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Artists Worth Checking Out indie music LA Music Critic Awards

Nominations for first half of 2019 (Updated)

This transition has been kicking our butts.  So sorry it has taken us so long to announce the nominations for the LA Music Critic Awards for the first half of 2019, but with the new job and long hours, there hasn’t been a lot of free time.  Not only that, we are still crashing at our brother’s house, so we have to work off the laptop instead of the desktop.  Thanks for your patience while we work things out.

As always, fans are encouraged to vote for the Fan Favorite Award.  To vote for your favorite,  simply leave a comment below in the following format:  “I vote for (name of artist) for Fan Favorite.”  No other comments will be counted toward the Fan Favorite Award, and each reader may only vote once.   Comments made on other social media sites will not count.

Fans are also encouraged to comment on other award nominations, and those comments will be reviewed by the Awards committee.  However, they will not count for the Fan Favorite Award unless the comment specifically says that the artist is being nominated for the Fan Favorite Award. 

The deadline for voting for the Fan Favorite Award is Wednesday, August 28, 2019, at midnight CDT.  The full list of winners will be announced at 2 p.m. CDT on Friday,August 30, 2019.

Without further delay, here are the nominations.

BEST EP (Male) – PAehNE (beautyandpain Part 1), Shayfer James (Hope and a Hand Grenade), Shane Guerrette (Shane Guerrette)

BEST EP (Female) – Ariel Gold (Grace), Kat Holland (Retrovision)

BEST EP (Group) – NIIGHTS (Hellebores Part One & Two), Illiterate Light (Sweet Beast), Ballroam Boxer (A Little Wild), The Reverend Shawn Amos (Kitchen Table Blues Vol. 1)

BEST EP (International Artist) – Marcus Haran (A True Story:  A Soundscape to In-Difference)

BEST EP (International Group) –The Fisherman & The Sea (The Hurt & the Humour), Brother Brad (Get Around), Leading Edge (Ghost), Jet Plane (Falls Feather), Iridea (Agitationist)

BEST CD (Male) – Joshua Powell (Psycho/Tropic), Chris Koza (Sleepwalkers Part 1), The Suitcase Junket (Mean Dog Trampoline), Tony Campanella (Taking it to the Streets)

BEST CD (Female) – Kathryn Grimm (Blues Tools), Susan Santos (No U Turn), Sydney Wright (Seiche); Diana Rein (Queen of my Castle)

BEST CD (Group) – Cold Weather Company (Find Light), The Empty Pockets (Tanglewoods), Jeffrey Halford & the Healers (West Towards South), Authority Zero (Persona Non Grata), WANK (White Knuckle Ride)

BEST CD (International Artist) – Ronny Morris (Sweet Silence), Kinnie Starr (Feed the Fire)

BEST CD (International Group) –Bahuki (Tell it to the Worms), LeBarons (Summer of Death),

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Jerad Finck (“Home”), Banners (“Got it in You”), Keaton Simons (“A Chance in the World”), Fred Hostetler (“Heart Radio Part 1”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) –Diana Rein (“Queen of my Castle”), Kensington Moore (“I Don’t Like you Anymore”), Brooke Moriber (“Cry Like a Girl”), Dayla (“Closer”), Alice Wallace (“The Blue”), Kris Angelis (“Reappear”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – Riddle the Sphinx (“Lullaby”), Falling Through April (“Recover // Relapse”), Aly & AJ (“Church”), We Three (“Lifeline”), The Spear Shakers (“Leaving it all Behind”), Taco Mouth (“The White House”)

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – Kevin McHale (“Help Me Now”), Paige Peel (“The Crown”), Jess McAvoy (“Do What you Want”), Whisperado (“Band One Out”)

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Red Wanting Blue and Liz Brasher (“I Got a Feeling it Hurts”), Americana Kitchen Band (“All Dressed Up”)

BEST VIDEO (COVER) – Cherié Currie & Brie Darling (“The Motivator”), PaperDolls Band (“Billy”), Fuel on Fire (“With or Without You”), Olivia Millerschin (“New Year’s Day”)

BEST VIDEO (INTERNATIONAL) – Girl Crush (“Blame Girls”), Ivan and the Parazol (“When I was 17”), Augustine (“Luzon”)

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Titus Calderbank (“Mistakes”), Rusty Young (“Listen to Your Heart”), Keifer Sutherland (“Something to Love”), Tony Lucca (“Restless Heart”), Aqualung (“Complicated”)

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Chanel Lóran (“Pretend”), Car Astor (“Hush”), Eden Espinosa (“Bed for 2”), Lucy Gallant (“Not Normal”), Brigitte Purdy (“Blue Collar Woman”), Kat Holland (“The One”)

BEST SINGLE (Group) – The Rembrandts (“Broken Toy”), West Coast Weekend (“Heart Attack”), Cherié Currie & Brie Darling (“The Motivator”), Southern Halo (“Sunshine”), Skiver (“No Goodbyes”)

BEST SINGLE (INTERNATIONAL) – The Black Fever (“No Work”), Theo Bard (“The Gift”), Belle and the Beats (“Qetesh”), Straw (“Perfectly Fine”), Philip la Rosa (“Fable”)

BEST SINGLE (COLLABORATION) – William Shatner, Jeff Cook & Neal McCoy (“Why Not Me”)

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Diana Rein, The Reverend Shawn Amos, Kathryn Grimm, Susan Santos, Niecie, Vin Mott, Tony Campanella

BEST BLUES BAND – Benny Turner & Cash McCall, Dee Miller Band, Tiffany Pollack & Eric Johanson, Trevor B. Power Band, Head Honchos, Karen Lawrence and Blue by Nature

BEST BLUEGRASS ARTIST/BAND – Balsam Range, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Cleverlys

BEST COLLABORATION – Al Jourgensen & Beauty in Choas, Americana Kitchen Band, Ali Handal and Debby Holiday

BEST COMEBACK ARTIST – Aqualung, The Rembrandts, Cherié Currie & Brie Darling

BEST COMPILATION ALBUM – Born to Uke (Various Artists)

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Jimmy Charles, Kamber Cain

BEST COUNTRY BAND – Lowdown Drifters, The Vegabonds, Cliffs and Caves

BEST EDM/DANCE ARTIST/BAND – Dree Patterson, Kim Cameron, Blue Angels, Lavender Fields, Daiju, TNEO

BEST FOLK ARTIST – Joshua Powell, Chris Peace, David Huckfelt

BEST FOLK BAND –   Bettman & Halpin, Eric Brace Peter Cooper & Thomm Jutz, Cold Weather Company, The Empty Pockets, The Well Pennies

BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST –Ronny Morris, Kinney Starr, Marcus Haran, Will Jacobs

BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND –Belle and the Beats, Straw, The Black Fever, Iridea, The Fisherman & The Sea

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ARTIST/BAND – Tommy Emmanuel & John Knowles, Hugh Marsh

