The Country Music Association of Ontario Awards (CMAO’s) were held on June 3 at London’s Centennial Hall and once again a great time was had by all. This was largely due to the fact that the event was again hosted by the charismatic lead singer of the Road Hammers, Jason McCoy. Ever-engaging and entertaining, McCoy, a two-time CCMA Male Vocalist of the Year, had the audience in stitches at several points throughout the evening. The show featured performances by some of Canada’s best country music stars, including Cold Creek County, Tim Hicks, Rising Star Award winner Andrew Hyatt and Michelle Wright who was honoured with the 2018 Impact Award sponsored by Canadian Music Week. The performance of the night, however, may have belonged to Bowmanville sweetheart Meghan Patrick. This seemed fitting as Meghan also took home the most awards, including Best Female Artist, Best Music Video and the much lauded Fan’s Choice Award. The only other multiple award winner of the evening was the James Barker Band, who won for both Album and Single of the Year. Here is a complete list of winners:
Album of the year: Game On, James Barker Band
Female artist: Meghan Patrick
Group or duo: Cold Creek County
Male artist: Jason Blaine
Music video: Country Music Made Me Do It, Meghan Patrick
Record producer: Jeff Dalziel
Rising star: Andrew Hyatt
Roots artist or group: The Lovelocks
Single: Chills, James Barker Band
Songwriters: K.Archer, A. Hambrick, T. Ottoh
Fan’s Choice: Meghan Patrick.
