SaskMusic is thrilled to congratulate recipients of 2014 Canadian Country Music Awards, Jess Moskaluke for Female Artist of the Year, and Bart McKay for All Star Band – Keyboards.
Jess Moskaluke is the first Saskatchewan artist to be honoured as Female Artist of the Year. Fellow nominees in this prestigious category were Terri Clark, Kira Isabella, Lindi Ortega, and MacKenzie Porter. 2014 has proven to be an incredibly successful year for the young artist from Langenburg SK, with single “Cheap Wine and Cigarettes” recently receiving Gold certification for Digital Downloads, and Jess also receiving 2014 CCMA nominations for Rising Star and Interactive Artist of the Year. Her design team of Sheila Hash/Brandon Heard/Mediavandals was also recognized with a 2014 nomination for Album Design of the Year for Jess’ new album, “Light Up The Night” (MDM Recordings Inc.)
Along with accepting her award live on the 2014 CCMA Awards Show, broadcast on CBC Television from Rexall Place in Edmonton on Sunday, September 7, Jess contributed a stellar live performance of “Cheap Wine and Cigarettes”. A performer from a young age, Jess has steadily been building her career, including winning Big Dog 92-7/SaskMusic’s “The Next Big Thing” competition in 2011. That same year, Jess won the CCMA New Artist Showcase Award. She has received in excess of 20 million views on YouTube and has had several other charting singles as well as video play on CMT.
Saskatoon’s Bart McKay has been awarded the 2014 CCMA Award for All Star Band of the Year – Keyboards after having been previously nominated in the category over a dozen times. His fellow nominees in this category were Glenn Baker, Scott Galloway, Mike Little, and Carly McKillip. Bart was also nominated for 2014 Record Producer of the Year, and Recording Studio of the Year, and has won the CCMA for Recording Studio of the Year (Bart McKay Productions) in five previous years.
Bart is perhaps most familiar to country fans for his performances with The Johner Brothers for many years; other artists he’s worked with in recent years include Gord Bamford, Aaron Lines, Melanie Laine, and Shane Yellowbird, to name just a few.
Country Music Week is an annual celebration that brings together industry and fans for four days of seminars, networking opportunities and non-stop music. The week includes a conference, Discovery Showcases, Songwriters’ Cafés, FanFest and a whole lot more.
SaskMusic was in attendance at Country Music Week, in partnership with Creative Saskatchewan, providing performance spots under the “Saskatchewan Country Showcase” banner. We would once again like to congratulate all of the Saskatchewan 2014 CCMA Award nominees – in particular, Codie Prevost, nominated for 2014 Album of the Year. Our compliments to all our artists and industry professionals in attendance for their success in representing the talent of our province throughout Country Music Week.
For a complete list of award recipients, please visit www.ccma.org.
Photos: Grant W. Martin Photography, Canadian Country Music Association
