‘It’s an adventure that lives and breathes’: Tenille Townes and Blanco Brown team up to host CCMA in Calgary

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Blanco Brown admits he hasn’t been paying much attention to the Canadian country music scene.

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The American artist, whose crossover hit The Git Up soared up the charts in 2019, will co-host the Canadian Country Music Awards on Sunday at the Saddledome with Grande Prairie native Tenille Townes.

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But the hosting job comes after a few years of struggle and recovery for the artist, who was critically injured in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in August 2020.

“I haven’t really been paying much attention to anything that’s been going on in any scene in any genre of music or anywhere in the world,” says Brown, in a joint Zoom interview with Townes. “I’ve been trying to get back to myself and get over the depression and just live. The process of learning to walk when you don’t know if you’ll ever be able to walk again is detrimental. But I stayed positive throughout the process and kept people by my side that I can trust and be my confidants. In fact, it has allowed me to make new music, new sound bites, new songs, and to narrate my journey and my purpose above all else.”

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Brown was in the hospital for a month and bedridden for six months. He still has nerve damage affecting his left foot.

“I still go out on stage and have fun,” he says. “I make it look easy, but when I walk offstage I feel pain again.”

It’s a dramatic comeback story for Brown, who plans to head out on a headlining tour later in the fall. While he and Townes both hope to have some fun on stage on Sunday, they were also pretty low-key about what we could expect from the co-hosts.

“It’s a living, breathing adventure, we’re discovering it as we go along,” says Townes. “I’m excited to start the show in some respects together. So it’s going to be fun. Then we’ll find out what the rest of the night will be like. It’s going to be pretty surreal to get to do that with Blanco. I’m pretty excited.”

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“Stay tuned,” adds Brown.

Even if Tenille wasn’t co-hosting, Sunday would be a big night for the country star. She’s nominated for seven Canadian Country Music Association Awards, which means she could be taking up quite a bit of screen time beyond her hosting duties.

“I think it’s going to be an emotional roller coaster, of course,” says Townes. “Just to be there and to be the host, I am very nervous. I’m so excited, but I’ve never done anything like this before. I think it will be a good dose of adrenaline that will help me get through the night safely.”

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Townes has the most nominations of any artist in 2022, making it one of Canadian country music’s biggest stories of the year. She has been nominated for Artist of the Year, Fan Choice Award, Female Artist of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year, along with Steph Jones and David Pramik, for Girl Who Did n’t Care. That song is also nominated for single of the year and video of the year. Meanwhile, Christmas Time with Tenille Townes is nominated for Country Music Program or Special of the Year.

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“It’s very surreal and overwhelming in many ways,” says Townes. “I feel so grateful that I can wake up and do what I love to do. Music makes me feel less alone in this world. It’s a safe place to talk about a lot of feelings that I’m going through and hopefully open that invitation for anyone who listens to that song to find the same kind of comfort that the song comes from. To me, that means everything.”

The awards show will feature performances by Lindsay Ell, Dax, The James Barker Band, Gord Bamford, Meghan Patrick, Bailey Zimmerman, Jess Moskaluke, Tyler Joe Miller, SACHA, Tim Hicks, JoJo Mason, Jade Eagleson, High Valley, Brett Kissel with 98°, MacKenzie Porter, Dallas Smith and Townes herself.

Townes and Brown have crossed paths before in Nashville and both recently performed at Lasso Montreal last month.

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“I wanted so badly to be able to do this with Blanco,” says Townes. “I’m a big fan of his music and what he represents in his music. I am very honored to be a part of this, especially at home in Alberta.”

Neither artist will slow down after the CCMAs. Both have headlining tours booked. By coincidence, they are both headed to Australia after the awards.

Brown, who co-wrote songs with Pitbull, Fergie and 2Chainz before becoming a country artist, says his accident and long recovery have had a direct impact on his songwriting.

“If I am going to leave, what do I want to leave behind?” he says. “What is the main premise of my destiny and message? It has allowed me to delve a little deeper into the cracks of my mind in search of songs. But I still want to have fun with those songs. You might get something similar to Git Up, but not necessarily a dance record. It will be fun and funny, but I will also tell my truth and expose my narrative.”

The Canadian Country Music Association Awards will be held Sunday at the Saddledome.