Sunday's a big one for country musicians and their fans, including those right here in Buffalo.

We brought together four of Western New York's country western pros to predict the big winners for Sunday night's Academy of Country Music Awards. Scott Militello and Christian Kramer (both from the Heritage), Jason Urbaniak (West of the Mark) and Clay Moden (WYRK) joined Buffalo.com's Kat for a roundtable chat at Guitar Center on Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Buffalo's own WYRK is nominated for an ACM award, too, in the radio station of the year (medium market) category. Good luck to our local country connoisseurs.

Want to catch some country action locally? My colleague Kat gathered upcoming events from the local experts in the video. Here's what they have going on:

Scott Militello and Christian Kramer — The Heritage:

The Heritage is an American country rock band from Buffalo, made up of some widely experienced musicians from a variety of backgrounds. The guys have had fast success finding regular gigs around the Western New York area, and are really excited about the release of their latest CD “Home Again” which can be purchased through the Heritage’s
website. Come see them at the Buckin’ Buffalo on April 6 for their next big show.


Jason Urbaniak — West of the Mark:

Founded in 2004, West of the Mark is an award winning band from Buffalo that has opened for more than 30 national acts to date. This band has an energy on stage that draws even the non-country music fans in. With a collection of songs from the '90s through today, they appeal to large audiences with a sprinkle of standard favorites.

You can catch West of the Mark all over the WNY area from their packed show schedule.


Clay Moden — WYRK 106.5:

One of WYRK’s most popular on-air personalities, Clay Moden is a namesake in the local country music community. The radio host can be heard on 106.5 FM from 5:30 to 10 a.m Monday through Friday on “The Breakfast Club," as well as 6 to 9 a.m. Saturday mornings for “Wide Open County"

No stranger to good shows, WYRK is hosting its annual Taste of Country concert on June 1 at Coca-Cola Field. Joining headliner Eric Church will be Joe Nichols, The Eli Young band, Casey James and Dustin Lynch.

- S.J. Velasquez and Kat Przybyla