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LINDEN, TX – The
Academy of Texas Music, Inc. released the list of official nominees for the
9th annual Texas Music AwardsTM
in an Internet worldwide broadcast this weekend.
Tommy Hooper, Vice President of the Academy of Texas Music, Inc. was given
the distinct honor of officially offering the nominations to the Texas music
hopefuls in an Internet broadcast on Sunday, February 27th, at 7:00 p.m.
Hooper remarked, "This
is such an exciting time for the Texas music-loving public and the musicians
who create that music...being able to reach an unlimited number of fans
around the globe was quite a thrill. And being able to personally
offer the nominees their officially sanctioned nomination was quite an
honor."
Lucky Boyd, Chairman
of the Academy of Texas Music, Inc. prefaced each announcement with a few
statements about eligibility and criteria, while Academy Executive Director,
Jinelle Boyd, made the announcements.
The awards show,
is presented by MyTexasMusic.com, the retail
partner of the Texas Music AwardsTM
and the show’s production company, Payline Productions.
The annual event also serves as a fundraiser for the non-profit Academy of
Texas Music, Inc. which seeks sponsorships and donations to further its
efforts toward music education programs, scholarships, recognition projects,
and benevolence programs for musicians in need.
Jinelle Boyd, Executive Director of the Academy of
Texas Music,
Inc. and Producer of the Texas Music AwardsTM
explains how important this process is to the nominees.
”These outstanding artists need something to bring them recognition for
their regional
success and help them gain the national attention they deserve. Even
though some of our nominees are already big stars in the music world, the Texas Music AwardsTM
serve to give many of the newer artists a stepping stone to bigger and better things.”
One recipient in each category will hold the award title for the next year
based on a complex voting system.
The voting process includes a public involvement component, and interested fans
are encouraged to visit the Texas Music AwardsTM
website to learn more about the voting process which is now open and
continues through midnight on Friday, March 18th. Fans can
listen to clips of music by all the nominees and can hear the five Song of
the Year nominee tracks in their entirety prior to voting.
“The public vote is important,” says Boyd, “because it proves that the
artists have a connection with their fans, but the bulk of the
voting is done by the Academy Board of Honorees. This group of past
award recipients casts 70% of the ballots which decide who gets the award in
eleven of the fifteen categories. This year’s
recipients will be added to the Board of Honorees. This is how we insure
that the awards are more about the music and less of a simple popularity
contest.”
Boyd continues, "There is however, a popular element to the Texas Music
AwardsTM.
Five of the seventeen categories are decided by the public vote. The
Live Band award and all the radio awards are decided in that fashion.
These results will tell fans who really is leading the charge in Texas
music."
Two new award
categories have been added this year: the Carl T. Sprague Award (Sprague has
been credited with being the "Original Cowboy Singer" and also the first
person to record Texas music) and the Academy Award of Distinction, which
celebrates the musical diversity in independent Texas music. Several
founder awards will also be presented.
Sponsorships are available for the 9th annual awards show which
will be a world-wide Internet broadcast on a date still to be named.
Sponsors are important in order to raise the needed funds to fulfill the
Academy's mission. It's also "the best marketing opportunity in Texas
Music", Boyd
added.
For more information on voting, the awards, or sponsorships, visit
www.texasmusicawards.org
A list of the 2011 nominees appears below:
Producer
Mack Damon for HILL COUNTRY SOUL (Poor J. Brown)
Billy Jo High for SMOKING BARREL (Charlie Hager & The Captain Legendary
Band)
Chris Miller for I FEEL FINE (Chris Miller Band)
