SOCAN sponsors 2012 CCMA/CCMW songwriters' award, performances

SOCAN is once again proud to support Canadian Country Music Week (CCMW) by sponsoring  the Songwriter(s) of the Year Award and the Songwriter's Café. CCMW will be held Sept. 6-9, 2012 at various venues in Saskatoon, culminating in the Canadian Country Music Awards on Sept. 9 at the Credit Union Centre.

The Songwriter(s) of the Year Award recognizes Canada’s top country music songwriter(s) and will be presented on Sept. 8, 2012. The nominees are:

• “Canadian Girls” (Written by Dean Brody); Performed by Dean Brody
• “Fire it Up” (Written by Marty Dodson/Alan Frew/Johnny Reid); Performed by Johnny Reid
• “Is it Friday Yet?” (Written by Gord Bamford /Roger Brown/Byron Hill); Performed by Gord Bamford
• “Mainstreet, 1979” (Written by Deric Ruttan); Performed by Deric Ruttan
• “They Don’t Make 'Em Like That Anymore” (Written by Jason Blaine/Deric Ruttan); Performed by Jason Blaine

Reid leads the pack of awards nominees with eight, while Dean Brody has earned seven and Gord Bamford, six.

The Songwriters Café, which runs from Sept. 6-8 at TCU Place, is a three-day, intimate acoustic event featuring a mixture of performances and stories from well-established acts and emerging songwriters such as Victoria Banks, Kira Isabella, Jake Mathews, Jay Semko, Leah Daniels, Josh Macumber, Tenille and The Stellas, plus many more. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.tcutickets.ca.

The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) is also running a FanFest Performance Poll Contest in conjunction with provincial country music associations across the country, where the winner gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play alongside Canada’s country greats at the FanFest during CCMW. Contact your provincial music association  to apply for your chance to be a qualifier in the contest. One artist will be selected by each association to compete against nine other people (one per province) in a Facebook poll. The artist who receives the most votes through the CCMA Facebook page will win a performance spot on FanFest, among other prizes. The first-round qualifying contest is open until July 24, 2012.  The performance poll contest runs Aug. 7-14, 2012.

For more information, and a complete list of nominees, visit the CCMA website.