BEST JAZZ ARTIST/BAND – The Odd Dogs, The Charlie Wooton Project

BEST LATIN ARTIST/BAND – Orkesta Mendoza, Constanza Herrero

BEST POP ARTIST – Eden Espinosa, Sydney Wright, Derek Smallman, PAehNE, Sarra

BEST POP BAND – We Three, Royal Canoe, Bahuki

BEST POP/ROCK ARTIST/BAND – Curtis Peoples, Car Astor, Tony Lucca, Jordan Siwek

BEST PUNK ARTIST/BAND – Taco Mouth

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST/BAND –Waxcat, Billy Price

BEST ALT ROCK ARTIST/BAND – Illiterate Light, Neverwonder

BEST ROCK ARTIST/BAND –Beauty in Chaos, After-Death Plan, Odds Lane, Cherié Currie & Brie Darling

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST – Billy Craig, Chris Koza, Ted Russell Kamp, Alice Wallace, Jason Robert

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – Jeffrey Halford & the Healers, Harrison Country, Jason Robert Band

BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER – Ariel Gold, Melissa Phillips, Fred Hostetler

RISING STAR –Katile, Rachel Ariana, Amy Wilcox, Chelsea Williams

FAN FAVORITE – Your choice goes here

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Awards LA Music Critic Awards Women in Entertainment

Announcement of nominations for LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2018 (updated)

It’s finally here.  We are so proud to announce this amazing list of nominations for the LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2018.  We culled through 461 CDs and EPs from around the globe, and an equal number of singles and music videos to create what we believe is one of the most diverse group of musicians in the world.

The committee votes on all nominations except the Fan Favorite, where you the reader get to choose your favorite performer.  In order to vote, you must leave a comment below.  Votes left on social media do not count.  The deadline for voting is December 28, and the winners of the awards will be announced on January 4, 2019.  Please remember that you cannot nominate an artist who has already won this award.

Without further adieu, here are the nominations:

BEST EP (Male) – Wolfe Jackson (Nobody Knows Me (Better Than You)); Trevor Douglas (Four in the Morning), Zach Callison (A Picture Perfect Hollywood Heartbreak), Ben de la Cour (The High Cost of Living Strange), Alex Riddle (Snow White)

BEST EP (Female) – Frankie Simone (Love Warrior); Mariel Austin (Runner in the Rain); Lauren Jaimes (Here to Stay), Leslie Nuss (The Album V)

BEST EP (Group) – Shelby Texas (We are Shelby, Texas); Small Million (Young Fools); Paper Gliders (Trials), Heartspank (II), PublicArt (Modernika), Neverwonder (self-titled)

BEST EP (International Artist) – Paolo Preite (An Eye on the World); Jon Mullane (Singles); Valerio Lysander (We are Like Colored Moths Towards the Sunlight); Matty T Wall (Sidewinder); Abby Zotz (Local Honey)

BEST EP (International Group) – Delta Will (Multitudes I); The Fisherman & The Sea (I Can’t Alone); CAP ON. (Be Better Than Jeff), thisquietarmy (The Body and the Earth), The Spanish Flies (Good Things Come to Those Who Wait)

BEST CD (Male) – Slim Gambill (Fake Jazz); Doran Danoff (King of Crown City); Ken Sharp (Beauty in the Backseat); Jeffrey Foucault (War on the Radio); Jordan Siwek (Sun Inside You); Hadden Sayers (Dopamine Machine)

BEST CD (Female) – Deb Ryder (Enjoy the Ride); Rachel Sage (Myopia); Tammie Shannon (All of Me); Bridget Rios Purdy (Still I Rise); Gina Sicilia (Heard the Lie); K. Michelle Dubois (Autumn)

BEST CD (Group) – The Furious Seasons (Now Residing Abroad); Broken Bellows (I, Kaleidoscope); Post Season (self-titled); Birds and Arrows (Arbitrary Magic); The Dream Logic (Liquid Sunshine)

BEST CD (International Artist) – Leeroy (Burn to Ashes), Dustin Tebbutt (Chasing Gold), Kate Reid (The Heart Already Knows), Hollie Haines (Letters to my Last Love), Zsuzsika (Start Again)

BEST CD (International Group) – Hymn for Her (Pop-n-Downers); VNV Nation (Noire); Neville & Sugary Staple (Rude Rebels); Crack of Dawn (self-titled); Norway Reloaded (My Longest Mile)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Michael Peterson (“From Here to Eternity”), Colin Devlin (“High Point”), Kramies (“The Hill Dweller”), Everlast (“Don’t Complain”), Van Bobbi (“Kickdrum Heartbeat”), **Jason Robert/Stone Stanley (“Mr. Bell”)** Inadvertently left off list

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) – Alana Sweetwater (“Gotta Get Up”), Nuela Charles (“Danger”), Lauren Duski (“Costume Party”), Tiffany Young (“Teach You”), Dree Mon (“Dance Like I Want To”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – Satellite Citi (“Collide”), Fanny Walked the Earth (“When we Need Her”), The Guess Who (“Playin on the Radio”), Honey River (“Peace, Love”), Roan Yellowthorn (“Talk About It”), JP Soars (“Southbound I-95”)

BEST VIDEO (FOR A CAUSE) – Lora Kelley (“Good Men Don’t Hurt You”), Kim Kline (“Stand Tall”), No Small Children (“I’m so Concerned”), Sofia Evangelina (“This is Your Song”), Aijia (“For You”), Various Artists (“Let’s Rise”)

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – Smoke Season (“Sweetest Thing”), Stephen Michael Murphy (“Why”), Post Season (“Numb to This”), Rachel Eckroth (“Call my Name”), Greg Laswell (“Royal Empress”), The Spider Accomplice (“Epilogue”)

BEST VIDEO (COVER) – CALICO the Band (“California Dreaming”), Rachel Eckroth (“Love is Lost”), PaperDolls (“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”)

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Janiva Magness & Bryan Stephens (“Love is an Army”), Seawaves & Jerad Finck (“New Kids”), Free Love & Suzanne Roden (“Pushing Too Hard”/”July”), Defanico & Avanti (“You Make me Feel”), Cindy Alexander & Rusty Young (“My Favorite Artist”)

BEST VIDEO (INTERNATIONAL) – Constanza Herrero (“Packing Up”), Chesca (“Azucar”), Ziggy Alberts (“Stronger”), The Trouble Notes (“Grand Masquerade”), Peakes (“Still Life”)

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Rod Melancon (“Westgate”), Mike Edell (“Grow with You”), CJ Harper (“When we Rise”), Curtis Peoples (“Castaways”), Thomas Graff (“Make it Easy”)

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Amy Wilcox (“Bandwagon”), Chelsea Gill (“Ray-Bans”), Alexis Keegan (“Gospel”), Kris Angeles (“Stained Glass”), Christine Parker (“Where You Are”)

BEST SINGLE (Group) – SIGNY (“Water”), Honey River (“Peace, Love”), Only Bridges (“Ordinary”), Mustangs of the West (“T-Shirt from California”), The Textones (“20 Miles From Wrong”)

