Countdown to the CMAOntario Festival & Awards – Q & A with River Town Saints

Photo supplied by River Town Saints

The Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAOntario) Festival & Awards are fast approaching and we have had the opportunity to catch up with some of Ontario’s best country music artists in advance of the festivities.  Today we are pleased to introduce you to Ottawa-based River Town Saints!

How important is it to you that Ontario have its very own country music awards show?

Super important. There’s so much talent here in Ontario that it’s a great opportunity to acknowlege those artists apart from the national scene. It’s also a great time for catching up with those same fellow artists, radio friends, industry peers etc.

The CMAOntario Awards are possible because of the generous assistance of Slaight Music.  Have you been directly supported by any of their initiatives?

We’ve been part of the CMAOntario Awards for 3 years now AND we picked up the CMAOntario Award for Single of the year in 2017, so we have a ton to thank Slaight for.

The 2018 Fresh Faces Showcase & Concert will take place on Saturday, June 2 in Market Square (London, ON) as part of the weekend’s festivities.  It will feature performances from Meghan Patrick, The Reklaws, Brad Battle, Johnson Crook, The Redhill Valleys, Joshua Davie and Kelsi Mayne.  We have so many amazing up and coming country artists in Ontario.  Who is someone else you think is someone that country music fans should be checking out?  Give them a shout out!

We’re obviously biased here because we worked with her on the Cherry Bomb video, but Kelsi Mayne is pretty awesome. Great voice, solid performer and a really cool person – everyone should check her music out! Over the last year we’ve had the chance to play with some really cool emerging artist like Abby Stewart, Amanda Jordan, Scotty Kipfer, Kyle Dunn and Rob Watts Band.

If you were asked to give a rising country artist some advice, what would it be?

3 things:

• Make sure you love what you’re doing 
• If you have a band, personalities are JUST as important as talent, you will be sleeping on floors with these people
• Educate yourself about the business

5. What accomplishment over the past year are you most proud of?

Equal split between winning a CMAOntario Award in 2017 and the Canadian Radio Music Award we won 2 weeks ago!

What is your opinion on the value of social media to help you succeed as an artist in today’s society?  Do you have a favourite social media platform?

Social media is a double edged blade. You need to have great, honest content that engages fans, which requires a lot of time and effort, but can be super rewarding when you see how much people enjoy getting to be a part of the journey with you. For RTS, Instagram and Youtube are definitely our favourites, because of the video capabilities.

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans? 

Thanks for everything! Seeing familiar faces at shows singing along, or hanging out with us at the merch table, commenting on our posts makes it ALL WORTH IT. We got tons of stuff comin’ at you in 2018! 

Connect with River Town Saints:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Connect with The Country Music Association of Ontario:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Nicole Wolfe

I’m Nicole, a biology teacher by day, but my life revolves around music. I’m that girl that you will always find with the concert t-shirt on and ear buds in. It is rare that you find me without some type of music playing in the background. I connect all of my life experiences to music. It truly has its own language in my heart. There is nothing more exciting than taking in all that a concert has to offer. I love to support local Canadian acts and attend as many shows that I can.