Edmonton

4 things to do for Country Music Week in Edmonton

Edmonton is hosting the 42nd annual Canadian Country Music Association Awards this Saturday at Rogers Place. To warm the city up for the awards, Country Music Week kicks off in the downtown core on Wednesday with free country-themed events.

Free downtown country-themed events are kicking off to celebrate the CCMA Awards

A woman in a black shirt with red scarf smiles on stage. She has a guitar on her back.
k.d. lang will be performing with the Reclines for the first time in 35 years at the CCMA Awards in Edmonton on Sept. 14 (Barry Brecheisen/Invision/The Associated Press)

Edmonton is hosting the 42nd annual Canadian Country Music Association Awards this Saturday at Rogers Place. 

The awards will be hosted by Thomas Rhett and MacKenzie Porter, and will feature performances by Canadian country stars k.d. lang and the Reclines, Dallas Smith, Jade Eagleson, Brett Kissel, and The Reklaws.

To warm the city up for the award show, Country Music Week will start full tilt Wednesday afternoon.

Free country-themed events will be held in the downtown core at Sir Winston Churchill Square and City Hall Plaza each day culminating with the CCMA Awards this weekend.

Here are four events you can attend in the downtown core this week:

Country on the Square

What: Head to City Hall Plaza and Sir Winston Churchill Square for family-friendly, country-themed fun. The event features live country music performances, line dancing, food trucks, games, giveaways, roving performers and more. Enjoy a live performance by local musician Nathan Miller starting at 5 p.m., and kick up your heels with line dancing with the Boot Scootin' Boogie Dance Club at 6:30 p.m.

When: Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Headshot of a smiling woman, the country singer MacKenzie Porter, wearing a light blue hat with a studio microphone in front of her.
MacKenzie Porter will be hosting the 42nd annual CCMA Awards on Sept. 14 at Rogers Place. (Vivian Rashotte/CBC)

CCMA Country Crawl and Legends Car Show

What: Experience some of the best talent in Canadian country music for free when the CCMA Country Crawl comes to Sir Winston Churchill Square on Thursday. Stop by to enjoy special performances by Canadian musicians Colleen Rae and Bob Donaldson starting at 5 p.m. And for the hot rod enthusiasts, the Legends Car Show will also be at Churchill Square from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The CCMA Country Crawl will feature 90 performances in 22 shows at 19 venues leading up to and during Country Music Week 2024. 

When: Thursday, Sept. 12, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Country Crawl is a festival sponsored by the Canadian Country Music Association ahead of the big awards night at Rogers Place on Sept. 14. Jackie Rae Greening is the CCMA host committee chair.

Movies on the Square goes country

What: Check out the special country-themed edition of Movies on the Square, an event that features free outdoor movies in the heart of downtown Edmonton at Sir Winston Churchill Square. See a double feature of kid's animated movies Spirit Untamed at 5 p.m. followed by a showing of Rango. Arrive early for pre-movie entertainment, including live country and rock music by Travis Dolter, craft making, games, face painting, and temporary tattoos. Food trucks will be on site for snacks, and a sensory tent will be available courtesy of Autism Edmonton.

When: Friday, Sept. 13, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Live at Lunch

What: Get your toes tapping for a special country and western-themed edition of Live at Lunch, which brings musicians to Sir Winston Churchill Square to brighten some downtown lunch breaks. Each day will feature a different country musician between Sept. 11 and 13, starting with Andrea Nixon, then D'orjay The Singing Shaman, and finishing on Friday with a performance by the band The Bobby Tenderloin Universe. 

When: Sept. 11-13 from 12 p.m to 1 p.m.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cameron MacCuish

Associate Producer

Cameron MacCuish is an associate producer for CBC Edmonton. You can reach him at cameron.maccuish@cbc.ca