Ryan Murphey for BUCKAROO BLUE GRASS II
(Michael Martin Murphey)
Walt Wilkins for THE SMOKING GUN EP (Nick Verzosa)
Vocal Duo or Group
2-Bit Palomino (Houston, TX) 2-BIT PALOMINO
Antioch Road Band (Huntsville, TX) ANTIOCH ROAD
Mike Blakely & Thomas Michael Riley (Marble
Falls, TX & Fredericksburg, TX) LIVE FROM LUCKENBACH
Pear Ratz (Corpus Christi, TX) RAT OUTTA HELL
Christen Sawyer & Seth Candan (Sugar Land, TX & College Station, TX) PICTURE
UN-PERFECT
Musician
Rick Boss - harmonica on WILD NIGHT IN TEXAS (Mark Searcy Band)
Brad Davis - multiple instruments on MY BEST (Joe Honea)
Chris Gage - multiple instruments on GYPSY ALIBI (Bob Livingston)
Cameron Parsons - steel, dobro on TIM NICHOLS (Tim Nichols)
John Starek - drums on RAT OUTTA HELL (Pear Ratz)
Record
“Back When Love Was Easy” – Nick Verzosa (College Station, TX)
“Love Don't Live Round Here Anymore” – Jeremiah Houston Band (Austin, TX)
”Nice Ice Cold Bottle Of Beer” – Pear
Ratz (Corpus Christi, TX)
”Pure Blue Heartache” – Jarrod
Birmingham (Inez, TX)
”The Talent Requires” – James Lann (Hitchcock, TX)
Song
”Bridge Builder” - Dennis Davis, songwriter (Houston, TX) Dennis Davis
“The Whiskey” - Leon Waddy, songwriter (San Antonio, TX) Poor J. Brown
”Turn Your Heart Around” - Tommy Elskes, songwriter (Austin, TX) Tommy Elskes
“West Texas Sun” - Mike Clifford, songwriter (Austin, TX) Mike
Clifford
“Young At Heart” - Tim Nichols, songwriter (Cypress, TX) Tim Nichols
Female Vocalist
Leyla Fences (Argyle, TX) LIARS, CHEATS & FOOLS (Leyla Fences)
Kylie D. Hart (Fort Worth, TX) HARD LUCK (Kylie D. Hart)
Libby Koch (Houston, TX) THE SHADOW
OF THIS TOWN (Libby Koch)
Andi Renfree (Houston, TX) 2-BIT PALOMINO (2-Bit Palomino)
Christen Sawyer (Sugar Land, TX) PICTURE UN-PERFECT (Christen Sawyer)
Male Vocalist
Paul Ehmer (Houston, TX) WAKE UP (Dimitri's Rail)
David Fenley (Fredericksburg, TX) HILL COUNTRY SOUL (Poor J. Brown)
Shawn Jennings (Caldwell, TX) MY DESIRE (Shawn Jennings)
Jacob Jones (Huntsville, TX) ANTIOCH ROAD (Antioch Road Band)
Bo Porter (Austin, TX) TRY YOUR LUCK (Bo Porter)
Album
BACKROADS IN BARE FEET – Mike Clifford (Austin, TX)
GYPSY ALIBI – Bob Livingston (Austin, TX)
HONKY TONK KUNG FU – James Lann (Hitchcock, TX)
SMOKING BARREL – Charlie Hager & The Captain Legendary Band (Humble, TX)
THE AFTERMATH – Seth Candan (College Station, TX)
Entertainer
Tommy Alverson (Arlington, TX)
Mike Blakely (Marble Falls, TX)
Michael Martin Murphey (Dallas, TX)
Thomas Michael Riley (Fredericksburg, TX)
Shake Russell (Austin, TX)
Singer/Songwriter
Bob Cheevers (Austin, TX)
Dana Cooper (Nashville, TN)
Tommy Elskes (Austin, TX)
Robert Frith (Houston, TX)
Michael Hearne (Nashville, TN)
Rising Star
Backseat Molly (Palestine, TX)
DunVille (Katy, TX)
Joe Honea (North Richland Hills, TX)
Buck Johnson (Brenham, TX)
Robby White (Dallas, TX)
Live Band
Clint Martin Band (New Braunfels, TX)
Ben Morris and The Great American Boxcar Chorus (Bryan/College Station, TX)
Push Water Band (Jewett, TX)
Slow Rollin' Lows (Beaumont, TX)
The Captain Legendary Band (Houston, TX)
Disc Jockey
J.B. Cloud – KBCY – Abilene, TX
Brett Dillon – KHYI – Dallas, TX
Gus Samuelson – KHYI – Dallas, TX
Dave Wheaton – KBST – Big Spring, TX
Neely Yates - KJDL - Lubbock, TX
Broadcast Radio
Station
KBCY – 99.7 FM – Abiline, TX
KBST – 95.7 FM – Big Spring, TX
KHYI – 95.3 FM – Dallas, TX
KJDL - 105.3 FM - Lubbock, TX
KPFT – 90.1 FM – Houston, TX
Internet Radio
Station
Radio Free Texas www.radiofreetexas.org (Nederland, TX)
New awards this year:
Carl T. Sprague Award
COMING TO A HONKY TONK NEAR YOU - Lonnie Spiker
DOGGONDEST FEELIN' - Jeremy Parsons
LIVE AT LEGENDS CORNER VOLS. 1 & 2 - Mike Siler
LIVED THAT SONG BEFORE - Aaron Wendt
LONE COWBOY - Michael Martin Murphey
Academy Award of
Distinction
A PLACE IN MY HEART - Bill Reid
ACOUSTIC AUDIO-DACITY - Tom Tranchilla & Buddy Allen
CAMINO ALTO - Opie Hendrix
ECLIPSE - Jason Marbach
RADIX - Pug Johnson
SINGER IN A ROADHOUSE BAND - Mandy Mercier
THERE WAS A TIME - Hank Woji
-30-
If you would like to interview any of the
nominees or TMA staff, send your request to: tmatexas@aol.com
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