Major awards in country music were presented in the last four months of the year. Among them: Quebec’s Matt Lang was named as the Sirius XM Top of the Country winner (Sept. 5); Dallas Smith opened the Canadian Country Music Association awards show (Sept. 8) with a performance of his hit “Drop” (which hit #1 that week!) and went on to win Entertainer and Male Artist of the Year (Dallas co-hosted the show with Billy Ray Cyrus); other winners at the Canadian Country Music awards included Tenillle Townes (who won Female Artist as well as Single, Songwriter and Music Video for “Somebody’s Daughter”), Washboard Union for Group or Duo and Roots Album (for “What We’re Made Of”), Jade Eagleson (for “Rising Star”); The Reklaws for Album and Top Selling Canadian Single, and Brett Kissel for Fans’ Choice; Larry Gatlin and Dwight Yoakam were among the inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (Oct. 14); Aaron Pritchett won four British Columbia Country Music Awards (Oct. 20), including his sixth Entertainer of the Year award, while Shawn Austin won his first award for Fans’ Choice; Ray Stevens became the 137th member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, with Brooks & Dunn and producer Jerry Bradley also inducted into the hall; Alabama was inducted into Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame (Oct. 22) along with Steve Wariner, Don Everly and the late producer Owen Bradley; Chet Atkins, DeFord Bailey, Clint Black, Lady Antebellum and songwriter Mac McAnally received stars on the Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame (Oct. 22); Dwight Yoakam received BMI’s Icon Award (Nov. 12); Alison Krauss received the National Medal of Arts at the White House (Nov. 21); Taylor Swift won all five awards she was nominated for the American Music Awards, including Artist of the Decade; and earlier this month, Billboard magazine named Taylor Woman of the Decade.

New additions to the country music family: Brantley Gilbert and his wife, Amber, welcomed their second child, daughter Braylen (Sept. 9); Mike Hobby, of A Thousand Horses, and his wife, Caroline, welcomed their first child, daughter Sunny (Sept. 10); Sammy Kershaw and his longtime girlfriend, Mendy, welcomed their daughter, Natelia (Sept. 11); Brett Young and his wife, Taylor, welcomed their first child, daughter Presley (Oct. 21); Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn, welcomed their first child, daughter Kingsley (Oct. 29); Jade Eagleson and his wife, Marina, welcomed their first child, son Leviticus (Nov. 7); Ty Hunter, of The Hunter Brothers, and his wife, Lizzy, welcomed their daughter Charlotte (Nov. 7); Midland singer Mark Wystrach and his wife, Ty, welcomed their daughter (Nov. 21); and singer Cam and her husband, Adam Weaver, welcomed their daughter (Dec. 19).

Passages included: Kellie Pickler’s father, “Bo,” at age 54 from a heart attack (Sept. 16); Bob Kingsley, longtime host of the American Country Countdown radio show, at age 80 from cancer (Sept. 17); David Turner, Josh Turner’s longtime sound engineer, in a fatal bus accident (Sept. 18); steel guitarist Sonny Curtis at age 83 of Alzheimer’s (Oct. 11); Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member Dallas Harms at age 84 from cancer (Oct. 12); Kenny Dixon, Kane Brown’s drummer, at age 27 in a car accident (Oct. 12) just over a month before his planned wedding; Steve Cash, of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, at age 73 after a long illness (Oct. 14); Steve Earle’s longtime bass player Kelley Looney (Nov. 4) at age 61; Norman Post, patriarch of Canada’s Singing Post Family (Nov. 17); and Tucker Beathard’s brother, Clayton, and a second man were stabbed to death outside a Nashville bar (Dec. 21). A suspect in the murder was arrested and charged on Christmas Day.

Among the artists getting hitched: artists Carly Pearce and Michael Ray with Jake Owen performing after the ceremony (Oct. 6); singer Trace Adkins married Canadian actress Victoria Pratt in a ceremony officiated by Blake Shelton (Oct. 12); singer Chris Lane and Lauren Bushnell, of “The Batchelor” (Oct. 25); Ontario singer Jade Eagleson and Marina (Oct. 25); and Maddie Marlow, of Maddie & Tae, and her high school sweetheart, Jonah Font (Nov. 22).

The rich history of country music was broadcast in September over 16 hours through eight nights on PBS-TV with acclaimed documentary producer Ken Burns’ “Country Music” saga.

(with Dallas Smith and Dean Brody)

“The Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone” tour, featuring Dallas Smith and Dean Brody along with MacKenzie Porter, Chad Brownlee and The Reklaws, made stops in Kitchener (Sept. 20) and London. James Barker was in the audience for the Kitchener show (so was I). And Tim Hicks was the surprise guest as Jessica Mitchell wrapped up her “Heart of Glass – Part II Tour” in her former hometown of London (Nov. 2). They performed their duet “Somebody Gonna Get Hurt.”

(Jessica Mitchell and Tim Hicks)

Concerts I MC’ed (or co-MC’ed): Gord Bamford’s return to the Norfolk County Fair & Horse Show in Simcoe, Ont. (Oct. 12); “Kathy’s Dream,” a fundraising concert in Tillsonburg for Kathy Gould (Oct. 26) with performances by Marie Bottrell, Larry Mercey, Don Parchem, Susan West, Rodney & Rebecca, The Schotts, Randy Satchell, Michael Warren, Caroline Burchill & Tom Osgerby, William Cromwell, Jamie Warren and Thomas Wade; and the “Fighting Cancer with Friends “ fundraising concert at Purple Hill Country Music Hall (Nov. 10) with performances by Lighthouse, Carlos Morgan, Genevieve Fisher, Brad James, Anthony Tullo, Sean Carson, Suzi Kory, Jamie Warren, David Boyd Janes, Stacey Zegers, Thomas Wade, Jim Witter and Western Swing Authority.

Artists who stopped by Country 107.3 for live interviews included: Josh Ross (Oct. 2) with his debut single “If You Were a Song;” Rich Cloke (Oct. 15); Melissa Livingstone (Oct. 24); singer/songwriter Marshall Dane returned (Oct. 22) to talk about his new single and video, “Out Crowd,” in which I make a cameo appearance; and B.C. singer/songwriter Kristin Carter with her debut single “Karma.”

Other accomplishments included: Saskatchewan artist Tenille Arts making her Grand Ole Opry debut (Sept. 24); Cody Johnson singing the American National Anthem (Oct. 30) at Game 7 of the World Series (Washington beat Houston); and The Hunter Brothers’ first gold record for their single “Lost” (Dec. 5).

Best wishes to artists who are coping with health issues. 2019 saw singer Drake White announce he had a brain condition that disrupts blood flow and revealed he had been diagnosed with the condition in January. And Chely Wright revealed she had a stroke in 2018 but didn’t announce it until a year later to the day, hoping to inspire people to learn the symptoms.

Continuing into 2020: singers Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd announced her pregnancy on Twitter (Oct. 22), expecting a baby boy with her current album ironically titled “Girl;” and singer/songwriter Sam Hunt has a January court date scheduled after he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence (Nov. 21) and having an open container.

Without a doubt, the biggest success story of 2019 has to be Luke Combs with a year that included induction into the Grand Ole Opry, more #1 hits and tour that has sold out just about every show. And on this side of the border, I’d pick Jade Eagleson for breakout artist of the year. It’s been a life-changing year for him which has included concerts as far away as Japan, a new artist award from the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards in June and from the Canadian Country Music Association in September, a new wife and the birth of his first child, a son named Leviticus.

(Jade Eagleson)

2019 was quite a year of highs and lows. Here’s hoping for all the best in 2020!