And the Nominees Are… Awards by Brian Carroll - November 25, 2013November 17, 20170 I just want to put a HUGE thank you out there to everyone who gave me their feedback and nominated their friends and colleagues for this whole ordeal. It has been wonderful to see musicians and fans come forward to support each other. Every single person/band on this list and the people who nominated them are already winners in my book.Voting will be up a bit later this week, but in a feeble effort to generate some more excitement, I wanted to release the nominees today. You know, so you have something to talk about over Thanksgiving and what not. So please, share if you or a fellow friend is on the list below and lets get people amped up about local music. Whether or not we will have an actual event is TBD (any ideas around this are welcome…a small night at a local club where winners play some tunes..something low key but special?) but until then… Ladies and gentlemen, the very first (and hopefully not last) Red Line Roots “Big Red Local Music Recognitions” for 2013 are….(drum roll) Favorite Local Female Songwriter– Talented, introspective, intelligent writers and masters of the songwriting craft. Danielle Miraglia Eva Walsh Hayley Sabella Susan Cattaneo Michelle Lewis Abbie Barrett Annie Lynch Favorite Local Male Songwriter – Any college bro can pick up a guitar and strum out some chords to impress the ladies, but it takes a real talent to write a tune that will make them weep and…well, feel feelings. The following gents do just that. Artfully create emotion driven songs about things all over the spectrum. Great musicians, yes, but also incredibly talented poets. Mark Kilianski Dietrich Strause Dan Baker Ian Fitzgerald Ryan Fitzsimmons Chuck Melchin Dan Blakeslee Best Picker Guitar – Self explanatory, but that person who makes noises come out of an acoustic guitar that make your jam drop and wonder “how the hell did he/she do that?” Michael Reese Andy Cambria Mark Kilianski Sam Reid Erin Harpe Casey Abrams Best Picker Banjo – (insert Deliverance music) Yeah, not THAT type of banjo player. The kind of player who takes the traditional bluegrass instrument to a whole entirely different level, adding hints of jazz, maybe playing other instruments at the same time, or just killing it each time you catch them out. Mark Whitaker Eric Royer Lukas Pool Maggie Mackay Best Picker Mandolin – I hold a special place in my heart for mandolin. While I wish I could grace the list below, these fellas are just at a completely different level of playing that I am (plus I am not nominating myself for an instrument playing category!). Maestro’s of the mando! Jimmy Ryan Greg Klyma Aaron Goff Forrest O’ Connor Sean Staples Joe Walsh The Multi-player– “Wait, wasn’t he just playing fiddle, but now has a guitar in his hands…last week I saw him playing mandolin and an organ. What the hell?!” Yeah, “that guy”. Michael Spaly Dinty Child Eric Royer Evan Gavry Ethan Robbins Unsung Hero – That person who has been at it, out there working for the community and helping to build up “something” in this town, but never asks anything in return. They are doing it because they love the music in this town and that’s reward enough. Noel Coakley Tom Bianchi John Colvert Eran Shaysh Patrick Coman Bad Ass Rock n Rollers – The band that rocks your socks off every time you see them. Whether it be bluesy swamp rock, toe tapping goodness, or just that there are so many people on stage making one wonderful output that you cannot believe its actually happening, these folks shake you to your core every night they play. Coyote Kolb The Blue Ribbons Ryan Fitzsimmons Band Tim Gearan Band Sarah Borrello Band TIGERMAN WOAH! Baker Thomas Band Roots Americana Act – All around Americana, not so heavy that its rock n roll, but is tinged with folk, roots, bluegrass, whatever. Americana is the shittiest thing to “define” but we all kind of have our view of it. These bands are examples of that. Rusty Belle Girls Guns and Glory Marc Pinansky and Bored of Health The Bean Picker’s Union Glenn Yoder and the Western States The Mallett Brothers Band The Whiskey Boys Session Americana Favorite Local Duo – A duo is perhaps the hardest thing to make work. Solo, what you are making come out is exactly what it is. In a band, you can quite frankly hide behind the other folks for any mistakes made or just distort your guitar to sound like it was purposeful. A duo is what I consider to be the most beautiful and difficult avenue for making music. Each artist’s personality either shines, or falls flat and the relationship between the two people is obvious. These folks are clearly successful at the duo thing… Tall Heights The Coloradas North of Nashville brownbird Ian Fitzgerald and Courtney Gallagher Mark Mandeville and Raianne Richards Iron Harvest Best Local Roots music Venue – we are spoiled as hell with great, supportive venues…so, pick one. Toad Lizard Lounge Atwoods Club Passim The Plough and Stars Best Local Community Residency– The residency that exists to create a community within our community. People sitting in, giving folks a chance to play with other wonderful folks. Americana Monday’s at PAs Lounge David Gallagher’s Round Table at Tommy Doyles Roots in the Round at Toad Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge Bluegrass Tuesdays at the Cantab Jam n’ Eggs at Canary Square Favorite Local Fiddle – Jesus, there’s a shitload of fiddle players in this town…and most of them are friggin excellent. The below seemed to be of the most popular per your nominations. Have at it! David Delaney Rob Flax Laurence Scudder Eva Walsh Laura Cortese Joe Kessler Kara Kulpa John Mailander Too much (or never enough) twang guitarist– The guitar player of the genre that can sit in with anyone, at any time and make the band just sound great. Ripping solos, but tasteful in their playing. They don’t come around often, but when they do you never forget them! Lyle Brewer Duke Levine David Deluca Kevin Barry Tony Savarino Mike Castellana Well…that is it. Like I said, voting logistics will be announced later on this week. Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on Pinterest Share Share on LinkedIn Share Share on Digg Share