The nominations are out for the final round of voting for the Boston Music Awards, and while there’s always a fair amount of Worcester in the mix, this year seems to have a bit more Wormtown/Wortown than usual, and in a couple of interesting places . Here’s the rundown of locals!
JOYNER LUCAS: OK, let’s get the big one out of the way. Lucas is usually nominated in one or two categories every year, and this year is no exception: He’s up for Hip-Hop Artist of the Year and Song of the Year (1 Million+ Streams) for “Ye Not Crazy.”
THE PALLADIUM: Likewise, the Palladium – holy ground for Massachusetts hard-core – is usually up for a best venue nod, and a summer of outdoor shows has netted it a nod for Live Music Venue of the Year (1,000+ occupancy).
WALTER SICKERT & THE ARMY OF BROKEN TOYS: This is kind of a “Stealth Worcester” band. It’s usually presented as being “Boston-based,” which is true enough, but multiple members live in Worcester County, so we claim ’em as ours. In any case, the band is up for Music Video of the Year for its deliriously fun “Goth Beach,” which has garnered more than 70,000 views on YouTube and nearly a million streams. “’Goth Beach’ is our biggest single to date,” says singer-songwriter and ringmaster Walter Alice Sickert, “and this is an incredible honor to be nominated for a Boston Music Award. In my mind the nomination is a real celebration of the incredibly talented people who helped me bring this fever dream to life, from the perfect choreography by Mary Widow and fabulous performances by the Goth Beach Dancers to the brilliant cinematography by Emmy award-winning Sam Krueger ! We’ll forever be proud of this song and video because of how happy it’s made so many people.” As the song says, “At The Goth Beach you’ll never be lonely.”
ASH & ERIC: This Worcester-based duo is up for Americana Artist of the Year, largely on the strength of their excellent recent album, “Sure.” “Nobody would ever say they went into music for the awards or accolades,” says singer-songwriter Ash L’Esperance. “That would be a long, depressing path. But it sure doesn’t hurt to be nominated in the Boston Music Awards and the New England Music Awards after working our butts off on our latest album. Accomplishments like this boost our stamina in what we hope is a long path of making music, and they also encourage us and make us feel nice – we’re not too proud to admit that.”
CARLOS ODRIA: This brilliant Worcester-based guitarist has scored nods before, but this year he’s in a brand-new category. “I was very happy to see my nomination (for) Latin Artist of the Year! I think it is great that BMA has included this category. Latinx communities are an important and active influence in the Massachusetts’ music scene.” If you’ve heard Odria’s breathtaking recent album, “Montuno Negro,” you’d have no question why he was nominated.
ELION VIRTUOSO: Odria wasn’t the only Worcester local in the Latin Artist of the Year category. Elion Virtuoso also got the nod for his recent work bringing a Latin flair to trap & R&B stylings. “My reaction was a genuine surprise,” said Virtuoso. “I thought that you had to know the right people in order to get a placement, but someone out there really has their ears to the street. I was inspired to continue this journey once I was told the news. It feels like my hard work wasn’t in vain.”
TONY BROWN: Spoken Word Artist of the Year is another new category this year, and recent Stanley Kunitz Award medal-winning poet Tony Brown was one of the artists getting a nod … which he admits surprised him. “I am still bemused by it, have no idea how it happened; but hey, it’s nice to be noticed and I hope to garner at least a few votes. If I had to attach any meaning to it, it would be that I guess you never know how far your work travels or touches folks.”
MUSIC JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Lastly, this category struck pretty close to home, with three past or present WoMag writers in the mix. I scored my fifth straight nomination, freelance contributor Rob Duguay was nominated for the second time, and former Worcester Magazine news editor Noah Schaffer, currently at WBUR, was nominated for the first time.
Apologies if we overlooked anyone. It’s hard to always know where artists are from. Still, the Worcester representation in this year’s BMAs is proof that the Boston and Worcester scenes might be distinct, but are certainly entwined, and Worcester artists are turning out some work worthy of recognition. You can vote in these and other categories online at https://bostonmusicawards.com/nominees/, and if you think some Worcester artists should be on this list, the nominations for the first round of voting at the Worcester Music Awards has just begun , so give ’em a nomination there!