BEST SINGLE (INTERNATIONAL) – Vanessa Zamora (“Malas Amistades”), Liron (“Pina Colada”), Maya Payne (“Jungle”), Greta Jaime (“Computer Games”), Carlo & the Montes (“Nobody’s Fool”)

BEST SINGLE (HOLIDAY) – PaperDolls (“God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen”), Tiffany Young (“Peppermint”), Jack Tempchin (“Jesus and Mohammed”), Mustangs of the West (“Everybody Wants Peace on Earth”)

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Gina Sicilia, Brigette Rios Purdy, Hadden Sayers, Katie Knipp, Kirk Fletcher

BEST BLUES BAND – Detroit Rebellion, Black Cat Road, Michelle D’Amour and the Love Dealers, Keith Stone and Red Gravy, JP Soars

BEST BLUES (TRADITIONAL) ARTIST – Tammie Shannon, Tom Hambridge, Wily Bo Walker, Lawrence Lebo, Deb Ryder, Jonathon Long

BEST BLUES (TRADITIONAL) BAND – Peter V Blues Train, Delta Moon, Karen Lawrence and Blue by Nature, Matheus Matthews, Julianne Q and the Howl

BEST BLUEGRASS ARTIST/BAND – Roland White, Tellico

BEST CHILDREN’S ALBUM – Ruth and Emilia (The Spaceship That Fell in my Backyard)

BEST COMEBACK ARTIST – Mustangs of the West, The Textones, Frank Bey, Buddy Guy

BEST COMEDY ALBUM – Brad Wenzel (Sweet Nothings)

BEST COMPILATION ALBUMCome See About Me (IBMA Trust Fund), A Blue Élan Christmas (various Blue Élan Records artists)

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Dennis Duff, Hilary Scott, Corinne Cook, Stephanie Urbina Jones, Lauren Jaimes

BEST COUNTRY BAND – Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis, The Bob Peek Thing, Shelby Texas

BEST EDM/DANCE ARTIST/BAND – Sterling Infinity, Risky Motion, Andrew Bayer, United Ghosts, Lavender Fields, TNEO

BEST FOLK ARTIST – Paul Givant, Lauren Balthrop, Wolfe Jackson, Jason Erie, Ben Bostick

BEST FOLK BAND –   The Furious Seasons, The Skiffle Players, Max Caddy, New London Fire, Lay Low Moon

BEST HARD ROCK/METAL ARTIST/BAND – Rebel Rampage, YYNOT, Code Red Riot, Cosmogyral, Lana Blac

BEST HIP-HOP/RAP ARTIST/BAND – Everlast

BEST HOLIDAY ALBUM – The Humming Bards (Holy Common Grounds); Redhead Express/PaperDolls (Christmastime); Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers (All I Got for Christmas is the Blues); Paul Cardall (Christmas)

BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST – Solomon Grey, Dave Wells, Jon Mullane, Abby Zotz, Mac Murray

BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND – Monsta X, Ace of Wands, Koenix, Crack of Dawn, Norway Reloaded

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ARTIST/BAND – Andrew Abaria, Rob McAllister/Music Within, Daniel Aged, Lucky 757, Tauk

BEST JAZZ ARTIST – Mariel Austin, Walt Weiskopf, Calvin Arsenia, Slim Gambill, Leo James Conroy

BEST JAZZ BAND – CeCe Teneal and Soul Kamotion, Strunz & Farah, Frank Gambale Soulmine, S U M, Mark Winkler and Cheryl Bentyne

BEST LATIN ARTIST/BAND – Lauren Henderson, De’Anza, The Chamanas. Constanza Herrero

BEST LIVE ALBUM – Shari Puorto (Live at Bogie’s), Sonia Leigh (Live in London), John McLaughlin & Jimmy Herring (Live in San Francisco), Jocelyn Michelle (Live at Viva Cantina), Karen Lawrence & Blue by Nature (Best of Live)

BEST POP ARTIST – Greg Laswell, Rachel Sage, Trevor Douglas, Ken Sharp, Jordan Siwek

BEST POP BAND – Small Million, Broken Bellows, My Brothers and I, Baby Jay, Roan Yellowthorn

BEST POP/ROCK ARTIST/BAND – Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes, The Persian Leaps, Coyote Choir, Teddy and the Love Gang, KT Tunstall

BEST PUNK ARTIST/BAND – Subterfuge, Castle Black, A Very Special Episode, Taco Mouth, Post Season

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST – Sara Marie Barron, Candace Devine, Dave Keller, Nuela Charles, Doran Danoff

BEST R&B/SOUL BAND – Down North, DaM-FunK, The Dream Logic, Diane Durrett & Soul Suga

BEST ALT ROCK ARTIST – Kayla Starr, Trevor James, Ruby Rose Fox, Scott Shifflett, Polly Panic

BEST ALT ROCK BAND – Ascent, Farewood, Static and Surrender, Birds and Arrows, The Upstart Crows

BEST ROCK ARTIST – Guilande, Eric McFadden, K. Michelle DuBois

BEST ROCK BAND – Fellow Robot, Tokyo Police Club, Animal Waves, The Guess Who, Band of Silver

BEST REGGAE ARTIST/BAND – Phony Ppl, Sean Paul, Megative

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST – Ian Crawford, Roger Len Smith, Lora Kelley, Andy Sydow, Jeffrey Foucault

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – mmhmm, No Dry County, Mapache, The Textones, Lil’ Red & The Rooster

BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER – Cynthia Brando, Peggy James, Kris Angelis, Gaelynn Lea, Dave Tamkin, Paul McDonald

BEST SOUTHERN ROCK ARTIST/BAND – Sunshine Riot, Moonshine Saints

MOST UNIQUE ARTIST/BAND – Grave Danger, Bella Bartok

RISING STAR – Shaunt Avakian, Hayley Lynn, Sofia Evangelina, CH3LS, Sarra, Bella Rios

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Awards LA Music Critic Awards Women in Entertainment

Nominations announced for LA Music Critic Awards for first half of 2018

If you recall, we had to revise our submissions dates after the second half of 2017 because we had so many submissions.  As a result, the nominations we are announcing today cover the period  from December 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018.  We still received 339 submissions this time around, including more than 100 international ones, making our job harder than ever to winnow them down to those we have selected.

As always, fans are encouraged to vote for the Fan Favorite Award.  To vote for your favorite,  simply leave a comment below in the following format:  “I vote for (name of artist) for Fan Favorite.”  No other comments will be counted toward the Fan Favorite Award, and each reader may only vote once.   Comments made on other social media sites will not count.

Fans are also encouraged to comment on other award nominations, and those comments will be reviewed by the Awards committee.  However, they will not count for the Fan Favorite Award unless the comment specifically says that the artist is being nominated for the Fan Favorite Award. 

The deadline for voting for the Fan Favorite Award is Wednesday, June 27, 2018, at midnight MST.  The full list of winners will be announced at 2 p.m. MST on Friday, June 29, 2018.

Without further delay, here are the nominations.

