(ASBURY PARK, NJ -- DECEMBER 12, 2013) --
Hundreds of musicians, music fans, and industry professionals packed the
Stone Pony on a cold winter's night to celebrate the local music scene
with the annual Asbury Music Awards. Over 35 different awards were
presented along with live performances from some of the hottest acts in
the scene throughout the evening.
Performers included Lemon
Juice, Empire Escorts, Wreaths, The Black Jesuses, The Battery Electric,
Amy Malkoff & the Moonshines, Lower The Veil, Harper's Fellow
(featuring Joe Michelini of River City Extension), The Sunday Blues,
Emily Grove Band, Cranston Dean, Ardvark Smile, and Alex English.
The
two special lifetime awards were presented to Tony "Bocci" Amato (2013
Living Legend) and John DiCapua (James M. MacDonald Behind the Scenes
Lifetime Achievement Award).
More than anything, the annual event
is a great night of networking, seeing old friends, and sometimes even a
way to find bandmates for new projects. This was the 21st annual
Asbury Music Awards show, an event that was originally called "The Gold
T-Birds Awards" and presented at the old T-Birds Cafe. The idea for the
awards came from Scott Stamper (owner of The Saint in Asbury Park) as a
way to give something back to the performers and fans who make up the
Jersey Shore music scene.
Here are the 2013 Asbury Music Award winners:
Bands
Top Americana: Thomas Wesley Stern
Top Avant-Garde Act: Wreaths
Top Blues/Soul Band: Sandy Mack Band
Top "Classic" Asbury Artist: Stringbean & the Stalkers
Top Heavy Rock Act: Toothgrinder
Top Indie Rock Band: Brick+Mortar
Top Jam/Groove Band: Lemon Juice
Top Pop Rock Band: Quincy Mumford & the Reason Why
Top Live Performance: The Battery Electric
Top Punk Band: Lost In Society
Top Rock Band: The Battery Electric
Top Young band (Under 21): The Glycerine Queens
Solo Artists
Poet Laureate: Joshua J. Ballard
Top Female/Band Acoustic Act: Emily Grove
Top Female Vocalist: Amy Malkoff (Amy Malkoff & the Moonshines)
Top Male/Band Acoustic Act: Thomas Wesley Stern
Top Male Vocalist: Ron Santee (The Battery Electric)
Songs & Videos
Beyond Asbury Top Record/Single/Digital Release: Nicole Atkins ("Neptune City" to benefit Sandy Relief)
Top Local Release: "Thanks For Tonight" by Harper's Fellow
Top Music Video: "Bangs" by Brick+Mortar
Song Of The Year: "Shock Hazard" by The Battery Electric
Individual Awards
Top Bassist: Alex Rosen (The Battery Electric)
Top Drummer: Wills Weller (Toothgrinder)
Top Guitarist: James McCaffrey (Karmic Juggernaut)
Top Keyboard Player: Matt Wade (Matt Wade Band)
Top Multi-Instrumentalist: Keith McCarthy (The Sunday Blues)
Music Industry Awards
Top Live Sound Engineer: Jack "Hinge" Pitzer (The Saint)
Top Local Club DJ: DJ Jack The Ripper
Top Journalist In Support Of Live Music: Chris Rotolo (Speak Into My Good Eye)
Top Music Photographer: Jeff Crespi (freelance)
Top Music Website/Facebook In Support Of Live Original Music: Speak Into My Good Eye
Top News Publication In Support Of Live Music: The Aquarian Weekly
Top Radio/Internet Station To Support Live Music: 90.5 The Night WBJB-FM Brookdale Public Radio
Top Radio Personality In Support Of Live Music: Stu Coogan (WBJB-FM 90.5 The Night)
Venue Awards
Best Thing to Happen In 2012/2013: Happy Monday's (Wonder Bar, Asbury Park)
Top Hang-Out Bar: Bond Street Bar (Asbury Park)
Top Live Original Music Venue: The Saint (Asbury Park)
The Big Ones
2013 Living Legend: Tony "Bocci" Amato (Boccigalupe & the Badboys)
James M. MacDonald Behind the Scenes Lifetime Achievement: John DiCapua
Congratulations to all of the winners!
Photo of The Sunday Blues performing live at the Asbury Music Awards. Photo credit: Gary Wien
(Morristown, NJ) This November, incredible
LEGO sculptures created by Nathan Sawaya are returning to the Morris
Museum for a new exhibition. The Morris Museum is pleased to announce
the opening of The Brick Art of Nathan Sawaya, which will be on view
from November 14, 2013 through March 9, 2014. While Sawaya's art is on
display, a special area will be set up where visitors can create their
own sculptures out of the iconic toy. Several special programs are
planned, including a series of building workshops featuring LEGO
building blocks.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2887
(New Brunswick, NJ) -- State Theatre
presents The Price Is Right, Live! on Friday, December 6, 2013 at 8pm.
