CMA Touring Awards CMA Touring Awards After 15 years, the CMA Touring Awards returned in 2012 to celebrate the Country Music touring industry and the people who continue to promote and sustain America’s favorite live entertainment format! Previously known as the SRO (Standing Room Only) Awards, the CMA Touring Awards were originally created by the CMA Board of Directors in 1990 to honor outstanding professional achievement within the touring industry. Only CMA members in the Advertising/Public Relations/Media, Affiliated, Artist, Entertainment Services, International, Marketing/Digital, Musician, Personal Manager, Record Company, Talent Agent, Talent Buyer/Promoter, Touring Personnel, and Venue categories vote for the CMA Touring Awards. The final five nominees in each category are selected after the nomination round. The winners are announced at the CMA Touring Awards. The eligibility period is from July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the current year. The 8th Annual CMA Touring Awards will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, TN. 2019 CMA TOURING AWARDS FINALISTS CATEGORY 1 – BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR Renee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc. David Boyer – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc. Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc. Mary Ann McCready – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc. Dwight Wiles – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC CATEGORY 2 – COACH/TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR Kelley Beck – Blake Shelton Caleb Garrett – Luke Bryan Ronnie Goodwin – Eric Church Larry Phye, Jr. – Chris Stapleton Rob Shepherd – Darius Rucker CATEGORY 3 – FRONT OF HOUSE (FOH) ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Jared Blumenberg – Florida Georgia Line Billy Moore – Eric Church Chris Rabold – Kenny Chesney Arpad Sayko – Chris Stapleton Ian Zorbaugh – Old Dominion CATEGORY 4- LIGHTING DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Michael “Sparky” Anderson – Blake Shelton Scott Cunningham – Florida Georgia Line Gavin Lake – Eric Church Chris Reade – Dierks Bentley Alec Takahashi – Thomas Rhett CATEGORY 5 – MANAGER OF THE YEAR Clint Higham – Morris Higham Management Mary Hilliard Harrington – Red Light Management Jason Owen – Sandbox Entertainment Chris Parr – Maverick John Peets – Q Prime South CATEGORY 6 – TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR Todd Bunch – Eric Church Kevin Canady – Blake Shelton Tommy Garris – Old Dominion Jason Hecht – Chris Stapleton Mike Kelly – Darius Rucker CATEGORY 7 – MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Bryan “Opie” Baxley – Kenny Chesney Wesley Crowe – Thomas Rhett Stuart Delk – Rascal Flatts Marc Earp – Eric Church Scott Tatter – Dierks Bentley CATEGORY 8 – PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR Jay Ballinger – Dierks Bentley Todd Ortmeier – Florida Georgia Line Jason Parkin – Darius Rucker Kevin Twist – Thomas Rhett Ed Wannebo – Kenny Chesney CATEGORY 9 – PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom Carla Sacks – Sacks & Co. Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt Relations Jensen Sussman – Sweet Talk Publicity Wes Vause – Warner Music Nashville CATEGORY 10 – TALENT AGENT OF THE YEAR Marc Dennis – CAA Darin Murphy – CAA Aaron Tannenbaum – CAA Nate Towne – WME Jay Williams – WME CATEGORY 11 – TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR Ben Farrell – Lon Varnell Enterprises Ali Harnell – Live Nation Nashville Patrick McDill – Live Nation Nashville Louis Messina – Messina Touring Group Ed Warm – Joe’s Bar CATEGORY 12 – TOUR VIDEOGRAPHER/PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Zach Belcher – Dierks Bentley Jeff Johnson – Chris Young / Carrie Underwood Michael Monaco – Luke Bryan Matt Paskert – Jake Owen Jill Trunnell – Kenny Chesney CATEGORY 13 – TOUR VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Brian Carico – Blake Shelton Milojko Dobrijevich – Jason Aldean Chris Jones – Eric Church Ryan Rushing – Luke Bryan Mark Willcox – Chris Stapleton CATEGORY 14 – TOURING MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR Wyatt Beard – Kenny Chesney Tyler Chiarelli – Florida Georgia Line Dan Hochhalter – Dierks Bentley Bennett Lewis – Maren Morris Pete Sternberg – Brothers Osborne CATEGORY 15 – VENUE OF THE YEAR Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN Joe’s Bar – Chicago, IL Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO CMA TOURING LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD This award is for an individual who has accomplished the highest level in the Country Music field of touring. The award was established to recognize an individual who has achieved both prominence and stature at the highest level. The individual receiving this award has positively impacted and contributed to the growth of touring throughout a course of years that have proven to have an unprecedented historical impact on Country Music fans and the industry alike. It is to be noted that their presence will have a long-term positive impact on Country Music and CMA for generations to come. This award is not intended for an artist. Past Recipients: 2016 Randy “Baja” Fletcher 2017 Brian O’Connell 2018 Louis Messina