BEST EP (Male) – Michael Malarkey (Captain Solitaire); Kevin Daniel (Myself Through You); Rich Krueger (Life Ain’t That Long); Eric Benoit (Heartrender); Larry Lacerte (Dreaming of the Ways)

BEST EP (Male International) – Tom Richardson (Promise of the Light); Average Dez (Beautiful Life); Purkinje (Voyager); Jeremy Romeo (All You’re Meant to Be); Saux (Right)

BEST EP (Female) – Alezzandra (The Black Rose); Amanda Mair (To the Moon); Kyler England (The Wilderness); Margaret Glaspy (Born Yesterday)

BEST EP (Female International) – Oklou (The Rite of May); Yuki Ame (Anamnesis); Clare Hennessy (April); Violetta Zironi (Half Moon Lane); Elin K (Still Your Desire)

BEST EP (Group) – TIDES (Crossroads); Only Bricks (Foundation); The Spider Accomplice (Los Angeles:  The Dichotomy); Tribal Seeds (Roots Party); Wildeor (Wildeor)

BEST EP (Group International) – Calembour (Let the Wind Lead us Home); Ellevator (Ellevator); Mushy Callahan (Revelations); Accent (In This Together); The Dreggs (Seas Embrace); Belle and the Beats (Lose Your Feathers)

BEST CD (Male) – Keith Harkin (In the Round); Rob Bonfiglio (Trouble Again); David Philips (Get Along); Kris Barras (The Divine and Dirty); Frank Hannon (From One Place . . . to Another, Vols 1 & 2); Luke Winslow-King (Blue Mesa)

BEST CD (Male International) – Mr. Pong (Echoes Between a Rock and a Hard Place); Jon Allen (Blue Flame); Endre Nordvik (Suburb Hero); Sule (Hold On); Dom Fricot (Deserts)

BEST CD (Female) – Kari Kimmel (Gold & Glitter); Janiva Magness (Love is an Army); Caitlin Canty (Motel Bouquet); Katie Herzig (Moment of Bliss); Leilani Wolfgramm (Live Wire); Cindy Alexander (Nowhere to Hide)

BEST CD (Female International) – Em Joy (The Feast); Bossie (Not Pictured); Kira May (Sense); Lucy Wise (Winter Sun); Esme Bridie (Today it Rains)

BEST CD (Group) – RVZOO & The Sugar Spun Elephant Band (Guiding Star); Hello Stranger (Long Division); The Nightowls (We are the Nightowls); Floods (Bad Times); The Evening Attraction (The End, Again); Southern Halo (Just Like in the Movies)

BEST CD (Group International) – John Flanagan Trio (Honest Man); Lee Ainley’s Blues Storm (Shoot me Down); Vickers Vimy (Atlas of Hearts); Fifth Dawn (Duality); Dany Franchi Band (Problem Child)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Andy Sydow (“Reasons for Departure”); Sean McMahon (“Show me the Way”); David Garfield (“I Lied”), Keaton Simons (“1 2 3 Go”); Harts (“Ain’t Nothing on Me”); Rob Drabkin (“It’s a Beautiful Day”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) – FlecHaus (“Tell me Something”); Hannah Lucia (“Your Love”); Janey Street (“Undone”); Dree Mon (“Rebel Soul”); Kari Kimmel (“High”); Lucy Levinsohn (“Dear God”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – The Zephyr Bones (“Telephone”); The Spider Accomplice (“Swallow”); Halo Circus (“Narcissist”); Fanny Walked the Earth (“Lured”); Floods (“Heavy Hearts”)

BEST VIDEO (FOR A CAUSE) – Alice Wallace (“Elephant”); riVerse (“Giant”), Ashley Delima (“Stay in America”)

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – Janiva Magness (“Protest Song”); Polly Baker (“Scraped Knees”); Foreign Figures (“Heart of Gold”); Cindy Alexander (“Passenger”); A Big Yes and a small no (“Enough is Enough”)

BEST VIDEO (COVER) – Frank Hannon (“Blue Sky”); Frank Hannon (“Sunrise in Texas”); Pros & iCons (“I Did Something Bad”)

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Blue Elan Family (“Shine Down on Us”); Chelsea Williams and Poco (“Rose of Cimarron”)

BEST VIDEO (INTERNATIONAL) – Black Mamba (“Loop”); Young Galaxy (“Frontier”); DJ Moh Green (“Por Favor”)

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Keaton Simons (“1 2 3 Go”); Jesse Dayton (“May Have to do it”); Craig Cardiff (“Okay Cupid”); Johnny Stimson (“End of Times”); Jon Allen (“Jonah’s Whale”)

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Janiva Magness (“Down Below”); Aja Warren (“Show me the Magic”); Kris Angelis (“A Billion Hearts”); Ashley Delima (“Stay in America”); Manda Mosher (“Please Stand By”)

BEST SINGLE (Group) – Delsinki (“Wishing Upon a Star”); Crimson Calamity (“Fool’s Gold”); SIGNY (“Human”); Halo Circus (“Narcissist”); Feel Alright (“Cool Water”)

BEST SINGLE (INTERNATIONAL) – Reichelt (“Seduced by the Light Side”); tantamsound (“Blue”); The Dreggs (“Feel Alive”); Belle and the Beats (“Soldiers of the Night”); South Village (“Say it Now”)

BEST COMPILATION ALBUMWorth of Souls; Transference

BEST COVER ALBUM – Mark Erelli (Mixtape), Frank Hannon (From One Place . . . to Another, Vols 1 & 2); Craig Cardiff (Upstream Fishing All the Words, He Is – Birthday Cards for Bob Dylan)

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Janiva Magness, Meg Williams, Victoria Ginty, Peggie Perkins, Luke Winslow-King

BEST BLUES BAND – Ghalia and the Mamas Boys, The Keeshea Pratt Band, Lee Ainley’s Blues Storm, Barrence Whitfield & the Savages

BEST BLUES (TRADITIONAL) ARTIST/BAND – Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Altar Boys, Johnny Tucker, Miss Freddye, Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps, Peter V Blues Train

BEST BLUEGRASS ARTIST/BAND – Tommy Emmuel, John Flanagan Trio, Becky Buller, Nefesh Mountain, Sideline

BEST CELTIC ARTIST/BAND – Wildeor, Vickers Vimy

BEST COMEBACK ARTIST – Rita Coolidge, Michael Peterson, Fanny Walks the Earth

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Ruby Boots, McMains, Laura Benitez, Sara Morgan, Kevin Daniel

BEST COUNTRY BAND – Flood County, Steven Casper & Cowboy Angst, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Southern Halo

BEST EDM/DANCE ARTIST/BAND – Computer Magic, Cultural Critic, Oklou, Saux, Amanda Mair

BEST FOLK ARTIST – Em Joy, Bob Crain, John Hufford, Tom Richardson, Martha Reich

BEST FOLK BAND – The Fisherman & the Sea; The Raven & the Fox, Century Thief, The Dreggs, Mala Ruckus

BEST HARD ROCK/METAL ARTIST/BAND – Tiavara, 1099, Animal Confession, Ovtlier, Ascending Dawn

