CCMA kick off kicks up boots with line dancing, Josh Stumpf in Saskatoon

Attendees at the Canadian Country Music Awards kickoff event had a boot-scootin’ time learning a group line dance and taking in some live music from a twice-nominated Saskatchewan country music artist.

Singer Josh Stumpf of Prince Albert — who is nominated for the fans’ choice and breakthrough artist or group of the year awards during the CCMA’s in Saskatoon this week — crooned some of his biggest hits to those gathered at Gather Local Market on Tuesday morning.

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From playing live on the stages of the Prince Albert Winter Festival to now, Stumpf admitted to still experiencing nerves before every performance. He said he’ll usually feel his heart race, but had a heightened sense of anxiety before performing this year at the Big Valley Jamboree music festival.

“There’s a lot of people, biggest stage I’ve ever been on before and I was like, ‘Wow, this is, like, a big deal, huh?’”

Prince Albert country artist Josh Stumpf performs in Saskatoon at Gather Local Market at the kick-off for CCMA Country Music Week 2026 on Sept. 15, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

He said he felt like he could’ve thrown up before that performance, which added to the nervousness of ensuring that didn’t happen once he started performing.

“That’s gonna look really bad, then,” Stumpf recalled thinking at the time, only half-jokingly.

Stumpf said he “got bit by the bug” when it came to music around the time he was deciding what he wanted to do with his life.

“I had a lot of ideas and nothing was really like, ‘the thing,’” he explained. “Then, I started really getting into music and playing more and writing, and having fun with it, and I realized how much I enjoyed it.”

Asking himself why he couldn’t just pursue music led to a “lucky and very blessed” road for the Saskatchewan artist. While working as a farmer in Smeaton, Stumpf would drive to The Capitol in Saskatoon to sing at open mics to “maybe five people at the bar.”

Eventually, some friends who were hosting those open-mic nights — Mark Poppen and Joel Gaudet — told Stumpf he had to record one of his songs.

“They financed it, they helped me,” Stumpf recalled. “They put me in touch with all the right people.”

The gamble paid off, and Stumpf signed on with MDM. Stumpf said, recounting the story, it still feels surreal to him every day.

This week, in the midst of performances and interviews in the lead-up to the awards on Saturday night, Stumpf is most excited to see so many country stars on Saskatchewan soil.

“It’s gonna be such a blast,” he said. “It’s just really exciting to see everybody in, like, my home. That’s the coolest part for me.

“There’s so much talent in Saskatchewan, I feel, like, that goes unrecognized.”

In spite of being a twice-nominated performer for this year’s awards, Stumpf said he feels a lot more comfortable with a mic and a guitar than he does in a line dance.

“My grandma taught me how to two-step at the farm,” he recalled. “That was so that I could go to the bar and I wouldn’t look like an idiot when I would go out, and I haven’t danced in a minute.”

He said he and his fiancee were at a wedding recently. Mid-two-step, he realized, “Man, we have lost it.”

“We gotta practice this again,” he joked to his partner. “We gotta stand in the living room or something.”

Saskatoon puts on its cowboy boots for Country Week

Familiar faces showed up all decked out in cowboy boots and hats to line dance on Tuesday, including Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block, Saskatchewan NDP MLAs Kim Breckner, Tajinder Grewal, Darcy Warrington, Don McBean and Matt Love, and Saskatchewan Party Minister of Advanced Education Ken Cheveldayoff.

Gainer the Gopher and two Saskatchewan Roughriders cheerleaders take in the festivities on Sept. 15, 2026 at Gather Local Market in Saskatoon. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Cheveldayoff jokingly addressed the NDP MLAs attending the event.

“Now, I know firsthand that they are good line dancers,” he said. “They’re pretty good. The only thing is, they tend to move too far to the left sometimes. But we’ll make sure that we bring them back and all of that.”

Block poked fun at Cheveldayoff, calling him out for not participating in the line dancing.

“I’m happy to challenge you,” the mayor teased.

Country artist Katelyn Lehner joined the festivities to sing her song “HOWL,” which was the song those in attendance line danced to throughout the morning.

Each attendee received a purple-and-white bandana, designed by Indigenous Saskatchewan artist Chris Chipak specifically for the CCMAs.