We have some sweet news! The Jim Cuddy Band will visit Massey Hall for one very special Valentine’s Day evening on Saturday, February 14th, 2009. Joining The Jim Cuddy Band will be Toronto’s own The Skydiggers, currently playing in support of their latest album, City Of Sirens. Pre-sale tickets go on sale this Friday, November 21 at 11am EST in the BlueRodeo.com Store with a general public onsale Friday, November 28. BlueRodeo.com is the only place to buy tickets a full week before they go on sale to the public. Hope you can join us!

Country's Biggest Acts and Special Guests Serve Up A Night of Stars

CCMA Awards producers continue to announce performers for this year's show, to be held September 10 at Regina's Brandt Centre and broadcast on CBC Television that night.

Hosted by Paul Brandt, the show lineup now includes multi-nominated group Doc Walker, SOCAN Songwriter of the Year nominee Jim Cuddy, and multi nominee and Saskatchewan native Brad Johner. Also confirmed is perennial CCMA awards winner Carolyn Dawn Johnson in a special performance with celebrated East Coast artist Jimmy Rankin.

Producers are also promising special guests, drawing from Canada's most-acclaimed and current entertainment personalities – with renovation guru Mike Holmes first to be announced.

The show will feature a "super-group" of Canada's top musicians to showcase the best-loved country songs from the past year. Led by award winning music producer Tom McKillip, the band of acclaimed session players, will anchor live performances throughout the night.

Performers for the CCMA Awards show will continue to be announced up until September 10, and today's announcement is in addition to already confirmed stars: Paul Brandt, Emerson Drive, George Canyon, and Shane Yellowbird.

The remaining tickets for this year's CCMA awards show are available through http://www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling toll free to 1-800-970-7328 or 306-543-7800.

The 2007 CCMA Awards broadcast will air across Canada on September 10 at 8PM (9pm AST & 9:30pm NF) on CBC TV, with encore airings on CMT Canada, in the U.S. on television network Great American Country (GAC), and in Australia on Country Music Channel (CMC).

The Jim Cuddy Band will be hitting the road this summer as the opening act for John Fogerty, songwriting wizard behind Creedence Clearwater Revival. Jim and company will be opening for John on the following dates:

July 18 - Ottawa, ON - ScotiaBank Place
July 26 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
July 28 - Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
July 29 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place Theatre
July 31 - Kelowna, BC - Prospera Place Theatre
August 1 - Victoria, BC - Save-On Food Memorial Centre
August 2 - Burnaby, BC - Deer Lake Park

Tickets for all shows will go on sale through Ticketmaster at 10am local time on Friday, April 20 with the exception of Calgary. That show will go on sale on Saturday, April 21 at 10am through Ticketmaster.
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Few careers in rock 'n' roll have been as vital or enduring as John Fogerty's. The songwriting wizard behind Creedence Clearwater Revival, John practically defined late '60s/early '70s rock with classics like "Bad Moon Rising", "Down on the Corner", "Fortunate Son", "Lodi", "The Midnight Special", "Lookin' Out My Back Door", "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", "Hey Tonight" and many more. Hundreds of bands and songwriters have cited CCR albums like Cosmo's Factory as being influential, and many younger artists consider John Fogerty as one of the greats.

In the 1980s, John experienced a career revitalization as a new generation discovered him through old CCR records as well as his solo album Centerfield, which featured the hit title track as well as the MTV hit "The Old Man Down the Road". Since that 1985 record John has released several more well-received solo records, including Eye of the Zombie, Premonition, and Blue Moon Swamp. His most recent release, The Long Road Home: In Concert, captures John in all his live glory, as he stomps through a thunderous back catalogue of vintage Creedence tracks as well as solo material. He has plans to release a new album in the fall.

Jim Cuddy's The Light That Guides You Home just won a Juno for Adult Alternative Ablum of the Year. The second solo album from the Blue Rodeo frontman, it has been eight years since the release of Cuddy's first solo album, All In Time. The diversity of The Light That Guides You Home draws on much of the music that has influenced Cuddy over the years. The album soars from the country-tinged "Countrywide Soul" to the ebullient pop of "One Fine Day" to the full-throttle rolling rock of "Stagger In".

Don't miss the legendary John Fogerty with special guest Jim Cuddy Band!

On Sunday, April 1st at 12 pm, seven of Canada's esteemed songwriters take to the stage at the Sid Buckwold Theatre, TCU Place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  The artists will come together on stage to share the stories behind their songs, and perform them in a stripped down, bare bones format.
 
Jim Cuddy (Solo Artist and co-front man for Blue Rodeo) will host the Songwriters' Circle with special guests (and fellow 2007 JUNO Award Nominees)  Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Colin James, Susan Aglukark, Kellylee Evans, Ron Sexsmith and Tomi Swick.
 
Tickets for the Songwriters' Circle are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling (306) 938-7800.  Tickets are priced at $34.75 and $39.75 each (plus applicable service charges).
 
