http://www.newswire.ca/releases/Augu.../28/c2660.html
here's a bit more information regardig the show on Sept.10/01.
Attention Entertainment Editors/Music:
Country without borders
COUNTRY MUSIC FANS RULE THE AIRWAVES AS PART OF 19TH ANNUAL CANADIAN
COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS
CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION PROMISES AN INNOVATIVE SILVER
ANNIVERSARY BIRTHDAY BASH DEDICATED TO FANS
TORONTO, Aug. 28 /CNW/ - The spotlight shifts from center stage to the
fans on the dance floor as Canadian country music's loyal followers get up
close and personal with their favourite performers from north and south of the
border at the 19th Annual Canadian Country Music Awards which will be
broadcast live on Monday, September 10 at 8 p.m. (ET) on CBC and CMT in the
U.S., with a subsequent re-broadcast by CMT Canada.
In an awards show that promises to give Canada's country music lovers a
night to kick up their heels on a spectacular dance floor at Calgary's
Pengrowth Saddledome, the two-hour Canadian Country Music Awards will be an
electric celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Country Music
Association. The evening will be filled with moving solos, surprise duets and
never-before seen footage of some of Canada's most popular and best-selling
country artists. And, in a must-see tribute to a Canadian country music icon,
Anne Murray and a host of surprise guests will fete Gordon Lightfoot with
soulful renditions of his greatest hits and never before told stories about
his life and career.
But it will be the fans of Canada's most popular music genre who will,
according to Country Music Association and Academy of County Music award-
winning director Steven Goldmann, the show's Creative Producer/Writer, share
equal billing with the likes of Lightfoot, Murray and American country stars
like the legendary Ricky Skaggs in a show that proves country music has no
borders.
"This is a first-of-its-kind awards show," says Goldmann, who has
directed award-winning videos for Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Alan Jackson,
among others. "The Canadian Country Music Association wants to share the
success and talent of its members with millions of grassroots fans from coast
to coast and especially those up-and coming country stars, many of whom are
nominated for the first time this year. The show is called "Between Friends" a
well-deserved bow to the incredible exchange of artists from north and south
of the border, and to the very special, loyal and unique relationship that
exists between fans and performers of country music."
"Gone are the traditional formalities of televised awards shows," adds
Tony Baylis, President of Corus Entertainment's Balmur Music and Executive
Producer of the live special. "We want the stars, the viewers and the audience
to feel part of something big, something between friends. To create this
atmosphere, we designed an environment that abandons the expected."
To that end, the 9,000-seat Pengrowth Saddledome, located in the
heartland of Canadian country music, will be transformed into a casual and fan-
friendly venue, a party space that needs no fancy stage or dais, and no long-
winded thank yous to a list of people known only by the winners. The live
studio audience will be invited to move to the music on a huge dance floor and
in the aisles, where nominees and guest artists will perform amid the crowd
and talk one-to-one with devoted Canadian country music listeners who have
made country one of the top-selling music formats in Canada.
Among the show's many nominated performers and guest stars are hot
newcomer and native Albertan Carolyn Dawn Johnson, who scored a record-
breaking 10 nominations this year, country music veterans Terri Clark, The
Wilkinsons and Adam Gregory, the talented singer of the hit single Horseshoes.
The Canadian Country Music Awards will also feature two popular
favourites with fans - The "TELUS Mobility Fans' Choice Award" and the non-
member voted "Top Selling Album Award", two categories in which fans make the
difference. The TELUS Mobility Fans' Choice Award marks the first time the
cellular phone giant has directly targeted the growing country music market in
Canada.
The fan voting began on August 1 as callers flooded the phone lines with
their pick of this year's five nominated artists - Paul Brandt, Terri Clark,
Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Jason McCoy and The Wilkinsons. TELUS assured easy
access to the ballot box through a 1-900 toll line as well as through TELUS
Mobility web-ready wireless phones and dedicated web sites at
www.TELUScountry.com and
www.ccma.org. The polls close at midnight on
September 9 and the winners will be announced at the Awards show on Monday
night.
The 2001 Canadian Country Music Awards is produced by Balmur Corus Music
in association with CBC Television. Producer is David Rosen; Creative
Producer/writer is Steven Goldmann; Director is Michael Watt.
Corus Entertainment is one of Canada's leading entertainment companies
with 52 radio stations (pending CRTC approval), specialty, pay, conventional
and digital television services, and Nelvana Limited, an international
producer and distributor of children's programming and products. Corus is also
prominent in the digital music market and various advertising service
companies. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B)
and New York (CJR) Exchanges.
MEDIA NOTE: To access the complete list of categories, nominees and
selected art, log onto
www.ccma.org. The password to access art is
CCMANOMINEES. This site is intended for media use only.
