NASHVILLE – More than 20 categories of 2023 CMA Touring Awards winners were lauded Feb. 12, 2024 at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. Hosted by Keith Urban, the event’s 900 attendees included Chris Stapleton, Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson and members of Old Dominion. Arpad Sayko was named FOH Engineer of the Year for his work with Chris Stapleton and Bryan “Opie” Baxley was named Monitor Engineer of the Year for his work with Kenny Chesney.
Clair Global took home the inaugural award for Support Services Company of the Year, and the first Backline Technician of the Year Award went to Joel “Tico” Jimenez for his work with Thomas Rhett. Other new awards categories included Stage Manager of the Year and Unsung Hero of the Year. The late Ron Baird, former head of CAA’s Nashville office, was also honored posthumously with the CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award.
Along with the awards for a record-setting 2023 touring season, CMA also unveiled its new Touring Mentorship Program for seven key roles: Tour Manager, Band Leader/Musician, Production Manager, Production Assistant, Front of House Engineer, Monitor Engineer and Lighting Director/Designer. As part of the six-month program, participants will engage in monthly mentor and mentee meetings and gain access to opportunities for shadowing and projects in the field. The program comes as a result of CMA’s continued dedication to the growth and well-being of the touring community in Country and beyond.
2023 CMA Touring Awards – CATEGORIES, Winners and Nominees
CREW OF THE YEAR
“All-American Road Show Tour” Crew – Chris Stapleton
- “The Outsiders Revival Tour” Crew – Eric Church
- “I Go Back Tour” Crew – Kenny Chesney
- “Country On Tour” Crew – Luke Bryan
- “2023 World Tour” Crew – Luke Combs
- “One Night At A Time World Tour” Crew – Morgan Wallen
- “No Bad Vibes Tour” Crew – Old Dominion
- “Home Team Tour 23” Crew – Thomas Rhett
BACKLINE TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR
Joel “Tico” Jimenez – Thomas Rhett
- Jason Baskin – Zac Brown Band
- Melvin “Melvis” Fults – Kenny Chesney
- Carlos Gutierrez – Dierks Bentley
- Jason Herndon – Blake Shelton
- Jeremiah Langdon – Jelly Roll
- Chris Miller – Keith Urban
- Zach Rickard – Brothers Osborne
BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
- Renee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc.
- David Boyer – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
- Catherine Moore – Farris, Self & Moore, LLC
- Caleb See – Curo Financial, LLC
- Michael Vaden – Vaden Group/Elliott Davis
- Kris Wiatr – Wiatr & Associates, LLC
COACH/TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR
Erin Siegfried – Lainey Wilson
- Ronnie Brown – Zac Brown Band
- Josh Easter – Morgan Wallen
- Rhett Evens – Thomas Rhett
- Caleb Garrett – Luke Bryan
- Justin Pullin – Old Dominion
- Chris Simms – Jelly Roll
- Wayne “Wayno” Sullivan – Blake Shelton/Keith Urban
FOH (FRONT OF HOUSE) ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Arpad Sayko – Chris Stapleton
- Brendan Hines – Jelly Roll
- Aaron Lain – Morgan Wallen
- Todd Lewis – Luke Combs
- Ben Rigby – Eric Church
- Trey Smith – Thomas Rhett
- Ian Zorbaugh – Old Dominion
LIGHTING DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Mac Mosier – Chris Stapleton
- Zac Coren – Morgan Wallen
- Philip Ealy – Kenny Chesney
- Kevin Lichty – Old Dominion
- Kevin Northrup – Luke Combs
- Taylor Price – Miranda Lambert
- Austin Strain – Jelly Roll
- Alec Takahashi – Thomas Rhett
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Mandelyn Monchick – Red Light Management
- Narvel Blackstock – Starstruck Entertainment
- Virginia Bunetta – G-Major Management
- Martha Earls – Neon Coast
- Kerri Edwards – KP Entertainment
- Clint Higham – Morris Higham Management
- Marion Kraft – ShopKeeper Management
- John Peets – Q Prime South
MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Bryan “Opie” Baxley – Kenny Chesney
- Mark Davis – Jelly Roll
- Logan Hanna – Brothers Osborne
- Andy Hill – Zac Brown Band
- Nathan Lowe – Eric Church
- Jimmy Nicholson – Thomas Rhett
- Dean Studebaker – Old Dominion
- Scott Tatter – Dierks Bentley
PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR
John Garriott – Chris Stapleton
- Chris Alderman – Blake Shelton
- Meesha Kosciolek – Eric Church
- Erik Leighty – Miranda Lambert
- Chris Nathan – Jake Owen
- Earl Neal – Jason Aldean
- Kevin Twist – Thomas Rhett
- Ed Wannebo – Kenny Chesney
PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR
Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom PR
- Janet Buck – Essential Broadcast Media
- Paul Freundlich – PFA Media
- Quinn Kaemmer – Big Machine Label Group
- Carla Sacks – Sacks & Co.
- Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt Public Relations
- Wes Vause – Press On Publicity
- Jennifer Vessio – 1220 Entertainment Publicity
STAGE MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Todd Green – Chris Stapleton
- Sam “Sambo” Coats – Eric Church
- Donnie Floyd – Morgan Wallen
- Matt Hornbeck – Luke Combs
- Josh “Dude” Marcus – Jason Aldean
- Tom Nisun – Kenny Chesney
- Richard Rossey – Old Dominion
- Justin Sumrall – Thomas Rhett
SUPPORT SERVICES COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Clair Global
- 4 Wall Entertainment
- Dega Catering
- Master Tour by Eventric
- Moo TV
- Richards & Southern
TALENT AGENT OF THE YEAR
Jay Williams – WME
- Meredith Jones – CAA
- Joey Lee – WME
- Jonathan Levine – Wasserman Music
- Darin Murphy – CAA
- Adi Sharma – The Neal Agency
- Aaron Tannenbaum – WME
- Elisa Vazzana – UTA
TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Louis Messina – The Messina Group
- Bradley Jordan – Peachtree Entertainment
- Patrick McDill – Live Nation Nashville
- Rich Schaefer – AEG Presents
- Aaron Spalding – Live Nation Nashville
- Ed Warm – Joe’s Concerts
- Adam Weiser – AEG Presents
TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Meg Miller – Lainey Wilson
- Matt Anderson – Old Dominion
- Jason Hecht – Chris Stapleton
- Luke Holton – Brothers Osborne
- Chuck Hull – Keith Urban
- Ethan Strunk – Luke Combs
- Chris Thacker – Dierks Bentley
- Jon Townley – Thomas Rhett
TOURING MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar) – Chris Stapleton/Vince Gill
- Rob Byus (Bass Guitar) – Blake Shelton
- Ben Helson (Guitar) – Dierks Bentley
- Lee Hendricks (Bass Guitar) – Eric Church
- Harmoni Kelley (Bass Guitar) – Kenny Chesney
- Chris Kimmerer (Drums) – Thomas Rhett
- Danny Mitchell (Piano) – Miranda Lambert
- Kurt Ozan (Guitar) – Luke Combs
TOUR VIDEOGRAPHER/PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
CeCe Dawson – Lainey Wilson
- Mason Allen – Old Dominion
- Andy Barron – Chris Stapleton
- Zach Belcher – Dierks Bentley
- David Bergman – Luke Combs
- Tanner Gallagher – HARDY
- Grayson Gregory – Thomas Rhett
- Andy Pollitt – Jelly Roll
TOUR VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Chris Jones – Jelly Roll
- Josh Clark – Miranda Lambert
- Jay Cooper – Kenny Chesney
- Houston Creswell – Dierks Bentley
- Ron Etters – Chris Stapleton
- Nate Fountain – Zach Bryan/Blake Shelton
- Ricky Krohne – Thomas Rhett
- Michael Todd “M.T.” Stembridge – Eric Church
VENUE OF THE YEAR
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
- Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN
- BankNH Pavilion – Gilford, NH
- Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
- Choctaw Casino Resort – Durant, OK
- Grand Ole Opry House – Nashville, TN
- Joe’s on Weed Street – Chicago, IL
- Paycom Center – Oklahoma City, OK
UNSUNG HERO OF THE YEAR
Kelsey Maynard – Old Dominion Assistant Tour Manager
- Dallas Bowshier – Eric Church
- Josh Castle – Dierks Bentley
- RJ Estrella – Luke Combs
- Kayla Carter Greear – Luke Bryan
- Todd Molle – Jake Owen
- Mel Murphy – Live Nation Nashville
- Tyler Rhodes – Thomas Rhett
