The Québec country music community gathered at the Mont Tremblant Casino on Oct. 20, 2018, for the sixth edition of the annual Gala Country, hosted by MC Gilles. A total of 13 awards were handed out during an evening celebrating the success of Canada’s Francophone country music artists in the past year.
Amélie Hall won the SOCAN-sponsored Song of the Year Award, for her song “Au bout du monde” (“To the Ends of the Earth”), published by Éditions Art illimité and Les Cent noms. The Acadian artist – who also won Best Album of Original Material of the Year, and shared the Songwriter of the Year honour with Danny Boudreau – received a $1,000 cash prize, and a stay at the SOCAN House in Nashville.
Among the evening’s other winners were:
- Guylaine Tanguay (Covers Album and Female Artist of the Year);
- Héra Ménard (Breakthrough Artist of the Year);
- Véronique Labbé (RadioShow of the Year);
- Patrick Norman (TV Show of the Year);
- Alex & Caro (Band of the Year);
- Laurie LeBlanc (Male Artist and Live Show of the Year);
- Festival Western de St-Tite (Promoter of the Year); and
- Yoan (People’s Choice Award).
The Gala Country provided the finale for the Célébration Culture Country, the inaugural edition of a gathering of industry stakeholders for three days of training sessions, showcases, and award presentations in Mont Tremblant. Geneviève Côté, SOCAN’s Chief of Québec Affairs, and David Charest, Account Manager, Member Services, presented a workshop on copyright hosted by Sébastien Charest, a copyright management consultant, and including representatives from ARTISTI and SOPROQ.
For more details about the 2018 Gala Country, visit the Culture Country website. (French only)