Although he’s made a few appearances at the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs) in recent years, Flat Lake’s Brett Kissel says it wasn’t until this year that he truly felt like “one of the boys.”
This year’s CCMAs took place in Halifax, a stark contrast to the more recent locations in western Canada.
“This year’s CCMA awards had a great east coast vibe to it,” says Kissel, following the Sept. 13 national show. “It was special to get a little bit of the east coast lifestyle into my system.”
Kissel says he enjoyed this year’s show and was confident in the fact that he went into country music week with four nominations, and a feeling that he “belonged” there.
The Alberta musician was nominated for Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year (3-2-1), Video of the Year (Tough People Do), and Interactive Artist or Group of the Year.
In the end, he managed to snag one of the awards – Interactive Artist or Group of the Year. Kissel has a strong presence on social media, interacting with his fans in a personal way.
One of Kissel’s most notable and exciting moments of the past year was announced online via a fun post.
“Without a doubt, the biggest highlight is not a career highlight,” says Kissel, when asked about the big moments he’s experienced in the past year. “It’s the announcement of our pregnancy. My wife and I are expecting our first baby in the New Year, and we couldn’t be happier.”
Kissel also had the opportunity to perform on the Grand Ole Opry in 2015.
“Standing in that sacred circle, where all my heroes have stood before like Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks, and performing in front of a sold out crowd, well, words can’t describe how special of a moment that was.”
And somehow between promoting his last album, doing performances, attending awards shows, and expanding his family, Kissel has also found time to put together a new album called Pick Me Up, which was released earlier this month.
“The new album, Pick Me Up, is a project I’m extremely proud of. I truly feel it’s bigger and better than anything I’ve ever done and I’m excited to get it into the hands of country fans around the world,” says Kissel.
He says making the album was a lot of fun, “but a very interesting experience, simply because I was so nervous producing the record.” After the success of his first album with Warner Music, there was a lot of pressure to make sure that a second album was even better.
“Luckily, I feel like this second record blows the first one away,” says Kissel.
He says the song he is most proud of on the album is called “I Didn’t Fall in Love With Your Hair.” The song was written for his wife, Cecilia, but it is also for his mom, Brenda Kissel.
“My mom has battled cancer, and it’s for her. It’s performed from the perspective of a supportive boyfriend, husband, or son, expressing that it really is inner beauty that matters most.”
Kissel also took one of his new songs to the CCMAs. The single Airwaves has been doing well on radio, and he says it was a “huge thrill” to perform the song in Halifax.
As for the rest of the year, Kissel says, “I’ve never been busier, but I’ve also never been happier.” He is working on promoting his new album, and also getting ready for his first headlining tour across Canada.
He will be headlining just shy of 50 dates across Canada, stopping in every province and territory, making it a “truly Canadian tour.”