Hosted by CBC's Shelagh Rogers, this year's Songwriters' Circle will be broadcast live on CBC Radio One at 12:00 noon (CT) and will be re-broadcast on Radio Two at 4:00 pm.
 
Proceeds from the Songwriters' Circle will go to MusiCan.
 
For more information, visit www.junosongwriterscircle.ca.

On Monday, March 5, at 8:00 p.m. (8:30 p.m. NT), CBC Television will air WORDS TO MUSIC: THE CANADIAN SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME, a one-hour special that captures some of the year's most magical tributes and performances.

If you weren't able to attend the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame 4th Annual Gala, here is your chance to see highlights from the night that grabbed headlines across the country. Last year's debut special on CBC TV was nominated for three prestigious Gemini Awards, with k.d. lang winning for Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series.

In addition to honouring Canadian music legend Joni Mitchell, WORDS TO MUSIC: THE CANADIAN SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME features the following stellar performances:

Michael Bubl..'s swinging rendition of Ralph Freed and Burton Lane's How About You?
David Clayton-Thomas, backed by a full horn section, with his hit, Spinning Wheel
Jim Cuddy and Oh Susanna's rendition of Sylvia Tyson's You Were On My Mind
Corb Lund yodelling the Wilf Carter classic There's A Love Knot In My Lariat
George Canyon crooning Carter's My Old Canadian Home
James Taylor's haunting rendition of Joni Mitchell's Woodstock
Jazz keyboard legend Herbie Hancock and Divine Brown taking Mitchell's Help Me to higher ground
Canadian opera sensation Measha Brueggergosman's emotion-filled grand finale with Mitchell's Both Sides Now

Mark March 5 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on your calendar and don't miss this must-see musical event.

The CBC Radio One series features five panellists, each a winner in one of the past five years, who have suggested a book they believe all of Canada should read.

Musicians Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies, Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo and John K. Samson of The Weakerthans, author and broadcaster Denise Bombardier and novelist Donna Morrissey will face off against each other to defend their book choices.

At the end of the week, they'll choose a single book they recommend everyone in Canada should read.

In the meantime, Canadian literature lovers can get a jump on the panel's list by reading all five books:

Natasha and Other Stories, a collection of seven stories about a family of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants in Toronto in the early 1980s, was Page's choice. It was a New York Times Notable Book and stories were reprinted in Harper's and The New Yorker.
Children of My Heart, a translation by Alan Brown of Ces enfants de ma vie, was Roy's last novel and earned her a Governor General's Award. Bombardier has chosen the book, which is the tale of young schoolteacher who loves children, working in a small town.
Stanley Park, about a chef's efforts to run a Vancouver restaurant and take care of his homeless father, will be defended by Cuddy.
The Song of Kahunsha, chosen by Morrissey, is a child's eye view of life in the colourful and violent city of Mumbai.
Lullabies for Little Criminals, a humorous first novel about a young girl who uses stories to help her cope with a somewhat disappointing reality, was the pick of humour-lover Samson.
"We have five winning debaters with five winning books," said Canada Reads executive producer Talin Vartanian.

Schools, bookstores, libraries and communities across Canada join in the fun with their own readings, debates and contests throughout the Canada Readsweek.

Canada Reads will air on CBC Radio One from Feb. 26 to March 2, 2007, with broadcasts at 11:30 a.m. (12 noon NT) and 7:30 p.m. (8 p.m. NT). The winning title will be announced nationally on March 2.

For more info go to: http://www.cbc.ca/canadareads.

A brilliant intimate hour of music from one of Canada's most cherished songwriters showcasing songs from his acclaimed new album, The Light That Guides You Home.' This CMT exclusive will also feature some Blue Rodeo classics. Watch and you will know why Jim Cuddy is considered a national treasure.

Monday, November 20th at 10pm ET/7pm PT.

On the afternoon of October 23, Jim Cuddy and his band will be in Toronto taping a segment for an upcoming CMT special. This performance will be filmed in front of a live studio audience and JimCuddy.com has 10 pairs of tickets that will get fans into the taping. But we want to make sure that those tickets only end up in the hands of diehard Jim Cuddy fans.

So...to enter the contest, please send your name and daytime phone number to help@jimcuddy.com along with the answer to this question: What is Jim's all-time favourite book? (Hint: the answer appears somewhere on the JimCuddy.com website.)

When sending in your entry, be sure to put "CMT Contest" in the subject line. This contest will close on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 10am EDT. All entries that have correctly answered the trivia question will be put in a virtual hat and ten winners will be picked. All winners should be contacted no later than Friday, Oct. 20.

Please note that the prize is two tickets to watch a taping of the Jim Cuddy Band at a TBA location in Toronto. The prize does not include transportation or any cost that might be incurred by attending the taping.

All the information you submit will be kept confidential and will not be used for any other purpose.

Good luck!