NEXT WAVE OF PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2024 CCMA AWARDS PRESENTED BY TD

MADELINE MERLO, OWEN RIEGLING, JOSH ROSS AND JULIA MICHAELS, TENILLE TOWNES, AND JAKE WORTHINGTON TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT ROGERS PLACE IN EDMONTON, AB ON SEPTEMBER 14

Previously Announced Performers Include Dasha, Jade Eagleson, Brett Kissel, The Reklaws, MacKenzie Porter, Thomas Rhett, and Dallas Smith

CTV IS THE EXCLUSIVE HOME TO THE 2024 CCMA AWARDS PRESENTED BY TD AIRING LIVE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 AT 8:00 P.M. ET ON CTV, CTV.CA, AND THE CTV APP. VISIT CTV.CA TO CONFIRM LOCAL BROADCAST TIMES

Secure Your Tickets To The 2024 CCMA Awards Presented By TD Now

TORONTO, Aug. 15, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Country Music Association® (CCMA®) unveils the next wave of performers for Canada's biggest night in country music; the 2024 CCMA Awards presented by TD. Newly announced to take the stage at Rogers Place in Edmonton are award-winning songwriter and 2024 Female Artist of the Year nominee Madeline Merlo, 4x 2024 CCMA Award nominee Owen Riegling, Platinum-certified, 2023 CCMA Breakthrough Artist of the Year Josh Ross and GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, 17x CCMA Award and 2x JUNO Award winner Tenille Townes, and Texas-native and rising star Jake Worthington, promising an unforgettable night of music and celebration. CTV is the exclusive home to catch the 2024 CCMA Awards presented by TD on Saturday, September 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET - watch on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. Visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times.

Today's news adds to an already stellar line-up of previously announced performers for the 2024 CCMA Award presented by TD including  Dasha, Jade Eagleson, Brett Kissel, The Reklaws, MacKenzie Porter, Thomas Rhett, and Dallas Smith, with Porter and Rhett doing double duty as the show's hosts for the evening.

Country Music Week 2024 kicks off in Edmonton on Wednesday, September 11, offering fans the unique opportunity to celebrate the magic of country music and the genre's brightest homegrown stars, all culminating with the 2024 CCMA Awards presented by TD on September 14.  Country Music Week 2024 is possible with the support of the Government of Alberta, the City of Edmonton, Explore Edmonton, and the 2024 Host Committee. With CTV as the exclusive broadcast partner for the 42^nd annual CCMA Awards presented by TD, Bell Media will deliver extensive multi-platform coverage and content across broadcast, radio, digital, and social media properties, including iHeartRadio Canada's PURE COUNTRY.

For the latest CCMA news, follow along at Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube or visit www.ccma.org.

KEY MESSAGING AND PROMOTIONAL ASSETS CAN BE FOUND HERE

About the Canadian Country Music Association^® (CCMA^®)
Established in 1976, the CCMA is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and recognition of Canadian country music. Built upon the foundation to educate, elevate, and celebrate Canadian talent, the CCMA progressively heralds the spirit, community, and creativity that country music fosters through year-round initiatives, culminating every fall with Country Music Week and the Canadian Country Music Association Awards presented by TD. Sponsors of Country Music Week 2024 and the 2024 CCMA Awards presented by TD include FACTOR, Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters, and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage's "Canada Music Fund".

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by assets and serves over 27.5 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation; Wealth Management and Insurance, including TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities and TD Cowen. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 17 million active online and mobile customers. TD had $1.97 trillion in assets on April 30, 2024. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

About CTV
CTV is Canada's #1 television brand. CTV provides unparalleled entertainment programming across two broadcast television networks; a powerful suite of specialty channels including CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Drama Channel, CTV Life Channel, and CTV Sci-Fi Channel; and digital channels CTV Throwback and CTV Movies, streaming on demand from CTV.ca and the CTV app. CTV has been Canada's most-watched conventional television network for the past 23 years in a row and features a wide range of sports and information programming, including CTV News, Canada's highest-rated national and local newscasts. CTV's parent company is Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital, and out-of-home advertising.