Tickets range from $25-55. The Price Is Right Live! is the interactive
stage show that gives contestants pulled right from the audience the
chance to "Come On Down" to win appliances, vacations, and even new cars
by playing classic games from television's longest running and most
popular game show. From Plinko to Cliffhangers to the Big Wheel, and
Showcase, all the favorite games are played just like the TV show.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2879
(UNION, NJ) -- Premiere Stages, the
professional theatre company in residence at Kean University, is now
accepting submissions for the 10th Annual Premiere Stages Play Festival.
This yearly competition for unproduced scripts offers developmental
and production opportunities to four playwrights born or currently
residing in the greater metropolitan area (New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, and Connecticut).
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2874
(Newton, NJ) -- The quirky Marshall
Crenshaw & the Bottle Rockets will perform at the Newton Theatre on
Saturday, February 1st, 2014.
Over 25 years since breaking
through to critical and commercial acclaim with his 1982 self-titled
debut and its infectious, era- defining pop hit Someday, Someway,
Marshall Crenshaw creates an incredible new chapter in his career with
his 429 Records debut Jaggedland. Crenshaw's first studio recording in
more than six years is his most musically dynamic and lyrically intimate
collection yet. Classic Crenshaw attributes including an indelible
sense of melody and tuneful essence combine to create a rich warmth and
intimacy on every song of Jaggedland. The recording has a powerful vibe
of immediacy thanks to Crenshaw's warm vocals and riveting guitar work.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2858
(Newton, NJ) -- Kenny Vance & the
Planotones will perform at the Newton Theatre on Saturday, January 18th,
2014. Growing up in New York, Kenny Vance was captivated by the magic
of rock 'n' roll. At 15, he was hanging around the Brill Building
meeting other singers and songwriters, and eventually formed the
successful group Jay and The Americans. They went on to record 15 albums
and tour extensively, opening for the Beatles' and Rolling Stones'
first U.S. Appearances.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2843
(NEWARK, NJ) -- Fortified with four
instantly-sold-out New York City club shows, a sold-out UK/European tour
and five brand-new songs, the Pixies announced today that a
coast-to-coast North American leg has been added to its 2013-2014 world
tour and will stop at New Jersey Performing Arts Center on January 21,
2014 at 7:30pm. Special guest Fidlar will open.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2836
(Long Branch, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory
Company is proud to announce the New Jersey Premiere of "middlemen",
written by David Jenkins and directed by Marc Geller, on November 7
through December 8, 2013 at 179 Broadway in Long Branch.
Ripped
from the headlines, this highly topical play deals with the cynicism
and corruption that has come to characterize our financial institutions
and Wall Street. Amid the drone of industrial air conditioning and the
buzz of fluorescent lights, middle manager Stan and fiscal analyst
Michael toil away on an exhaustive annual report in their desolate
sixty-floor office tower. One-by-one, their co-workers have
mysteriously disappeared, but neither really seems to care about
anything, except that no one bought milk for their break-room and one of
them may have been responsible for the collapse of Bolivia.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2835
(Newton, NJ) --An intimate evening with
Edwin McCain, with his soulful voice and romantic songs, will take place
at the Newton Theatre on January 10th, 2014.
Taking the stage
for what's easily the 100th time in almost as many days, Edwin McCain
casually joins his band as they start off another set that's impossibly
tight and laid back at the same time. By the time his vocals kick in,
it's clear that this is no ordinary troubadour on the club circuit. This
is Edwin McCain, the voice that is romance incarnate, that has launched
a thousand marriages and stirred up Southern soul for over 20 years.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2834
(WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- When the singer
known as Matisyahu first headlined a concert on the Jersey Shore, he cut
a strikingly unique figure in pop music a skilled specialist in
reggae/ hip-hop beats (and a beat-boxer of rare form), who delivered his
boundary-busting hit "King Without a Crown" while attired in the
traditional black garb, long beard and sidelocks of his Hasidic faith.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2828
(Newton, NJ) -- Rock and Roll Hall of Famer
Leon Russell will perform at the Newton Theatre on Saturday, January
11, 2014. Russell is a legendary musician and songwriter from Tulsa,
Oklahoma who has been performing his gospel-infused southern boogie
piano rock, blues, and country music for over 50 years.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2817
(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Dreamcatcher Repertory
Theatre, professional Theatre in Residence at the Oakes Center in
Summit, will offer Acting and Improv Comedy classes for kids, teens and
adults this fall beginning October 14 and concluding with a class
showcase on December 13.
Read more at: http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2794
(New Brunswick, NJ) -- State Theatre and
Metropolitan Entertainment present The Laurie Berkner Band A Holiday
Celebration Concert on Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 2pm. Concert
tickets range from $25-$35. Special $100 VIP packages are available that
include preferred seating and an after-show meet and greet.
Read more at http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2790
(New Brunswick, NJ) -- State Theatre
presents Foreigner on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 8pm. With 10
multi-Platinum albums and 16 Top 30 hits, Foreigner is one of the
biggest bands in rock history. Foreigner's hits include "Juke Box Hero,"
"Feels Like the First Time," "Urgent," "Cold as Ice," "Hot Blooded,"
and the worldwide smash "I Want to Know What Love Is."
Read more at: http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=2787
