SCHENECTADY – Local musicians Sean Rowe, Buggy Jive, Girl Blue and Jocelyn & Chris were the big winners Sunday night at Proctors during the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards.
Each of those artists received two awards: Rowe won Record of the Year for “Squid Tattoo” and Album of the Year for “The Darkness Dressed in Colored Lights”; Girl Blue won Solo or Duo Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year; Buggy Jive won RnB/Soul/Funk Artist of the Year and tied for Music Video of the Year for his “Tiptoes” with Jocelyn & Chris’ “Sugar and Spice”; and Jocelyn & Chris also received a Merit Award for their marathon Couch Concert Series during the pandemic, which consisted of more than 400 virtual shows.
In total, 42 plaques were awarded throughout the evening, recognizing not only musicians but also local venues, record labels, radio stations and music journalists.
Special merit awards were given to John Griffith and DJ Hollyw8d. Griffith’s Facebook page, Bar People, has supported local musicians and venues with daily regional live music calendars since 2016. Mario Johnson — otherwise known as DJ Hollyw8d — launched a series of live music shows to help communities suffering from street violence to heal.
The awards show returned to the MainStage at Proctors after trimmed-down ceremonies during the pandemic, including one virtual awards show and one live event at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga.
Eddies founder/producer Jim Murphy acknowledged during Sunday’s event that it had been a long two years professionally and personally for everyone in the music community.
“It feels much better now. Our goal tonight — and over time — is to shine a light on as many of you as possible … and to have fun in the process. Let’s celebrate one another,” Murphy said.
For information about the awards, visit theeddiesawards.com.
Here is a full list of the winners:
Solo or Duo Artist of the Year
Girl Blue
Solo or Duo Performer of the Year (Covers) — tie
Steve Candlen
Rich Ortiz
Party Cover Band of the Year
Off The Record
DJ of the Year
Intell Hayesfield
Country/Bluegrass Artist of the Year
Jim Gaudet and The Railroad Boys
Country Cover Band of the Year
Skeeter Creek
Americana Artist of the Year
Sara Milonovich & Daisycutter
Rock/Pop Artist of the Year
Super 400
Alt/Indie Artist of the Year
The Sea The Sea
Folk/Traditional Artist of the Year
Carolyn Shapiro
Hip Hop/Rap Artist of the Year
JB!! aka Dirty Moses
Jazz Artist of the Year
Hot Club of Saratoga
Punk/Hardcore Artist of the Year
Candy Ambulance
Metal/Hard Rock Artist of the Year
Bad Mothers
Jam Band of the Year
Let’s Be Leonard
Blues Artist of the Year
Mark Tolstrup & Jill Burnham
RnB/Soul/Funk Artist of the Year
Buggy Jive
Electronica Artist of the Year
Madeline Darby
Classical Artist/Ensemble of the Year
Albany Symphony Orchestra
World Music Artist of the Year
Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra
Best Venue Small (up to 299 people)
Caffé Lena
Best Venue Medium (300-999 people)
The Egg
Best Venue Large (1,000 people and up)
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Presenter of the Year
Super Dark Collective
Radio Station of the Year
WEXT
Radio DJ of the Year (terrestrial or streaming)
Andy Gregory
Record Label of the Year
Upstate Records
Live Production Crew of the Year
High Peaks Sound Inc.
Music Recording Studio of the Year
NRS Recording
Arts Publication of the Year (print, TV or new media)
Nippertown
Music Journalist of the Year — tie
Indiana Nash (Daily Gazette)
Liam Sweeny (Xperience Monthly)
Music Photographer of the Year
Jim Gilbert
Songwriter of the Year
Girl Blue
Music Video of the Year — tie
Buggy Jive — “Tiptoes”
Jocelyn & Chris — “Sugar and Spice”
Record of the Year
Sean Rowe — “Squid Tattoo”
Album of the Year
Sean Rowe — “The Darkness Dressed in Colored Lights”
Merit Awards
John Griffith
Bar People
DJ Hollyw8d
More Music, Less Violence
Jocelyn & Chris
Pandemic Couch Concert series
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