About the City of Edmonton
We're young, ambitious, and building something extraordinary. Located on Treaty 6 Territory and with a population of just over one million, Edmonton is one of Canada's youngest and fastest growing cities. As Alberta's capital city, we proudly value our vibrant medley of cultures, languages, and religious backgrounds. Edmonton is a gathering place for the arts, and a thriving hub of live entertainment, visual art, and music. Our hundreds of festivals and events both big and small celebrate the incredible talent and passion for arts and music. We support and encourage the new and fresh, while also cherishing what our past has given us.   We're building a resilient and diverse economy, attracting the best and the brightest and striving to be a world leader in environmental sustainability. We value quality of life, community safety and a welcoming spirit that embraces new people and new ideas.

About Explore Edmonton
Explore Edmonton Corporation (EEC) is the Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO) for Edmonton. EEC tells our city's story, elevates the Edmonton experience, and generates inbound visitation. EEC manages the Edmonton Convention Centre and the Edmonton EXPO Centre. While EEC's mandate is focused on attracting visitors from beyond our city's limits, what we do and how we do it also enhances and amplifies the quality of life for Edmontonians.

About Madeline Merlo
With a crystalline Country vocal and an international rep for writing vivid scenes of emotional insight, BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville recording artist Madeline Merlo is a rising star with an old soul and a new school style. Already a Platinum-certified No. 1 songwriter poised to be a breakout artist, Merlo's new project ONE HOUSE DOWN (from the girl next door) finds a self-described deep-feeler offering a message of encouragement to her younger self – and to all those who feel "a little different." A small town native helming from the blueberry fields of British Columbia, Merlo recalls countless holiday family sing-alongs soaked in a musical mix of classic soul and R&B – plus '90s country and the powerhouse vocals of everyone from Aretha Franklin to Dolly Parton, Martina McBride and Faith Hill. After attending a Shania Twain concert as her first show, she proclaimed her intention to be a singer on a second-grade school project – and her songwriting habit began early, too. Merlo started visiting Nashville on songwriting trips at just 16, signed a record deal at 18, and found fast success at Canadian country radio, earning the CCMA Rising Star award in 2015. By 2020 she was competing on Season 2 of NBC songwriting reality series Songland – and with the dressed-down anthem of easy confidence, "Champagne Night," she came out a winner. The track went on to become a Platinum-certified three-week No. 1 for Lady A, opening the door for Merlo's artistic dreams. The sassy country/funk and soul single "It Didn't" has racked up more than 10 million Spotify streams to date, and Merlo followed with the gravel-road pop of her Slide EP in 2022. Now, after being named to CMT Next Women of Country class of 2024, she calls ONE HOUSE DOWN  (from the girl next door)  her most emotionally insightful project yet – a six-song message of self-worth that comes with a superstar boost and plays to her creative strength. The first peek into her forthcoming project arrives August 9th with the melodic "Broken Heart Thing (feat. Dustin Lynch)," and the full project will be available October 11th. Merlo can be found on the road throughout the U.S. and Canada this summer. For more information, visit her website.

