Country Music Association announces 2023 Touring Awards Nominees, Keith Urban to host

The CMA touring awards are back, announcing 2023 nominees that are vital members of the behind-the-scenes country music touring scene. From tour managers to truck drivers and front of house engineers, the awards ceremony aims to honors those who make the onstage magic happen with hard work behind the curtains.

The awards ceremony, which will take place on Feb. 12 in Nashville, will again be hosted by country singer Keith Urban.

Urban said, "As someone who spent years not only setting up all my own equipment at shows, but was also for a time a lighting guy and crew member for a band, I know the hard work that goes in to keeping shows on the road.

"I’m honored to once again be asked to host the CMA Touring Awards and acknowledge and shower some love on all the hard workers behind the scenes that make it all happen," he said.

At the ceremony, the former head of Creative Arts Agency’s (CAA) Nashville office, Ron Baird, will also be honored and posthumously presented with the CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor is given to an industry professional who has significantly contributed to the growth of country music touring in their career.

Here are 2023's CMA Touring Awards nominees.

The 2023 CMA Touring Awards full list of 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:

• Jason Baskin – Zac Brown Band

• Melvin “Melvis” Fults – Kenny Chesney

• Carlos Gutierrez – Dierks Bentley

• Jason Herndon – Blake Shelton

• Joel “Tico” Jimenez – Thomas Rhett

• Jeremiah Langdon – Jelly Roll

• Chris Miller – Keith Urban

• Zach Rickard – Brothers Osborne

Business Manager of the Year:

• Renee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc.

• David Boyer – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.

• Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.

• Catherine Morris – 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:

• Ronnie Brown – Zac Brown Band

• Josh Easter – Morgan Wallen

• Rhett Evens – Thomas Rhett

• Caleb Garrett – Luke Bryan

• Justin Pullin – Old Dominion

• Erin Siegfried – Lainey Wilson

• Chris Simms – Jelly Roll

• Wayne “Wayno” Sullivan – Blake Shelton/Keith Urban

FOH (Front of House) Engineer of the Year:

• Brendan Hines – Jelly Roll

• Aaron Lain – Morgan Wallen

• Todd Lewis – Luke Combs

• Ben Rigby – Eric Church

• Arpad Sayko – Chris Stapleton

• Trey Smith – Thomas Rhett

• Ian Zorbaugh – Old Dominion

Lighting Director of the Year:

• Zac Coren – Morgan Wallen

• Philip Ealy – Kenny Chesney

• Kevin Lichty – Old Dominion

• Mac Mosier – Chris Stapleton

• Kevin Northrup – Luke Combs

• Taylor Price – Miranda Lambert

• Austin Strain – Jelly Roll

• Alec Takahashi – Thomas Rhett

Manager of the Year:

• 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

• Mandelyn Monchick – Red Light 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:

• Chris Alderman – Blake Shelton

• John Garriott – Chris Stapleton

• 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:

• Janet Buck – Essential Broadcast Media

• Paul Freundlich – PFA Media

• Quinn Kaemmer – Big Machine Label Group

• Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom PR

• Carla Sacks – Sacks & Co.

• Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt Public Relations

• Wes Vause – Press On Publicity

• Jennifer Vessio – 1220 Entertainment Publicity

Stage Manager of the Year:

• Sam “Sambo” Coats – Eric Church

• Donnie Floyd – Morgan Wallen

• Todd Green – Chris Stapleton

• 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:

• 4 Wall Entertainment

• Clair Global

• Dega Catering

• Master Tour by Eventric

• Moo TV

• Richards & Southern

Talent Agent of the Year:

• Meredith Jones – CAA

• Joey Lee – WME

• Jonathan Levine – Wasserman Music

• Darin Murphy – CAA

• Adi Sharma – The Neal Agency

• Aaron Tannenbaum – WME

• Elisa Vazzana – UTA

• Jay Williams – WME

Talent Buyer/Promoter of the Year:

• Bradley Jordan – Peachtree Entertainment

• Patrick McDill – Live Nation Nashville

• Louis Messina – The Messina Group

• Rich Schaefer – AEG Presents

• Aaron Spalding – Live Nation Nashville

• Ed Warm – Joe’s Concerts

• Adam Weiser – AEG Presents

Tour Manager of the Year:

• Matt Anderson – Old Dominion

• Jason Hecht – Chris Stapleton

• Luke Holton – Brothers Osborne

• Chuck Hull – Keith Urban

• Meg Miller – Lainey Wilson

• Ethan Strunk – Luke Combs

• Chris Thacker – Dierks Bentley

• Jon Townley – Thomas Rhett

Touring Musician of the Year:

• Rob Byus (Bass Guitar) – Blake Shelton

• Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar) – Chris Stapleton/Vince Gill

• 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:

• Mason Allen – Old Dominion

• Andy Barron – Chris Stapleton

• Zach Belcher – Dierks Bentley

• David Bergman – Luke Combs

• CeCe Dawson – Lainey Wilson

• Tanner Gallagher – HARDY

• Grayson Gregory – Thomas Rhett

• Andy Pollitt – Jelly Roll

Tour Video Director of the Year:

• Josh Clark – Miranda Lambert

• Jay Cooper – Kenny Chesney

• Houston Creswell – Dierks Bentley

• Ron Etters – Chris Stapleton

• Nate Fountain – Zach Bryan/Blake Shelton

• Chris Jones – Jelly Roll

• Ricky Krohne – Thomas Rhett

• Michael Todd “M.T.” Stembridge – Eric Church

Venue of the Year:

• 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

• Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO

Unsung Hero of the Year:

• Dallas Bowsier – Eric Church

• Josh Castle – Dierks Bentley

• RJ Estrella – Luke Combs

• Kayla Carter Greear – Luke Bryan

• Kelsey Maynard – Old Dominion

• Todd Molle – Jake Owen

• Mel Murphy – Live Nation Nashville

• Tyler Rhodes – Thomas Rhett

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Keith Urban to host Country Music Association 2023 Touring Awards