By Greg Nikkel
Singer Tenille Arts, a native of Weyburn who now lives and works in Nashville, Tenn., is writing and recording new songs, and is preparing to head to London, Ont., to take part in the Discovery Week program for the Canadian Country Music Association, a week that will culminate in the CCMA Awards.
Tenille is nominated for a Discovery Award also, and is excited to be a part of the celebrations and performances of this event.
She spent a week in Toronto in April as part of the Music Industry Discovery Week, an intensive training program as part of the CCMA Discovery program, where she was able to meet industry professionals, producers and some fellow artists. The training time included working with a performance coach and a vocal coach.
“It was a pretty busy schedule, with full days meeting with different professionals,” she said, noting the time included doing interviews for Country Music Television.
“A lot of that week was preparing us and getting ready for the big Discovery showcase in London,” she added. “I’m really excited for the showcase. I made a lot of good friends with that training week.”
She will be taking part in the Country Music Week which will run prior to the CCMA awards, from Sept. 8-11, with a performance on stage in front of music industry representatives and fans. From the six artists taking part in the Discovery showcase, one will be chosen for the CCMA Discovery Award at the gala dinner and awards.
“The CCMA have been so great in promoting our music and who we are as artists,” said Tenille, adding this whole process has been invaluable in getting her exposed to fans and to the music industry.
A part of the Discovery program was also being paired up with a mentor, and her mentor was singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson, with whom she’s been able a good connection, plus during the training week she was able to meet country singer Dallas Smith, who shared some time with the artists during one get-together.
She noted her story and Carolyn’s were similar in some ways, including the time of year when they first arrived in Nashville to start living and working there, and with some of the things that have happened in their respective careers.
“The CCMA set us up together, and I got to ask her any questions I had about the industry,” said Tenille, going on to describe the surprise meeting with Smith.
“They kind of surprised us at one of our dinners. I had seen him in our hotel and wondered if we would get to meet him, and he just walked in and sat at our table. We got to ask him different questions about his experiences, and he told how he got into country music,” said Tenille. “We also got to play some of our songs for them. I played two of my original songs for him, and he kind of offered some comments. He told us if we have more questions to contact him any time.”
Back in Nashville, Tenille is writing songs every day, and has been getting opportunities to do some recording as well, and promises fans she will be making a big announcement about an upcoming project after the CCMA event is held.
“It’s just great being in Nashville. Everyone’s really focussed on making music. I’ve had opportunities to write with some of my idols. It’s exciting to sit with them writing and creating music,” she said, adding as a music fan, one could see a show every single night somewhere in Nashville.
She has also enjoyed making posts on her social media outlets, and keeping in touch with her fans and friends that way, and has stayed in constant contact with her family in Weyburn.
“I just want to say a thank-you to Weyburn for supporting me all these years. It’s exciting for people to see how much my music has grown and changed,” said Tenille.