BEST HIP-HOP/RAP ARTIST/BAND – 070 Shake, Mollys Reech, Camp Hope, Discrepancies

BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST – Tom Richardson, Clare Hennessy, Dom Fricot, Kira May, Jon Allen

BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND – Black Mamba, John Flanagan Trio, Fifth Dawn, The Dreggs, Belle and the Beats

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ARTIST/BAND – mmph, Mr. Pong, Jamison Isaak, Fernando Perdomo, Jay Katana

BEST JAZZ ARTIST – Kristina Koller, Shirley Crabbe, Patrick Yandall, John Proulx. Dani Ocean

BEST JAZZ BAND –  The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, News from Planet Kniffen, Grand Marquis, Susan Krebs Chamber Band, Roberta Donnay & the Prohibition Mob Band

BEST LATIN ARTIST/BAND – Adan Jodorowsky, Dexist, Cheo & Ulises Hadjis

BEST POP ARTIST – Cindy Alexander, Kari Kimmel, Kyler England, Amanda Mair, Michael Malarkey

BEST POP BAND – Thrillchaser, Viv and the Revival, Floods, Only Bricks, For Esme

BEST PUNK ARTIST/BAND – This is Eggland, The Tracys, Typhoid Rosie, Sharp/Shock, Johnny & the Bootlegs

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST – Marieme, Ann, Jon Allen

BEST R&B/SOUL BAND –  Ghost & the City, TIDES, The Nightowls, Ebb & Flow Band, Into the Ark

BEST ROCK ARTIST – Malina Moye, Alezzandra, Adrian Underhill, Margaret Glaspy, David Hopkins

BEST ROCK BAND – The Spider Accomplice, Hello Stranger, ROCKET, Fifth Dawn, Black Mamba, Halo Circus

BEST REGGAE ARTIST/BAND – Freevolt, Super Hi-Fi, Tribal Seeds, Leilani Wolfgramm, Sly & Robbie meet Dubmatix

BEST RETRO ARTIST/BAND – The Evening Attraction, The Swinging Laurels

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST – Alison Ferrier, Caitlin Canty, Jenny Van West, Elise Wunder, Gerry Spehar, McMains

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – Acadian Driftwood, Under the Oak, County Well, Bay Station, Porlolo

BEST SOUTHERN ROCK ARTIST/BAND – Blackwater Lake, James Scott Bullard, David Fitzpatrick, Allman Goldflies Band

RISING STAR – Jamey Geston, Ray Goren, Rachel Arianna

BEST SINGER-SONGWRITER – Average Dez, Caleb Michael, Katie Vincent, Michael McDermott, Jenny Van West, Mike Vitale

FAN FAVORITE – ???

 

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Awards Best of 2017 LA Music Critic Awards Women in Entertainment

Announcement of LA Music Critic Award nominations for second half of 2017

We think that 2017 will go down as one of the most prolific years in outstanding music being released by indie artists.  We received and reviewed so many that we had to change the review period.  Consequently, we considered more than 235 albums and EPs that were released between July 1 and November 30, 2017, in compiling our nominations for the LA Music Critic Awards.  Albums and EPs released from December 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018 will be considered for the first half awards of 2018.

Fans are encouraged to vote for the Fan Favorite Award.  To vote for your favorite,  simply leave a comment below in the following format:  “I vote for (name of artist) for Fan Favorite.”  No other comments will be counted toward the Fan Favorite Award, and each reader may only vote once.   Comments made on other social media sites will not count.

Fans are also encouraged to comment on other award nominations, and those comments will be reviewed by the Awards committee.  However, they will not count for the Fan Favorite Award unless the comment specifically says that the artist is being nominated for the Fan Favorite Award. 

The deadline for voting for the Fan Favorite Award is Wednesday, January 31, 2018, at midnight MST.  The full list of winners will be announced at 6 p.m. MST on Friday, February 2, 2018.

Without further delay, here are the nominations.

BEST EP (Male) – Ryan Sims, My Side of the Story; Sam Marine, Big Dark City; Ben Anderson, YouTopia; Matt Westerman, Life Out Loud; Vinnie Paolizzi, Kids

BEST EP (Female) – Jacquie, The Only One; Katie Costello, New World; Cara Frew, Dance; Helen Culver, Seven Year Glitch; Libbie Schrader, Red Thread

BEST EP (Group) – Mare Island, Eponymous; TYA, No Money, More Love; RVBY My Dear, Cycles; Social Repose, Empress; Surf Rock is Dead, We Have No Friends?

BEST EP (International) – House Hounds, Saturate; Wolf & Moon, Frames; HUNDREDS, Wilderness; The Raft; Orion; The Raft, A Lullaby

BEST CD (Male) – Canyon City, Constellation; Chuck McDermott, Gin & Rosewater; Case Garrett, Aurora; Rusty Young, Waitin’ for the Sun; Bryan Stephens, Village of Dreams

BEST CD (Female) – Monica Chapman, Small World; Chelsea Williams, Boomerang; Cindy Alexander, Deep Waters; Marina V, Born to the Stars; Katie Costello, Twice the Love; Amilia K. Spicer, Wow and Flutter

BEST CD (Group) – The Commotions, Vol 2; Great Willow, Find Yourself in Los Angeles; Andrea Harsell and Luna Roja, Something for the Pain; FreeWorld, What it Is; Chris Daniels and the Kings, Blues with Horns

BEST HOLIDAY ALBUM – Katie Garibaldi, Home Sweet Christmas; Balsam Range, It’s Christmas Time; Jennifer Hanson, Under the Tree; Beth Marie Anderson, Christmas with You; Bloodshot Records, 13 Days of Xmas; Blue Elan Records, A Blue Elan Christmas

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Matt Hawkins, Steel Ya Blues; Brandon Bonine, Remember my Name; Canyon City, Midnight Flight; Josh Johnstone, Just What it is; Rod Melancon, Dwayne & Me

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) – Janey Street, Undone; Dree Mon, Rebel Soul; Lexie Rose, Wrong; Katie Costello, Hearts on Fire; Rachel Ariana, Imperfect; Suzanne Santo, Ghost in my Bed

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – FlecHaus, Tell me Something; Satellite Citi, Undead; Elizabeth and the Catapult, Ambrosia; Oh Geronomo, No More Stones; Pet Fangs, Gold Coast Dreaming; The Flatliners, Indoors

BEST VIDEO (LIVE) – Sierra Blanca, Paint the Road; Bernie Faulkner, Potbelly Stove; Calico the Band, The Leaving Kind; Rosi Golan, Underneath; Chelsea Williams, Anything Worth Saving

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – Mellott, Shooting Stars; Rachel Price, Love is War; The Rebel Light, Where did all the Love Go; Chris Chilton, Adonai; Jared Finck, New Kids

BEST VIDEO (HOLIDAY) – Redhead Express, Love is Christmas; Chelsea Williams, Peppermints and Mistletoe; Kate Steinway, White Christmas; Pam Taylor, Let’s Get it on for Christmas