About Julia Michaels
Over the past few years, no songwriter has reshaped pop music more than 4x Grammy® Award-nominated and multi platinum-selling artist Julia Michaels has. In 2017, she embarked on a solo career with her 5x-platinum selling debut single "Issues." A year later, her peers recognized her stunning work with Grammy® Award nominations for "Best New Artist" and "Song of the Year." She released a series of critically acclaimed EPs, including 2017's fan-favorite Nervous System and 2019's critically acclaimed Inner Monologue Part 1 and Inner Monologue Part 2. She also embarked on The Inner Monologue Tour, which marked her first-ever U.S. headline tour following an enviable run touring with Maroon 5, Keith Urban, Shawn Mendes, Niall Horan, and P!NK. 2021 saw Julia release her highly anticipated full-length debut album, Not In Chronological Order, while her music continued to connect with songs like "What A Time" and "Heaven" going on to achieve Platinum status. To date, she has also notched 25 Billboard Hot 100 entries as a songwriter, including two number 1's for Justin Bieber's "Sorry" and Selena Gomez's "Lose You to Love Me," in addition to four top 10 hits. She received her third Grammy® Award nomination in the category of "Song Of The Year" for the hit song "If The World Was Ending" and her fourth Grammy® Award nomination for her work on H.E.R.'s album Back of My Mind. With the release of "Sorry To Me Too" at the end of 2022, Julia gave fans a taste of what they can expect from her next chapter as a solo artist. What's more, she's also been tapped to compose the original songs for Disney's upcoming film "Wish" starring Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, which will arrive Nov 2023. All this, while continuing additional collaborations to extend her incredible songwriting legacy.

About Owen Riegling
Owen Riegling is the kind of artist so down to earth his boots are always dirty. He's a small town kid with his roots firmly planted in the songs he sings. There's something organic about the way Owen does what he does. It's hard to put a finger on exactly what makes it so special but it's even harder to ignore how fast it's growing. The qualities come through as soon as you hear him sing. Call it obvious authenticity. A lack of pretense. Call it being raised in Mildmay, Ontario, a town of 1200 where keeping yourself grounded is the only way up. It's no accident that the same small-town humility and authenticity translated on the massive Gold-certified hit single "Old Dirt Roads".

2024 have been a wild ride for Owen, signing a deal with Universal Music Canada, releasing a series of chart climbing singles, touring coast to coast, surpassing 1.6M monthly Spotify listeners, working with some of Nashville's biggest writers and producers, and gracing the main stage at Calgary Stampede, Cavendish and LASSO – all while managing to keep his feet on the ground.

In 2023, Owen was selected as Apple Music's UpNext Program and in 2024 as Spotify's Hot Country Artists To Watch and Amazon Canada's Breakthrough Artists to Watch 2024. Now, with over 80 million global streams, multiple tours across Canada and a full festival calendar ahead, plus taking home 'Breakthrough Artist of the Year' and 'Male Artist of the Year' at the 2024 Country Music Association of Ontario awards, it is clear the future is bright for Owen as he continues turning new fans into old friends every step of the way. Dirty boots and all.

About Josh Ross
Universal Music Canada/UMG Nashville artist Josh Ross is one of Canada's most promising singer-songwriter-performers. On an unconventional path of his own design, Ross pairs a dark, mellow blast of modern country rock with a warm vocal rasp, heart-on-his-sleeve writing and addictive hooks that respect no borders – genre or otherwise. Pulling influence everywhere from Guns N' Roses and Metallica to country-rock outlaw Steve Earle, the former collegiate football player has leveraged his knack for emotional song craft into a series of Platinum-certified Top 5 Canadian country radio hits. His dusky power ballad "Trouble" rose to #1 in Canada, leading Ross to a CCMA Breakthrough Artist of the Year win and earned RIAA Gold certification in the US. His upbeat country-rock anthem "Ain't Doin' Jack" also landed #1 at Canadian country radio top of 2024. Now breaking through in the States, the rising star has tallied more than 545 million career streams and been hailed as an Artist to Watch by Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, MusicRow, the Grand Ole Opry and more. Touring alongside hard-rocking superstars like Nickelback, Brantley Gilbert and Bailey Zimmerman, he is set for his own headlining Single Again Tour, and as support on select dates of Luke Bryan's Mind of a Country Boy Tour this summer. Ross released his new EP Complicated on March 29, co-writing seven of the project's eight tracks. With thundering drums meeting steel guitars and the melodies of heartland pop, tracks like his current chart-climber "Single Again" show off Ross' rich, edgy vocal set to a barroom anthem. Complicated and Ross's latest track "Want This Beer" ft. Julia Michaels, arrive just five years after Ross moved to Nashville, proving there's much more to come from this next-generation talent who's anything but standard.

