Peterborough’s Elyse Saunders is one of two country music artists from the Kawarthas who earned wins at the Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) awards show in Mississauga on Sunday night (June 2).
Saunders was named Female Artist of the Year and Woodville’s James Barker Band was named Group or Duo of the Year and received the Compass Award.
The awards show was the culmination of CMAOntario’s festival and awards weekend, which also featured a songwriters’ circle, a music industry conference, three free concerts, and more.
VIDEO: “Famous” – Elyse Saunders
Saunders, who also performed during the awards show in Hammerson Hall at the Living Arts Centre, won Female Artist of the Year for her 2023 song “Famous,” beating out fellow nominees Jessie T, Karli June, Meghan Patrick, Robyn Ottolini, and Sacha.
In 2023, Saunders was also nominated for CMAOntario’s Female Artist of the Year but lost out to Robyn Ottolini. However, she picked up the Music Video of the Year for “Genes” at the 2023 awards.
On Sunday night, the James Barker Band won Group or Duo of the Year for their 2023 song “Meet Your Mama,” beating out fellow nominees New Moon Junction, River Town Saints, Rosewood Ave, The Reklaws, and The Western Swing Authority. Like Saunders, the band was also nominated in that category for the 2023 awards, but lost out to The Reklaws.
VIDEO: “Meet Your Mama” – James Barker Band
The James Barker Band was also nominated for Album/EP of The Year for Ahead of Our Time and for the Fans’ Choice award, but lost out to Meghan Patrick’s Greatest Show on Dirt and to Tim Hicks.
However, they did win the Compass Award, which is given to the individual artist, duo, or group that achieves the greatest number of on-demand streams, album sales, digital song downloads, and more.
The 2024 CMAOntario award is the latest in a series of awards for the James Barker Band — founded by Woodville native James Barker in 2015 with Taylor Abram, Connor Stephen, and Bobby Martin — in the past seven years.
They previously won the CMAOntario Fans’ Choice Award in 2017 and Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year in 2020. They also won the Canadian Radio Music Awards’ Best New Group or Solo Artist: Country in 2017, the Juno Award for Country Album of the Year in 2018 and again in 2024, the Canadian Country Music Association’s Single of the Year and Top Selling Canadian Single of the Year in 2018, Single of the Year in 2020, and the Fans’ Choice and Group or Duo of the Year in 2023.