BEST VIDEO (INTERNATIONAL) – Straw, Bang Bang; Straw, 1965; Captive (ft. Hannah Trigwell), I Could be the One

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Blue Elan Artists, Shine Down on Us; David Garfield and J. Paris, I Lied; Beckett and Claire Ridgely, Butterflies

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Mikey Wax, “Spaceman;” Zvchvivh, “Think of Me;” Tim Maiden, “So Far Gone;” Matt Zambon, “Blue and Yellow;” Jason Crosby, “Final Step”

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Hannah Lucia, “Your Love;” Heather Bond, “Keep it Quiet;” Ashleigh Watson, “Little Love;” Liz Kennedy (ft. Taj Mahal), “Everyone Knows how it Goes”

BEST SINGLE (Group) –   Featurette, “Upside Down;” Delsinki, “Wishing Upon a Star;” Echo City, “Burn Me;” Astral Queen, “Take it all the Way;” The Sound of Ghosts, “Train to Nowhere”

BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTIST/BAND – The Fisherman and the Sea, Belle Miners, The Raft, HUNDREDS, Wolf & Moon

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Case Garrett, Tim Bennett, Whitney Lusk, Kaylee Keller, Ryan Sims

BEST COUNTRY BAND – CALICO the Band, Steve Azar and the Kings Men, Honey County

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Pam Taylor, John Verity, Stacy Jones, Alastair Greene, R. D. Olson, Dave Hunt

BEST BLUES BAND – Paradise Kings, FreeWorld, Andrea Harsell and Luna Roja, BB and the Blues Shacks, Chris Daniels and the Kings, The McKee Brothers

BEST POP ARTIST (Female) – Marina V, Cindy Alexander, Katie Costello, Alex Mabey, Maggie McClure, Rosi Golan

BEST POP ARTIST (Male) – Curtis Peoples, Fernando Perdomo, Matt Westerman, Bryan Stephens, Ben Anderson, LeRiche

BEST POP BAND – Flood Coats, Seasonal Beast, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Warbly Jets, High Dive Heart, Laini and the Wildfire

BEST ROCK ARTIST – Billy Burnette, Rusty Young, Ben Lorentzen, Russ Carrick, Robert Francis, Peter Simpson

BEST ROCK BAND – The Khourys, Surf Rock is Dead, Social Repose, The Slants, Xs and Arrows, Dopapod

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST – Ray Goren, Leslie Clio, Zoey Clarke, Louise Lemon

BEST R&B/SOUL/RETRO BAND – The Marias, The Commotions, Burgess Meredith

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST (Female) – Lydia Loveless, Shannon McNally, Liz Kennedy, Chelsea Williams, Amilia K. Spicer, Suzanne Santo

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST (Male) – Rich McCulley, Marc Berger, Chuck McDermott, Jason Hawk Harris, Sam Marine, Vinnie Paolizzi

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – Great Willow, The County Liners, JD and the Straight Shot, The Empty Pockets, Dead Rock West

BEST BLUEGRASS ARTIST/BAND – The Jerry Douglas Band, The Grascals, My Girl My Whiskey and Me, Tommy Emmanuel and David Grisman

BEST JAZZ/INSTRUMENTAL ARTIST/BAND – Tout, Noon, Monica Chapman, John McLaughlin, KRON, Dave Yaden

BEST DANCE ARTIST/BAND – The Innocent Bystanders, TYA, Elephant Stone, Niteshifters, Cara Frew

BEST REGGAE ARTIST/BAND – Never Ending Fall

BEST PUNK BAND – Franks and Deans, Emmer Effer, Hang Tight, The Paranoid Style

BEST HARD ROCK/METAL BAND – SBK, Vacant Home, Aviator, The Black Hand, Downfall 2012

BEST FOLK ARTIST – Ben Bostick, Canyon City, Garrison Starr, Fred Smith, Sierra Blanca, Brandon Luedtke

BEST FOLK BAND – Tony Lovato and MEST, Fire Chief Charlie, Amber Run, Nescora, FXRRVST

BEST TRADITIONAL FOLK BAND – Storywrens, The East Pointers

BEST PROG ROCK ARTIST/BAND – Orissa, Dave Kerzner

RISING STAR – Ray Goren, Kaylee Keller, Rachel Ariana, Gina Sicilia, Chelsea Williams

We encourage to subscribe so you can keep up with the Awards and with our blog year-round.  We’ll be back tomorrow with the first reviews for the next cycle.

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Awards LA Music Critic Awards Women in Entertainment

LA Music Critic Award nominations for first half of 2017

We are so proud to finally be able to present our nominations for the LA Music Critic Awards for the first half of 2017.  This year we wrote reviews on every CD/EP submitted for consideration, and we had nearly 100 submissions.  You can find those reviews on this blog under the tag “Get it or Forget it.”  We look forward to your comments on our nominations.

Here are the rules.  The public may only vote for the Fan Favorite award, and must do so by commenting on this article only – comments on social media posts will not count.  Any indie artist may be nominated (with the exception of past winners Papermoon Gypsys, Diane Rein, Zach Linley and Annette Conlon) and the winner will be the artist with the most votes.

The voting period will expire on July 25, with the winners in all categories announced on July 27.

We also encourage readers to comment on the other nominations, which will be considered by the awards panel members.  However, only the votes of the panel will determine who wins the award in all categories except Fan Favorite.

Speaking of the awards panel, thank you so much for all of your suggestions and help in compiling the nominations for this cycle.  The members are Jennifer Lyneis (Ue3 Promotions), Laura Goldfarb (Red Boot PR), Jennifer Allison (Jennifer Allison Publicity), Melissa Dragich-Cordero (MAD Ink PR), Doug Deutsch (Doug Deutsch Publicity Services), Michelle King (Noisy Ghost PR), Steve Belkin (Open All Nite Entertainment), Michelle Crispin (Music Supervisor), Kim Grant (KG Music Press), Patrick O’hefffernan (Musica LA), Heather Jacks (Author) and Rosine Avedissian Correa.

And here are the nominations:

BEST EP (Male) – Joe Goodkin (Record of Loss); Ed Prosek (Flesh and Blood Part 1); Ian Mahan (Rockford); Ray Goren (Free)

BEST EP (Female) – Meresha (Enter the Dreamland); Carrie Lane (California Freaks); Kris Angeles (Heartbreak is Contagious)

BEST EP (Group) – Gold Casio (Fever Dreams); Stereo Off (EP III); Echo Underground (Vows); Rococode (Young Ones); The Wild Now (Afterglow)

BEST CD (Male) – Chris Shifflett (West Coast Tour); Rod Melancon (Southern Gothic); David Ryan Harrris (Songs for Other People); AJ Hobbs (Too Much is Never Enough); Jared Tyler (Dirt on Your Hands)

BEST CD (Female) – Janey Street (In my Own Skin); Wendy Sweetlove (Dirty Sunday); Sara Petite (The Road Less Traveled); Jennifer Vazquez (Rediscovering Me); Amilia K. Spicer (Wow and Flutter)

