COUNTRY on the coast

VANCOUVER -- Canada's best and brightest country stars will be converging on Vancouver tonight, bringing their cowboy boots, oversized belt buckles, sequined shirts and old-fashioned, no-nonsense charm to GM Place for the 2009 Canadian Country Music Association Awards.

The two-hour revue (CBC, 8 p.m.), will be hosted by actor/director and Vancouverite Jason Priestley (of 90210 fame) and will include musical performances by such Canuck country powerhouses as Aaron Pritchett, Emerson Drive, Paul Brandt, Jann Arden, Terri Clark, Crystal Shawanda and Johnny Reid -- who are all likely to grab a statuette or two along the way.

Topping the nominations list is Scottish-Canadian and country-soul heartthrob Reid, whose latest release, Dance With Me, landed him six shots at nabbing a prize in categories including Album, Male Artist, Songwriter, Single and Video of the Year, as well as the CCMA Fans' Choice Award.

Following closely behind are East Coast neo-traditionalist George Canyon -- who has never lost in any category he was nominated for at past CCMAs -- and Ontario rising star Victoria Banks, who could both rival Johnny Reid in five of the key categories.

Gord Bamford -- CCMA's 2008 Top New Male Talent -- and this year's newcomer, Dean Brody, each got four nominations of their own.

Canyon, Bamford and Brody will also be performing some of their nominated material on stage, which may hint that they could all walk away with at least one statue.

The CCMA stage will also host performances by international superstars Martina McBride, Reba McEntire and Richard Marx, the latter set to join Canyon and Shawanda for a unique triple-bill moment.

While the biggest categories could be swept or shared by one or two artists, the real tug of war will most likely take place in the Group or Duo of the Year category, where two heavy-hitters could easily claim the honours.

In what could be dubbed a Battle of the Prairies, Doc Walker (of Portage la Prairie) and Emerson Drive (of Grande Prairie, Alta.) are both on the cusp of releasing their sixth and fourth albums, respectively, and are currently at the top of the food chain when it comes to Canadian country bands.

Both bands have been trading the honours since 2002, Emerson Drive winning three times and Doc Walker twice. Only country-rockers The Road Hammers (who are not in the running this year) have been able to dethrone the two acts in the past seven years, winning back-to-back prizes in 2005 and 2006.

Doc Walker won it last year during a sweep at the awards in Winnipeg which saw them walk home with six trophies on the strength of their Beautiful Life album. In addition to the Group or Duo nomination this year, the band is up for Fans' Choice and Songwriter of the Year (Chris Thorsteinson and Dave Wasyliw for One Last Sundown).

The band's guitarist Murray Pulver is nominated in the "all-star band" category and in the record producer's category for his work on Tara Oram's Chasing the Sun. Their drummer and bassist, Steve Broadhurst and Brent Pearen, respectively, were also nominated in the all-star band category.

Other local musicians up for awards are Grant Siemens, whose work for Corb Lund earned him a nomination for steel guitarist in the all-star band, and transplanted Vancouverite Ridley Bent, who is in the running for Roots Artist of the Year.

The ever-so-tricky Fans' Choice Award, which is handed out according to votes from the public, may also be full of surprises.

Will Reid manage to complete a potential sweep by nudging Doc Walker off the pedestal it acquired last year? Or could an old favourite like Canyon or momentous young talents like Pritchett or Farrell run away with the prize?

-- Canwest News Service / with files from Rob Williams

Place your bets

VANCOUVER -- Going for the one-horse sweep or scattering your chips on the table? Here's some food for thought about five potential winners at this year's CCMA Awards.

Johnny Reid

Nominations: Album, Male Artist, Single, Songwriter and Video of the Year, Fans' Choice Award.

Album, Song: Dance With Me, A Woman Like You.

Reid's blue-eyed country soul has been melting hearts everywhere and Dance With Me is easily the strongest contender for a complete sweep, but it's going to be really tough. The only major award Reid can't nab at this year's CCMA Awards is Female Artist of the Year. However, if there was a Females' Artist of the Year, Reid would most likely win in a landslide.

Victoria Banks

Nominations: Album, Female Artist, Single and Songwriter of the Year, Rising Star Award.

Album, Song: When You Can Fly, The Wheel.

The only female who rivals the boys in terms of sheer number of nominations. But can this singer-songwriter, who spent most of her time behind the scenes until now, make the biggest splash possible? Best bet is to drop most of your chips on the Rising Star spot.

George Canyon

Nominations: Album, Male Artist, Single and Video of the Year, Fans' Choice Award.

Album, Song: What I Do, Just Like You.

Is this the year where you can bet against Canyon? The East Coast country powerhouse has never lost a single nomination at the CCMAs, and What I Do doesn't show him wanting to end his streak any time soon. There's tough competition on all sides this time around, though.

Crystal Shawanda

Nominations: Album and Female Artist of the Year.

Album: Dawn of a New Day.

Shawanda easily deserves to win Female Artist of the Year for being the highest-charting full-blooded Ojibwa artist in recent history, and let's hope the enduring success of Dawn of a New Day over the past year makes her a clincher. But it could be a bit of a stretch on the Album of the Year front.

The Higgins

Nominations: Group or Duo of the Year, Roots Artist or Group of the Year.

Album: Real Thing.

An easy bet because it's a bit safe -- and local. If the Vancouver family trio finds itself trampled by the cavalcade of Doc Walker or Emerson Drive in Group or Duo, they can always bounce back and capture the Roots category, where the competition is either a bit soft (Ridley Bent) or poorly timed (Corb Lund).

-- Canwest News Service

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 13, 2009 B5