guess kind of off of Singles Only… And we knew it was going to be different and it was a bit of a leap of faith let’s hope it does something and it’s obviously given back to us in dividends what we put into it. So ya, it’s always nice when you see one of your kids float off and go to a nice university, like none of us did.” He finished with a joke, but it was clear from the way he spoke that he was proud and James, Taylor, Bobby, and Connor should all be proud of Keep It Simple and the success it has achieved.

Thank you to all of the artists for taking the time to share their answers and stories and celebrations.

The Sunday broadcast also featured performances from (in order of appearance) The Reklaws, MacKenzie Porter, Brett Kissel, Tenille Townes, Jess Moskaluke, Jojo Mason, Lindsay Ell, Tebey and Marie-Mai, Jade Eagleson, Don Amero, Hunter Brothers, Tim McGraw, James Barker Band, Kane Brown, Meghan Patrick, Sam Hunt, Breland, Dallas Smith, Carolyn Dawn Johnson / Tenille Townes / Lindsay Ell / Meghan Patrick, and Dean Brody and The Reklaws. It was a performance-heavy show, exactly as we would have hoped for, shining a light on Canadian country music talent and bringing in some American talent too.

Whether they were in Nashville or at the home of Boots & Hearts, the performers all did an excellent job showcasing themselves and their songs. Special recognition goes to The Reklaws who opened and closed the show. And it would be absolutely tragic if we didn’t highlight the amazing job done by Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Tenille Townes, Lindsay Ell, and Meghan Patrick on Blue Rodeo’s classic, Lost Together. Those four women coming together to play and sing was the kind of special moment that the CCMA awards always gives us, and we’re very glad that 2020 was no different.

Now that you’ve seen the photos, hit play to relive (or see for the first time) your favourite artists’ performances from the 2020 Canadian Country Music Association Awards Show!

2020 CCMA Awards Show Performances!

The Reklaws – Where I’m From

MacKenzie Porter – These Days

Brett Kissel – Drink About Me

Tenille Townes – Jersey On The Wall (I’m Just Asking)

Jess Moskaluke – Country Girls

Jojo Mason – As If We Won’t

Lindsay Ell – Want Me Back

Tebey and Marie-Mai – The Good Ones

Jade Eagleson – Close

Don Amero – On Down The Road

Hunter Brothers – Hard Dirt

Tim McGraw – I Called Mama

James Barker Band – Summer Time

Kane Brown – Cool Again

Meghan Patrick – Girls Like Me

Sam Hunt and Breland – Hard To Forget / My Truck

Dallas Smith – Timeless

Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Tenille Townes, Lindsay Ell, and Meghan Patrick – Lost Together

Dean Brody and The Reklaws – Can’t Help Myself

And if you missed the show, or want to watch it again, hit play now on the video below and enjoy!

all images courtesy of the CCMA.

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Joshua Murray

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