BEST CD (Group) – The American West (The Soot Will Bring us Back Again); Jeffrey Halford and the Healers (Lo-fi Dreams); King Washington (Potential); The Dream Eaters (We are a Curse); The Show Ponies (How it all Goes Down); Breaking Grass (Warning Signs)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Male) – Curtis Peoples (“Damage Control”); Dario (“Good Morning World”); Jared Tyler (“Dirt on Your Hands”); Rod Melancon (“Different Man”); Chris Shiflett (“Sticks and Stones”); Michael Hornbuckle (“Angel”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Female) – MILCK (“Quiet”); Alice Wallace (“The Same Old Song”); Shannon Hurley (“Someday”); See (“Green Line Killer”); Marina V (“Born to the Stars”); Cindy Alexander (“Deep Waters”)

BEST VIDEO (OFFICIAL) (Group) – Backbone (“Supa Waz Guy”); The Wild Now (“Run for Your Life”); The Show Ponies (“Kalamazoo”); Halo Circus (“Band Aid”); King Washington (“My Reflection”)

BEST VIDEO (LIVE) – Jerad Finck (“Pieces of April”); The Spider Accomplice (“User”); Chelsea Williams (“Boomerang”); Gabe Dixon (Balcony TV) (“Holding Her Freedom”); Lucy and La Mer (Balcony TV) (“Honey, Put Your Weapons Down”)

BEST VIDEO (LYRIC) – The Spider Accomplice (“Atmosphere”); Gerry Beckley (“Serious”); Jennifer Vazquez (“Rocked”); Jennifer Vazquez (“Worst Enemy”); Gigi Rich (“All in my Head”)

BEST VIDEO (COVER) – Alexis Keegan (“When Doves Cry”/”Purple Rain”); The Daybreaks (“Nothing Compares 2 U”); Dave Yaden (“Humble”); Frank Shiner (“Rainy Night in Georgia”)

BEST VIDEO (COMEDY) – Scout Durwood (“All the Pretty Bottles”); Scout Durwood (“Take One Thing Off”); Un5Gettable (“Honest Singing Telegrams – part 2”)

BEST VIDEO (COLLABORATION) – Curtis Peoples & Marie Digby (“Not Enough Drugs”); Frank and Lindsay Shiner (“When Something is Wrong With my Baby”); DJ Polique (ft. Snoop Dog, Follow Your Instinct and Jacob Luttrell) (“Dimes Only”)

BEST SINGLE (Male) – Curtis Peoples (“Damage Control”); Frank Shiner (“Rainy Night in Georgia”), Jerad Finck (“New Kids”)

BEST SINGLE (Female) – Susan Calloway (“No Time for This”); Marina V (“Born to the Stars”), Kanisha K (“Bet on Me”); DANI Le Rose (“I’ve Told Lies”); Wendy Sweetlove (“Delilah”)

BEST SINGLE (Group) – Brit Royal (“Change”); Basement Revolver (“Tree Trunks”); FlecHaus (“What We’ve Got”), Breaking Grass (“Annie”), Birds and Arrows (“Stay Down”)

BEST COUNTRY ARTIST – Alice Wallace, Jennifer Vazquez, Rod Melancon, AJ Hobbs, Warren Sellers, Tara Dente

BEST COUNTRY BAND – Calico the Band, Honey County

BEST BLUES ARTIST – Janiva Magness, Gina Sicilia

BEST BLUES BAND – Polly O’Keary & the Rhythm Method, Papermoon Gypsys

BEST FUSION ARTIST/BAND – Mitre, Nancy Sanchez, San Miguel

BEST POP ARTIST – Shannon Hurley, David Ryan Harris, Wendy Sweetlove, Meresha, Ian Mahan

BEST POP BAND – Lovers and Poets, The Dream Eaters, The Wild Now, Rococode, Single by Sunday

BEST ROCK ARTIST – Janey Street, Lizard McGee, Jack Spann

BEST ROCK BAND – The Spider Accomplice, Desert Culture, Husky, Hayride Casualties, Banditos

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST – Ray Goren, Derek Davis

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA ARTIST – Amilia K. Spicer, Sara Petite, Chris Shiflett, Jared Tyler, Pi Jacobs

BEST ROOTS/AMERICANA BAND – The Show Ponies, The American West, Imaginary Friends, Jeffrey Halford and the Healers

BEST BLUEGRASS BAND – Breaking Grass

BEST JAZZ ARTIST – Dave Yaden, Irene Diaz

BEST REGGAE BAND – Roots of Creation, 9 Mile Roots

BEST COMEDY – Scout Durwood, Jeff Simmermon, Un5Gettable

RISING STAR – Meresha, Jamey Geston, Bess, Kaylee Keller, Ray Goren

FAN FAVORITE – open for nominations

Categories
Awards

Nominations for LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2016 announced

Wow – what a year 2016 has been for indie music.  So much great music has come out that it has been a painstakingly hard effort to sort through it all and bring you our nominees for the LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2016.

Remember – you the fans get to nominate your favorite artists for the Fan Favorite award, and your comments and feedback are considered by our panel when we decide who will be the winners.  So comment below, share this article with your friends, and let’s break 1000 comments.

You can also help us by nominating people who have either had a long indie career or have helped indie artists by nominating them for the Icon Award.

We look forward to your thoughts on our nominations, but above all, remember to support indie music.  It is the best music around.  Without further ado, here are the nominations for the second half of 2016:

Best EP Female: Katie Costello (From the Vault), Amie Miriello (Seeya When I Seeya), Gina Sicilia (Sunset Avenue)

Best EP Male:  McDougall (Reaching for Some Light), Year of Suns (Songs for Silence)

Best EP Band:  Stereo Off (EP III), The Spider Accomplice (LA:  The Abduction), JERK (Jerk)

Best CD Female:  Camille Bloom (Pieces of Me), Lauren Adams (Somewhere Else), Sonia Rao (Meet Them at the Door), Janey Street (Janey Street), Cindy Alexander (Deep Waters), Kari Kimmel (Poppyfields)

Best CD Male:  Sharif (Tangled Dreams and Empty Bottles), Bobbo Byrnes (Motel Americana), Patrick Joseph (Hindsight), Josh Farrow (Trouble Walks With Me), Michael Hornbuckle (Soul Repo)

Best CD Band: Streets of Laredo (Wild), Spiritual Rez (Setting in the West), The Congress (The Game), Spelling Reform (No One’s Ever Changed), Daddy Issues (Handle It)

Best Christmas Single:  Shannon Hurley ft. Brandon Schott (“Fairytale of New York”), Cindy Alexander (“Christmas Song”), Katie Garibaldi (“Tomorrow is Christmas Morning”), Frank Shiner (“Please Come Home for Christmas”), Kaylee Keller (“Christmas in Your Arms”)

Best Video (Holiday):  Katie Garibaldi (“Tomorrow is Christmas Morning”), Redhead Express (“Away in a Manger”),  Frank Shiner (“Please Come Home for Christmas”)

Best Video (cover):  No Small Children (“Ghostbusters”), Redhead Express (“Chocolate on my Tongue”), Redhead Express (“Clean”)

