country strong

Kit Andrew was at a Toby Keith concert in 2009 when he first realized the massive drawing power of country music in Canada.
"I'd never been a huge country fan, but then, right under my nose -- 45 minutes north from where I live -- I saw thousands and thousands of people jam this show that had barely been reported," says Andrew, founder of the Country Music Festival, a three-day concert beginning Aug. 26 outside of Barrie, Ont.
"My kids talk about Taylor Swift like this pop superstar, and I realized she also came from this country world. I knew this was an untapped market that was only getting hotter and hotter."
Indeed, in today's pop-music market -- where Blake Shelton sits beside Christina Aguilera on NBC's The Voice, and Lady Antebellum competes for record sales with Lady Gaga -- country music is no longer ignored by America's mainstream media. However, while critics continue to spill ink on rock bands such as Arcade Fire and pop acts such as Justin Bieber, Canada's largest country musicians often go ignored.
With the Canadian Country Music Awards slated for Hamilton, Ont., on Sept. 12, it's time for that tune to change.
The most popular country musician in Canada today is undoubtedly Johnny Reid. A 36-year-old from Scotland who was raised in Brampton, Ont., Reid was not only nominated for the country-music prize at this year's Juno Awards, but was also nominated for both artist and album of the year.
"Neil Young, Drake, Justin Bieber and Johnny Reid? Believe me, I know there were a lot of people saying, 'Who's Johnny Reid?'" says Reid, reached on a tour stop in Newfoundland the morning after performing for 10,000 fans. "Country artists may look at that and feel frustrated, but I see it as an opportunity. I sold more than a million records in Canada, and lots of people still don't know who I am."
Reid said Canadian country stars can compete with the big American names.
"There have been disbelievers: 'Can a Canadian bring in the crowds that an American can draw?' But I think we cannot only stand on the same stage as these people, but we can take it to a level above them," says Reid, taking pride by following the well-worn boot prints of Canadian country legends such as Ian Tyson and Stompin' Tom Connors. "We bring in American acts and pay them Canadian money, but there's great Canadian talent that we need to celebrate."
For Don Green, executive director of the Canadian Country Music Association, that celebration sounds sweet. Green, previously a marketing VP at Bell Canada, was hired last year by the CCMA with a simple mandate: introduce Canadian country music to a broader spectrum of fans.
"I treat this as a product, so how can I build brand awareness and get it out to more people?" says Green, adding that CBC's broadcast of the Canadian Country Music Awards has attracted more than a million viewers for the past two years. "Every province has its own CCMA association -- Quebec launched in January -- and the music's not just in western Calgary and Edmonton. We're building the industry, because we believe it has plenty more room to grow."
It's been a few years since Kit Andrew took in his first Toby Keith performance. Indeed, he's spent the time in between booking country music's largest acts to his inaugural festival at the end of this month. But he's betting that the sky's the limit for Canada's appetite for country music. Even if the artists aren't trending on Twitter, there are still crowds of people lining up for their shows.
"Country-music fans are maybe quiet about their music; they're not jumping up and down and pumping their fists, but we've seen an extraordinary level of excitement," Andrew says. "It's not just the people driving up in pickup trucks and wearing cowboy boots. They're wearing business suits. We're seeing a lot of closet country