Winners of the 2025 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards

Hamilton hosted the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards ceremony on June 1, 2025. Quite a few local acts brough home the hardware.

Below is a complete list of winners and nominees. Winners are bolded and at top of the category. Local artists are italicized.

COMPASS AWARD: Josh Ross (Waterdown)

Links: Josh Ross, More Josh Ross Stories, Video above courtesy of JOSH ROSS

GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR

• The Redhill Valleys (Hamilton)
  
  
  
  Links: Redhill Valleys, More Redhill Valleys Stories, Video above courtesy of The Redhill Valleys
  
  
• The Western Swing Authority (Waterloo)
• Amanda and James
• New Moon Junction
• River Town Saints
• Rosewood Ave

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR 

• Jeff Brown (Beamsville) plays with Kelsi Mayne, Washboard Union, Jason Blaine
• Adrian Juras (Niagara) plays with Karli June and Ryan Langdon (Niagara Falls)
• Joey DePaiva (Milton) plays with Mackenzie Leigh Meyer (Ancaster), Spencer Burns, Nicole Rayy (Oakville)
• Mackenzie Leigh Meyer (Ancaster) plays with Robyn Ottolini
• Jordan Honsinger plays with Tebey (Burlington)
• Ryan Cassar plays with Elyse Saunders, Kelsi Mayne, Paige Rutledge (Guelph)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (LARGE MARKET) 

• KX94.7 (CHKX-FM, Hamilton)
• Country 106.7 (CIKZ-FM, Kitchener)
• Country 104 (CKDK-FM, London)
• KX96 (CJKX-FM, Ajax)
• Pure Country 93 (CJBX-FM, London)
• Pure Country 94 (CKKL-FM, Ottawa)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (MEDIUM MARKET) 

• Hot Country 93.9 (CFWC-FM, Brantford)
• Cool 100.1 (CHCQ-FM, Belleville)
• Country 104.3 (CJQM-FM, Sault Ste. Marie)
• Country 105 (CKTG-FM, Thunder Bay)
• Country 92.9 (CFCO-FM, Chatham)
• HOT COUNTRY 88.5 (CKDX-FM, Newmarket)

ALBUM/EP OF THE YEAR 

• Bruce County: Owen Riegling
• Break Up Rules: Paige Rutledge (Guelph)
• Golden Child: Meghan Patrick
• Growing up to Do: Robyn Ottolini
• L Is For: Andrew Hyatt
• Pathways: Julian Taylor

ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Mackenzie Leigh Meyer  (Ancaster)
• The Redhill Valleys (Hamilton)
• The Western Swing Authority (Waterloo)
• Callie McCullough
• Emily Clair
• Julian Taylor

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Sully Burrows
• Olivia Mae Graham (Norfolk)
• Paige Rutledge (Guelph)
• Alexa Goldie
• Dayna Reid
• Spencer Burns

FANS’ CHOICE 

• Owen Riegling
• Tebey (Burlington)
• Josh Ross (Waterdown)
• The Reklaws Cambridge)
• Sacha
• Steven Lee Olsen

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Robyn Ottolini
• Jessie T (Kitchener)
• Dayna Reid
• Elyse Saunders
• Karli June
• Sacha

INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR

• Samantha Pickard, Strut Entertainment
• Elliott Deseure & Nick Marinac (Burlington), Adaptive Media
• AJ Astle, Roadhouse Productions
• Christine Wiley & Christine Stevens, C to C Music Insider
• Dave Woods, In the Country
• Sam Davs, Cosmic Alchemy Designs

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Owen Riegling
• Nate Haller (Waterloo)
• Ryan Langdon (Niagara Falls)
• Tim Hicks (St. Catharines)
• Andrew Hyatt
• Brian John Harwood

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

• Never Have I Ever: Elyse Saunders
  
  
  
  Links: Elyse Saunders, More Elyse Saunders Stories, Video above courtesy of ElyseSaunders
  
  
• Blinding Lights (Country Version): Tebey (Burlington)
• Guilty: Nicole Rayy (Oakville)
• Finding Firsts: Andrew Hyatt
• Moonshines: Owen Riegling
• Still Make Cowgirls: Karli June

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (SMALL MARKET)

• Pure Country 106 (CICX-FM, Orillia)
• Country 89 (CKYY-FM, Welland)
• Country 103 (CHAW-FM, Little Current)
• Country 93 (CKYC-FM, Owen Sound)
• K Country 93.7 (CKOU-FM, Georgina)
• The Ranch 100.1 (CHLP-FM, Listowel)

THE REAL McCOY  AWARD: Jason McCoy 

RECORD PRODUCER(S) OF THE YEAR

• Adam Newcomb: Sacha, Elyse Saunders, Riley Taylor
• Douglas Romanow: Nicole Rayy (Oakville)
• Matthew Koebel (Waterloo): Jessie T (Kitchener), Paige Rutledge (Guelph), Jessica Sole
• Shawn Moore (Waterloo): Spencer Burns, Bradley Hale (Elmira), Brothers Wilde, Tim Albertson
• The Agenda: Angelica Appelman (Kitchener), David Madras, Kasey Nugent, Patrick James Clark, Peter Peres
• Deric Ruttan: Karli June – Still Make Cowgirls

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

• Moonshines: Owen Riegling
• Blinding Lights (Country Version): Tebey (Burlington)
• Race To The Bottom: Nate Haller (Waterloo)
• Finding Firsts: Andrew Hyatt
• Hey Mom I Made It: Sacha
• Never Have I Ever: Elyse Saunders

SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR

• Owen Riegling, Daryl Scott, Jesse Slack: Moonshines
• Tebey (Burlington), G. Palmer, S. Walker, D. Dupelle: Hangover at My Place
• Tim Hicks (St. Catharines) , Deric Ruttan, Monty Criswell: Quits
• Chrystal Oudijk, Douglas Romanow, Nicole Rayy (Oakville): Guilty
• Elyse Saunders, Jason Blaine: Never Have I Ever
• Karli June, Deric Ruttan: Still Make Cowgirls

FRANCOPHONE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Kristine St-Pierre
• Les Rats D’Swompe
• Mitch Jean
• Reney Ray
• Sugar Crush
• Vincent Bishop

Links: Country Music Association of Ontario, More CMAO Stories

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