BY ZACH CORMIER
A local country singer has earned himself national acclaim at this year’s Canadian Country Music Association awards in Halifax this past Sunday.
Gord Bamford of Lacombe brought home three of the six CCMA awards he was nominated for during the Association’s awards show at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
“I’m actually really shocked that I’m standing up here and that I’ve received these awards,” Bamford said during a post-show press conference. Bamford added because he’s currently working on a new album he didn’t expect to win many awards this time around.
“I didn’t feel any pressure coming into these awards. I was just coming in here as a fan to take part in it.”
Bamford hauled in the award for Male Artist of the Year, and Single of the Year for his song Where a Farm Used To Be. He also brought in the award for Songwriter of the Year for Where a Farm Used to Be, an honour that he shared with co-writers Buddy Owens and Phil O’Donnell.
“Every time it happens it’s like the best thing ever,” Bamford said.
He added because there is so much talent in Canadian country music, he always does his best to soak it all in. “I’m just trying to keep on my toes and do the best I can because there’s a bunch of them coming up behind that are going to have their time and their moment and my moment will be gone.”
The three awards bring Bamford’s total to 19 since he won his first one in 2008.
The country singer was also nominated for the Fan’s Choice Award, Video of the Year and Producer of the Year this year.
During the show, Bamford debuted a new single called Don’t Let Her be Gone, which is the first song off his upcoming album. The new album is set to be released in 2016.
“I wish I could say that I wrote that song but I didn’t but I’m very blessed that I’m the guy that gets to record it because I think that it could be the biggest song of my career to date,” he said about the new single.
During his time in Halifax, Bamford donated $10,000 to the IWK Health Centre’s Child Life Music Therapy program. His Gord Bamford Foundation raised a total of $508,000 during his annual Charity Golf Classic in Lacombe last month.
zcormier@lacombeexpress.com