‘Tis the season once again where artists, musicians and industry folk alike start taking to social media to drum up support for the award du jour. Over the last few weeks I’ve seen posts from members of Country Music Alberta as well as from the Country Music Association of Ontario membership all asking for support for each of the respective 2024 awards. In the very near future we’ll start seeing the same but on a national scale as the Canadian Country Music Association will start balloting for their own 2024 Awards taking place this fall in Edmonton.

Once again this year, after taking a year to regroup, I am asking for your support as I make another attempt at the coveted Industry Person of the Year Award at the Country Music Association of Ontario. Between you me and the fence post I really dislike these popularity contests. I hate the spotlight and I hate tooting my own horn, especially because there’s so much more to Sound Check and what we do that goes far beyond me. I had an idea about 14 years ago and it turned into this magnificent entity filled with many incredible content creators that are so much more talented than I. It was so humbling in 2022 to make the final ballot, I honestly can’t begin to express how much it meant to be included with 4 other incredible industry people who I all respect so very much.

So why put my name in the running for an award?

Well this is the question now isn’t it? Being officially recognized by my peers for the work that I have done, and continue to do, in this industry is so crucial. On the media side it shows that we are relevant and that our work can and has made an impact. This presents opportunities for my team to get access to bigger shows and grow our reach even more. The greater our reach the wider we can spread the message about the artists and festivals we support.

So what have you done to deserve our vote?

Sound Check entertainment was launched 13 years ago this year but my love affair with music started long before that. While I lived in the Ottawa Valley I ran a small promotions company called Little Bull Productions, we booked coffee house shows for country and folk artists from across Eastern Ontario. During that same time I worked with the Pembroke Kinsmen Club to organize a number of concerts including shows with Blue Rodeo, Sam Roberts Band and Colin James to name a few. In 2006 a tornado decimated the community of Combermere, Ontario so a found some partners and put on a benefit concert in Petawawa featuring a number of local bands. I even spent time working as a booking agent for a music marketing company called The Apollo Group and I’ve taken all of this experience, combined it with my love for home grown talent and put it into what we do at Sound Check.

In the last 14 years I was part of the team that gave Brett Kissel his first Ontario show. Our coverage of Meghan Patrick helped her get discovered. We were among the first media organizations to give any kind of attention to artists like James Barker Band and Brea Lawrenson to name just a few. We handled the booking and marketing for the Capital Country Fest and Spencerville Stampede which saw 3 days of wall to wall Canadian entertainment featuring artists like River Town Saints, Kira Isabella, Brett Kissel, Emerson Drive, Tim Hicks, Cory Marks, Abby Stewart and many many more. I personally booked two consecutive summer festivals featuring an all indie lineup of artists from across Ontario giving them a stage in Eastern Ontario when no one else would.

Several years ago we partnered with Rogers Country Radio for the Girl Power Fav Five campaign. We offered custom Fav Five shirts through our website for music fans to put together their own Fav Five and proudly wear it for all to see. 100% of the proceeds went to support Women in Music.

I continue to be the loudest cheerleader for indie artists from Eastern Ontario (and Canada) so that they get the recognition they deserve. Country music is popular in Eastern Ontario, when the big names come out the shows sell out every time. Indie country music just doesn’t have the grass roots support but I’m a firm believer that if you build it they will come. Every artist has to start somewhere but someone has to give them that opportunity first and if that first has to come from me, so be it!  What better place than to introduce you to some of the talented artists we’ve gotten to know from Ontario over the years than at this year’s Country Music Association of Ontario Awards….details will be coming shortly but what I can tell you is that I am working on a showcase called Ontario Indie N.E.W.S (North East West South). Stay tuned for more on that….

The mandate that I gave Sound Check when I first dreamt up the idea was to discover new artists, and new festivals and to boldly go where no media outlet has gone before…I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Your support will go a long way in giving me the confidence that I’m on the right path and that the work that’s been done has been noticed. Winning this award will be a small token of appreciation for all the members of Sound Check Entertainment, past and present, who put in long hours after shows or between acts at festivals to ensure that we had content to show.

This award isn’t just for me, I share it with all of them too!

Some help for our friends…

With that in mind I’d like to give a quick shout out to some artists we have worked with that would also love your support:

Jessica Lavallee: Songwriter, Rising Star, Music Video for “Highway Say Hello” – directed by Ryan Stacey

Paige Rutledge: Rising Star, Producer of the Year (Matt Koebel), Music Video of the Year “Ain’t That Bad”

and many many more…

If you’re a member of the Country Music Association of Ontario you can vote until Friday February 16 at 11:59pm EST: https://cmaontario.ca/awards/submissions/