Since the awards were handed out for the first half of 2015 on August 10, indie artists have been hard at work, creating new works of art. The submissions for the second half of 2015 continue to reflect the growing confidence of today’s indie artists, and the easy availability of technology to assist them in getting their music out to current and potential fans. The LA Music Critic Awards were created to recognize that talent and hopefully turn our readers on to some new music and/or artists they are unfamiliar with or unaware of.
The competition was fierce this time and the committee had a hard time deciding who to include. It’s now time to announce the nominations for the second half of 2015. And the nominees are . . .
Best EP Female: Rebel Pop Singer Songwriter (Katie Costello), Phoenix (Lyndzie Taylor), Black Sheep (Sara Routh), Fire (Brooke Moriber)
Best EP Male: Move (Dave Yaden)
Best EP Band: Captiva (Captiva), The Trap (The Spider Accomplice)
Best CD Male: Criminal (Jerad Finck), India, Seattle (Mike Edel), I Struggle & Emerge (Ryan Aderre’y)
Best CD Female: Follow Your Heart (Katie Garibaldi), Time in the Middle (Claire Holley), Save Your Heart (Patricia Bahia), An American Girl (Cindy Alexander), Memories, Music and Pride (Alice Wallace)
Best CD Group: The Lil Smokies (The Lil Smokies), Little Silver Hearts (Little Silver Hearts), Fantasm (Starlight Girls), The Whole Shabang (Carly and the Universe)
Best Single: Zach Linley and the Rebel Daredevils (“What it Takes”), Jakey Lee (“Children of God”), Katelyn Marie (“Enjoy the Ride”), Keaton Simons (“When I Go”), The Spider Accomplice (“Atmosphere)
Best Video (cover): Alexis Keegan (“Drunk in Love”)
Best Video (live): Reverend Tall Tree (“How do you get Over That?”)
Best Video (lyrical): Lyndzie Taylor (“What do I Know?”)
Best Video (official): Paige Nichols (“Burn), Shane Piasecki (“Jackie O”), Katie Costello (“New York Graffiti”), Katie Garibaldi (“Lock the Door, Lose the Key”), Redhead Express (“Mary Did You Know?”), Dave Yaden (“Two”)
Best Rock Band: Sleep Machine, Captiva, The Spider Accomplice, Rocket
Best Pop/Rock Male Artist: Chris Lind, Jerad Finck, Mike Edel
Best Pop/Rock Female Artist: Katie Costello, Patricia Bahia, Brooke Moriber, Lyndzie Taylor, Cindy Alexander
Best Jazz: Dave Yaden (Two)
Best Folk/Cultural: Marina V (Russian Bootleg v2)
Best Country/Americana: Alice Wallace (Memories, Music and Pride), Zach Linley and the Rebel Daredevils (What It Takes), The Lil Smokies (The Lil Smokies), Little Silver Hearts (Little Silver Hearts)
Icon Award: Tony Lucca, Dave Yaden, Mike Edel, Tonya Watts
Fan Favorite: To vote for the fan favorite, submit the name of your favorite indie artist below, or leave a comment on my Facebook page. The artist with the highest vote total will win.
The winners will be announced on January 25, 2016. We look forward to your input.