Best Video (live):  Patrick Joseph (“Piece of Your Love”), India Carney (“You”), Mitch Hayes (“All Fall Down”), The Congress (“Oh Babe”)

Best Video (lyric):  Jess Penner (“Together”), War and Pierce (“On and On”), Mikey Wax (“Helium”)

Best Video (official) Female:   Lucy Woodward (“Live Live Live”), Alexis Keegan (“Empty Heart”), Camille Bloom (“Pieces of Me”), Caitlin Eadie (“Don’t Want to Be”), Alyssa Jacey (“I Want it to Rain”), Shannon Hurley (“Heartbeat on the Radio”), Katie Garibaldi (“Delightful”)

Best Video (official) Male:   Jon Mullane (“Born Beautiful”), Dan Franklin (“Live to Dream Again”), Brian Travis (“Shipwreck”)

Best Video (official) Band:   The Spider Accomplice (“You Still Lie”), The Show Ponies (“The Time it Takes”), Spiritual Rez ft. Hirie (“Together Always”), The Congress (“Home Again”), Roots of Creation (“Struggle”), Sleep Machine (“Animal High”)

Best Video (Collaboration):  Earwig and Lydia Loveless (“Wasted on You”)

Best Rock Band:  The Spider Accomplice, Daddy Issues, Pollen Rx, Sleep Machine

Best Pop Band:  Lovers and Poets, Foxtraxx, The Congress, Ray and Remora, No Nets

Best Country/Americana Band:  Elouise Deep Water, The Show Ponies, Riddle and the Stars, Honey County

Best Pop/Rock Male Artist: Patrick Joseph, Year of Suns, McDougall, Mikey Wax

Best Pop/Rock Female Artist:  Jess Penner, Katie Costello, Cindy Alexander, Janey Street, Camille Bloom

Best Blues Artist:  Peach & the Almost Blues Band, The King Brothers, Papermoon Gypsys, Michael Hornbuckle

Best Country/Americana Artist:  Alice Wallace, Lauren Adams, Brian Travis, Katie Garibaldi, Mitch Hayes

Best Jazz Artist:  Lucy Woodward, Nancy Sanchez

Best Reggae Band:  Roots of Creation, Spiritual Rez

Rising Star:  Juliana Wilson, Meresha, Kaylee Keller, Rachel Brett

Fan Favorite:  (To be nominated by  the fans)

Icon Award:  (To be announced)

 

 

Categories
Awards

LA Music Critic Awards nominations announced for first half of 2016

The time has come again to recognize the incredible indie talent in the world of music.  We are so thrilled to have so much of it this year, and are looking forward to one of the most productive years for indie music in a long time.

On behalf of our wonderful committee, composed of Bob Leggett, Jennifer Lyneis, Michelle King, Melissa Dragich-Cordero, Steve Belkin, Heather Jacks, Kim Grant, Doug Deutsch, Laura Goldfarb and Patrick O’Heffernan, we now present our nominations for the first half of 2016.  Remember, the Fan Favorite Award  is nominated by you.  Simply leave a comment below or on our Facebook page.  The artist who gets the most votes will be the winner.  Support your favorite by voting now.

Best EP Female: Rooted Clarity (Katie Garibaldi),  Heartbreak is Contagious (Kris Angelis), Endless Road (Alexis Keegan)

Best EP Male:  Royal Blue (Lasers Lasers Birmingham), LA 14 (Rod Melancon)

Best EP Band:  29:11 (One From Many)

Best CD Female: Dressed up for Goodbye (Corinne Cook), Blow (Emily Clibourn), Cure for Dreaming (Jenny Gillespie), Hold Fast Open Palm (Sarah Ault), Long Road (Diana Rein), Popular Songs for Wholesome Families (Rae Fitzgerald)

Best CD Male: Northeastsouthwest (Mike Jacoby), Sugarland (Brian Whelan), Turns to Gold (Gabe Dixon), Let me in (Chi McClean), Blood Moon (Morgan Washam)

Best CD Band: … and friends (Jason Adamo Band), Love & Rent (The BGP), New Coastline (Riddle & the Stars), II (Lovers & Poets), Gung Ho (Freddy & Francine)

Best Single:  “Jackal II” (Rae Fitzgerald), “Big Man” (Jenni Alpert), “Crave” (Gabe Dixon), “Desire (Lo Que Vale La Pena)” (Halo Circus), “Diamond” (Kaylee Keller), “The Machine” (The Daybreaks)

Best Video (cover):  “Better When I’m Dancing” (Redhead Express), “Love Yourself” (Redhead Express), “Blue” (Alice Wallace), “I Knew I Loved You” (Redhead Express), “Cruel Summer” (The Daybreaks)

Best Video (live):  “Headrush” (Jamey Geston), “I am” (Katie Garibaldi), “Beautiful Forever” (Marina V), “Trespassing” (McKail Seely ft Jesse McLeod)

Best Video (comedy):  “Honest Singing Telegrams” (Un5gettable), “Sorry” (Un5gettable)

Best Video (lyrical):  “Pregunto” (Sin Color), “Diamonds (Vip mix)” (Kaylee Keller x VinylJackers), “Pieces of April” (Jerad Finck),  “Holding Her Freedom” (Gabe Dixon), “Blood in the Water” (Jerad Finck)

Best Video (official) Female:   “Lonely Love” (Ryal), “Last One” (McKail Seely), “Jackal II” (Rae Fitzgerald), “Paper Bag” (Anni Piper), “Diamond” (Kaylee Keller), “I Just Don’t Care Anymore” (Alice Wallace)

Best Video (official) Male:   “Crave” (Gabe Dixon), “Perry” (Rod Melancon), “Evergreen” (Shane Alexander)

Best Video (official) Band:   “Desire (Lo Que Vale La Pena)” (Halo Circus), “You + Me in the Summer” (Lovers & Poets), “Calico Concrete” (The Spider Accomplice), “These Three Words” (One From Many)

Best Video (series):  “Los Angeles:  The Abduction” (The Spider Accomplice)

Best Rock Band:  Halo Circus, The Spider Accomplice

Best Pop Band:  the BGP, Freddy & Francine, Lovers & Poets, One From Many

Best Country/Americana Band:  Riddle & the Stars, Jason Adamo Band, Junk Parlor

Best Pop/Rock Male Artist: Gabe Dixon

Best Pop/Rock Female Artist:  Kris Angeles, Sarah Ault, Allison Iraheta, Alexis Keegan

Best Blues Artist:  Anni Piper, Diana Rein

Best Country/Americana Artist:  Brian Whelan, Rod Melancon, Lasers Lasers Birmingham, Alice Wallace

Icon Award:  Ronnie Mack, Dave Yaden, Shane Alexander, Darwin Johnson

Fan Favorite – Who will it be this time?  this one is yours to nominate and vote.  Simply leave a comment below or on our Facebook page with the name of your favorite indie artist.

Winners will be announced on July 22.

 

Categories
Awards

LA Music Critic Award nominations for second half 2015