Two Red Deer Musicians have been nominated for Male Artist of the Year in the Alberta Country Music Awards.

For Steve Arsenault, just receiving a nomination is an achievement on its own: “I'm just happy they recognized my music and thought it was good enough to be represented in the male artist category.”

Arsenault first picked up the guitar when he was 17-years-old and living on Prince Edward Island. He made the move to Red Deer almost 20 years ago to take his music career further.

Arsenault says he’s been back and forth over the years; playing locally and across the country as an artist, and then taking a break from his solo work to play lead guitar for George Canyon.

“It was a great time, great experience. But I knew deep down I had to get back to doing my own thing,” he said

Over the years he’s released a few singles, but it wasn’t until last summer he first released his music to Canadian country radio. His latest two singles, Heart and Soul and Easy have both been picked up by more than a dozen stations.

“I just put music out and I hope people like it. It represents who I am.”

Ponoka native Jamie Woodfin is also in the running for male artist of the year.

He has been playing since his teenage years, when he was in a punk rock band, before moving into the country category as a songwriter in his twenties.

Woodfin said he and his bandmates have been working hard in the studio over the last year. They’ve also recently seen success in releasing music to Canadian country radio, and are being played coast to coast.

“It has really been an eye opener for us. It has been a real dream come true having a song actually get played on the radio,” Woodfin said.

Woodfin said he’s getting the opportunity to play at the awards show, something he hopes will be the next big step in his career.

“The last few years we've just seen a lot of things progressing, and really seeing things take off for us with music, and has been an exciting year,” Woodfin said. “To be nominated in a category with so many other great artists, it’s very humbling.”

Woodfin said he’s just happy to be involved with the awards show, alongside other talented musicians he’s looking forward to seeing.

There is a songwriter’s event Arsenault will be playing at Saturday at Bill Bobs. Tickets are on sale for $10 for the 18 or older event.

And Woodfin will be showcasing his talent from 1 to 3 p.m. during Fan Fest at Bower Place Shopping Centre on Sunday afternoon, before the awards get underway.

Both artists say 2017 is off to a good start with the upcoming awards. They’re also both working on new music to be released later this year.