Emerson Drive

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The 2010 Line-up

Playing

Friday Jun 11 3:00 PM on Fan Club Parties (Add'l cost may apply. Check w/ fan club.)
Saturday Jun 12 11:45 AM on Riverfront Park Stage

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2027 CMA Music Fest 2010 fans added this band.

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Emerson Drive

Emerson Drive is a Grammy Award-nominated Canadian country music band which started out in Grande Prairie, Alberta in 1995 as 12 Gauge. The band is composed of Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (lead guitar), Mike Melancon (drums), Dale Wallace (keyboards), and David Pichette (fiddle). Former bass guitarist Patrick Bourque committed suicide in late 2007, and has not been replaced with an official bass guitarist.

Early on, the band found minor success in Canada, releasing two albums under the name of 12 Gauge, the first Open Season was a product of winning a local ""Battle of the Bands"" contest. They charted two minor singles on the Canadian charts and a music video on CMT. By 2003, they had been re-named Emerson Drive, and had moved to Nashville, Tennessee to find a major label record deal. Emerson Drive recorded two albums on the DreamWorks Records label, and charted several hits on both the U.S. and Canadian country music charts. After DreamWorks' collapse in 2005, Emerson Drive signed to Midas Records Nashville, where they resumed their streak of hit singles, including their first Number One single in ""Moments"". In summer 2008, Midas Records decided to discontinue their country division. As a result, Emerson Drive was moved over to The Valory Music Co. and the CD which Emerson Drive had been working on, Believe, became a co-partnership with Midas Records, who kept ownership of the CD while The Valory Music Co. was in charge of promotion and distribution of Emerson Drive and Believe.

They received the 2002 Billboard Music Award for NewThe band scored their first #1 in 2007 with the single “Moments”. Emerson Drive has also been nominated for ACM and CMA Group of the Year in 2007 and a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2008.