About Tenille Townes
An astute observer of the human condition, Tenille Townes' discography is rife with stories that reverberate with heavy truths. Following the release of a duet with world-superstar Bryan Adams, the revered songwriter, and CCMA Entertainer of the Year, released a five-song project called the Train Track Worktapes in 2023. Townes conceptualized, wrote, and recorded the EP on a 15-day, 3,000-mile, train trip where she played 65 shows at stops in communities across Canada.

Townes is a 17-time Canadian Country Music Association Award winner (CCMA), a two-time JUNO Awards Country Album of the Year Winner, and a two-time ACM Award-winner. She is also the first female artist in Mediabase Canada history to achieve two No. 1 singles (Music Canada Gold-certified "Jersey on The Wall (I'm Just Asking)," Music Canada Platinum-certified and RIAA Gold-certified "Somebody's Daughter").

Townes has opened for legendary artists such as Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain and George Strait. Townes has also toured extensively outside of the US – last year she performed for fans in Australia, Ireland, Germany, and had a sold-out run of headlining shows in the UK. Her international touring efforts earned her a nomination for the CMA International Artist Achievement Award.

A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Townes has been featured by NPR, Variety, Refinery29, Billboard, Rolling Stone, NBC's "TODAY," BBC and more. Additionally, she has raised over $2.5 million for Big Hearts For Big Kids, a non-profit she started when she was 15 years old to benefit a youth shelter in her hometown, which has grown to support US-based organizations including the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, S.A.F.E. Animal Haven, and the Manna House.

About Jake Worthington
For La Porte, Texas native Jake Worthington, traditional country music has been ingrained in his DNA since childhood. Raised on his grandfather's porch performances of Ray Price, Merle Haggard, and George Jones, he soon picked up his own Gibson acoustic and realized the breadth of his soon-to-be-classic, wide, and wild voice. Now, Worthington breathes fresh life to dance halls, beer joints, and ballrooms from Texas to Tennessee with his 13-song, self-penned debut album, Jake Worthington. Captivating the masses with his honky-tonk stylings, the singer-songwriter has brought two-step anthems to venues across the country, opening for Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Riley Green, Pat Green, Hank Williams Jr., ERNEST, and more. Recently, Worthington hit the road with Ian Munsick for his Boots, Buckles & Bolos Tour and continues cross country with his own headline dates and festivals including Stagecoach, Two Step Inn Festival, CMA Fest, Country Jam, Windy City Smokeout, and more. Worthington is also a newly sought-after feature artist across the Nashville landscape, including guest spots on HIXTAPE: Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE with Reba McEntire on "Is It Cold In Here," HIXTAPE: Vol. 2 with Ronnie Dunn and Jake Owen on "Jonesin','' Ronnie Dunn's 2022 album 100 Proof Neon on "Honky Tonk Town" and ERNEST's 2023 extension FLOWER SHOPS (THE ALBUM): Two Dozen Roses on "Heartache In My 100 Proof." "I believe in country music as much as I believe in my next breath," Worthington declares, and "blame it on my raising, but I think there ought to be room for country in country music."

SOURCE CTV

Media Contacts: For the Canadian Country Music Association, Charlotte Thompson | [email protected]; For CCMA Awards + Country Music Week Sponsorship Inquiries, Paquin Partnerships | [email protected]; For TD Bank Group, Dominique Bomberry | [email protected]; For CTV, Natalie Cole | [email protected]; For Explore Edmonton, Sarah Jackson | [email protected]; For Madeline Merlo, Shelby Burnell | [email protected]; For Julia Michaels, Stephanie Mudgett | [email protected]; For Owen Riegling, Stephanie Mudgett | [email protected]; For Josh Ross, Stephanie Mudgett | [email protected]; For Tenille Townes, Samantha Taus | [email protected]; For Jake Worthington, Jess Anderson | U.S.| [email protected], Tiffany Astle | Canada | [email protected]