The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The CMA is best known for its annual Country Music Association Awards broadcast live on network television each fall.
Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall was also a member. All three had experience in folk rock: Nettles had recorded in the groups Soul Miner's Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band, Bush had recorded two albums as one-half of the duo Billy Pilgrim, and Hall had recorded two solo albums. After Hall left in 2006, Nettles and Bush continued as a duo.
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony features performances and award presentations by popular country music artists, with occasional appearances from pop and rock artists. The CMA Awards were first presented in 1967, and televised for the first time the following year.
Blair Garner is an American radio personality best known for his work in country radio. Garner spent over two decades as a nationally syndicated overnight disc jockey, first hosting After Midnite for Premiere Networks and then The Blair Garner Show for Nash FM; in-between, he hosted the morning drive time program America's Morning Show, also for Nash FM.
Jason Aldean is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released eleven albums and 40 singles. His 2010 album, My Kinda Party, is certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His 2012 album Night Train is certified double-platinum, while his 2005 self-titled debut, 2007 album Relentless, 2009 album Wide Open, and 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt are all certified platinum. Aldean has received five Grammy Award nominations throughout his career, twice for Best Country Album.
WTQR is a country music station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and serves the Piedmont Triad region, including Greensboro and High Point. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, the station broadcasts at 104.1 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. It has studio facilities and offices located on Pai Park in Greensboro, and a transmitter site is located atop Sauratown Mountain near Pinnacle, North Carolina. They are one of three country music outlets in the market; WPAW and WBRF are the others.
WSOC-FM is a commercial radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and airs a country music radio format, calling itself "Country 103.7". Its primary country competitor is iHeartMedia's WKKT. WSOC-FM's studios are located on South Boulevard in Charlotte's South End and the transmitter is located in East Charlotte near Reedy Creek Park.
KASE-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Austin, Texas. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a country music radio format. It shares studios and offices with four sister stations in the Penn Field complex in the South Congress district of south central Austin within walking distance of St. Edward's University. The transmitter site is off Waymaker Way in Austin, amid towers for other FM and TV stations.
WMAD is a commercial radio station licensed to Cross Plains, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison metropolitan area. It broadcasts a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. WMAD carries two nationally syndicated radio shows from co-owned Premiere Networks: The Bobby Bones Show on weekday mornings and CMT Nights with Cody Alan heard overnight. The radio studios and offices are on South Fish Hatchery Road in Madison.
Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan is an American country singer, songwriter, and television personality. His first ten albums – I'll Stay Me (2007), Doin' My Thing (2009), Tailgates & Tanlines (2011), Crash My Party (2013), Spring Break...Here to Party (2013), Spring Break...Checkin' Out (2015), Kill the Lights (2015), Farm Tour... Here's to the Farmer (2016), What Makes You Country (2017), and Born Here Live Here Die Here (2020) – have included 30 number-one hits. Bryan often co-writes with Jeff Stevens. Since 2018, Bryan has been a judge on American Idol.
WKKR is a radio station licensed to Auburn, Alabama, United States. The station, established in 1968, is currently owned by San Antonio–based iHeartMedia, through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC. In 1988, WKKR became the first Alabama radio station to earn the National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Radio Award for outstanding commitment to community service.
The Bobby Bones Show is an American nationally syndicated country music radio show aired during the morning hours. The Bobby Bones Show originated in Austin, Texas, but now originates from studios at WSIX-FM in Nashville. The show is syndicated by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia. It launched nationwide on country music radio stations in February 2013 and reaches millions of listeners on 180 stations in the United States, including major radio markets such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Antonio, Boston, Miami, and internationally in Halifax and Manchester, UK. The program is broadcast on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Central Time with a "Top 30 Countdown” show that is aired on Saturday mornings and hosted by Bones. Starting in 2019, a new show was launched called “The Women of iHeartCountry”, hosted by Bones’ co-host Amy, in which she interviews female country stars, and plays only country songs by female country stars. The show is broadcast between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Central Time on Sundays, preceded by “98.7 WMZQ Community”, an infomercial-type show, broadcast between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Central Time. In some radio markets, the show is recorded and heard in the evening; this is especially true in Canada, where it is carried by Bell Media Radio's Pure Country network.
Cam "Buzz" Brainard is an American voice actor, narrator and radio personality. He is best known for hosting "The Music Row Happy Hour" on SiriusXM's The Highway, and for having been the long-time announcer for Disney Channel.
Brantley Keith Gilbert is an American country rock singer, songwriter and record producer from Jefferson, Georgia. He was originally signed to Colt Ford's label, Average Joes Entertainment, where he released Modern Day Prodigal Son and Halfway to Heaven. He is now signed to the Valory division of Big Machine Records where he has released five studio albums—a deluxe edition of Halfway to Heaven, Just as I Am, The Devil Don't Sleep, Fire & Brimstone, So Help Me God, and 14 country chart entries, four of which have gone to number one. He also co-wrote and originally recorded Jason Aldean's singles "My Kinda Party" and "Dirt Road Anthem."
Brett Ryan Eldredge is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer, signed to Warner Music Group Nashville. Eldredge has had five No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, three of which came from his debut album, Bring You Back: "Don't Ya", "Beat of the Music", and "Mean to Me".
Angie Ward is a two-time CMA award-winning media personality and Class of 2021 inductee into the Country Radio Hall Of Fame. She is the Assistant Program Director at IHeartMedia radio station WUBL, known as 94.9 The Bull in Atlanta, GA. She can be heard daily on WUBL (Atlanta), WKKT (Charlotte),WPGB (Pittsburgh), KVET (Austin), WNCB (Raleigh), and WTQR (Greensboro). She has more than 25 years of experience both on and off the air in radio broadcasting & television and can also be heard weekly on 60 other Country radio stations across the United States, and streamed on desktop or mobile devices via the iHeartRadio Country channel.
Dan + Shay is an American country pop music duo composed of vocalists and songwriters Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney. They are signed to Warner Records Nashville and have released five albums, Where It All Began, Obsessed, Dan + Shay, Good Things and Bigger Houses. Of their nine singles, five have topped the Country Airplay chart and three have topped the Hot Country Songs chart. The duo have collaborated with Justin Bieber, Charlie Puth, Rascal Flatts, Lindsey Stirling, RaeLynn, and Kelly Clarkson. From 2019 to 2021, the duo won three consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for the songs "Tequila", "Speechless", and "10,000 Hours".
Jesse Vernon Frasure, also known as DJ Telemitry, is an American music publisher, record producer, songwriter, and DJ. He has written 22 number one songs and has cuts with various artists including Chris Stapleton,, Marshmello, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Thomas Rhett, Leon Bridges, Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Meghan Trainor, Florida Georgia Line and more.
53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards were held on November 13, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony recognizes some of the best country music released during the eligibility period. Carrie Underwood hosted the event with special guest hosts Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, celebrating legendary women in country music. "In addition to awarding the year's best and brightest in the genre, the 53rd Annual CMA Awards will celebrate the legacy of women within country music, and we couldn't think of a more dynamic group of women to host the show." said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern. For the first time in CMA history, women were nominated in every category, except Male Vocalist of the Year. However, when all was said and done, the sole female Entertainer of the Year nominee, Carrie Underwood, lost the top honor to Garth Brooks; upsetting fans and leading to Garth Brooks stepping down from the category the following year.
United States