09/07/2026
Turner Bates is a 20-year-old country singer-songwriter from Cochrane, Alberta, and the North American Country Music Association International 2026 winner for Male Entertainer of the Year and Song of the Year π. In 2020, mid-pandemic, he was diagnosed with epilepsy after a series of tonic-clonic seizures, a diagnosis that upended his independence more than once, including a breakthrough seizure that cost him his driver's license just after he'd earned it.
Music became his way through it. He wrote "Fight The Storm" about living with epilepsy and mental health. In a conversation with the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance, Turner shared these words, a reminder that epilepsy doesn't get to write his ending. He keeps writing, performing, and raising awareness for his community, one stage at a time. π