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It may only be May 1 but tonight kicks off one of the biggest summer’s of live music Ottawa has seen in a very long time.

Jason McCoy (submitted photo)

The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAO) is pleased to announce the much-anticipated list of nominees for its 3rd Annual CMAO Awards Show. This year’s star-studded event will once again be hosted by Jason McCoy of the Road Hammers, and will be held Monday, May 25, 2015, at the Flato Markham Theatre.

Chad Brownlee – Photo by Trish Cassling for Sound Check Entertainment

To say that 2015 has started with a bang is a major understatement.  It took the independent Sound Check over a year to hit 100,000 readers and we hit 200,000 in just the first month and a half of 2015.

Our top stories of Q1 2015 included breaking the news of Luke Bryan in Ottawa and the 2015 Ottawa Bluesfest line-up as well as our coast to coast coverage of Dallas Smith’s Tippin’ Point Tour and Chad Brownlee’s When the Lights Go Down tour not to mention our unprecedented concert coverage from New Country 94’s welcome to Ottawa party with Dallas Smith to Florida Georgia Line and ZZ Top in Kingston. All of this and only in the first 3 months of 2015.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead from April to June 2015

UPDATE:
Kayne West added to the lineup (March 30).

Ticket prices: There is a wait on the website to get tickets but these are the prices we know:

Day Passes: $50 (plus service charges) except July 9 and 10 ($60 each) and July 11, 16 and 17 ($55 each)
Pick 3: $99
Tier 1: $199 Tier 2: $249 (as each Tier sells out prices will move the next Tier)

While researching for a preview piece leading up to tomorrow’s believed 2015 line-up announcement for RBC Royal Bank Ottawa Bluesfest I came across the 2015 Ottawa Bluesfest website via a Google search. Based on information we had been told leading up to today there were enough constancies to make us believe this is was the real thing.  ***Update: The information below was confirmed by an official announcement by Ottawa Bluesfest posted at the bottom of this article***

One of the most successful fundraising events in eastern Ontario over the recent years, Shake the Foundation, celebrates it’s fourth anniversary tonight in Renfrew.

This just in… Tom Cochrane, The Road Hammers and Murray McLauchlan will be headlining The 1st Kemptville Live Music Festival. The brand new festival presented by The Finishing Touch Construction Inc. is three days of country, rock, blues, R&B, Folk and Roots Music. The festival runs July 24 – 26th and supporting acts include Steve Hill, Angel Forrest, Silver Creek, Brea Lawrenson, Valdy, Lynn Miles with Keith Glass, and Maria Hawkins. More acts will be added to the list as we get closer to the festival.

We made some major inroads over the course of 2014 and laid the foundation for an incredible 2015.  Interviews with bigger artists, more festivals, more events, more contests…it’s going to be amazing.  Here’s our look ahead.