The categories for this year's Boston Music Awards are
ARTIST OF THE YEARALBUM/EP OF THE YEARSONG OF THE YEARNEW ARTIST OF THE YEARLIVE ARTIST OF THE YEARROCK/INDIE ARTIST OF THE YEARHIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEARPOP ARTIST OF THE YEARR&B ARTIST OF THE YEARAMERICANA ARTIST OF THE YEARBLUES ARTIST OF THE YEARDJ/PRODUCER OF THE YEARELECTRONIC ARTIST OF THE YEARFOLK ARTIST OF THE YEARINTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEARJAZZ ARTIST OF THE YEARMETAL ARTIST OF THE YEARPUNK/HARDCORE ARTIST OF THE YEARSINGER-SONGWRITER OF THE YEARFEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEARMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEARSTUDIO PRODUCER OF THE YEARVIDEO OF THE YEARVIDEO OF THE YEARBEST DANCE NIGHTBEST LIVE MUSIC VENUEBEST LIVE ONGOING RESIDENCYBEST MUSIC BLOGBEST LOCAL PROMOTERBEST LIVE MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHERBEST FLYER/POSTER DESIGNER/ILLUSTRATORBEST ARTIST/BAND WEBSITEBEST ALBUM/EP/SINGLE ARTWORK
I am pleased that "folk" has been added!
Perhaps BMA read Where's the folk? - 11/2/11 and Where's the Folk? - 11/19/13
But sorry to see that once again, although there are vibrant communities, BMA does not see fit to include categories for our favorites...
Celtic
Bluegrass
Old timeCajun/Quebequois.
And where's the jazz, classical, polka, zydeco, world..???!!!
I wish the organization well, it does a great service to the Boston-area pop music community, but misses the mark when it claims to be an awards organization for "Boston music" as it chooses to exclude several vibrant genre. Until it serves all active Boston-area music communities, BMA should change its name to "Boston Pop Music Awards" or such.
p.s. I am one of the 400 nominators. If you append below names of your favorites for BMA's existing categories, I will listen to their audio and give them consideration.
Will Dailey, Ruby Rose Fox, Bearstronaut, STL GLD and Tribe Society.
Photo courtesy of Boston Music Awards (it's their Facebook cover photo).
"The whole singer-songwriter thing has blurred the lines...A person standing there with a guitar is not necessarily playing folk music, but they are presented as a folk musician..."
-Geoff Muldaur
Once upon a time, Wendy's ran a commercial involving three women pondering a competitor's big fluffy bun which it turns out contained a very small beef patty. Clara Peller became famous for her line "where's the beef?". In this article we ask "where's the folk?".
The annual Boston Music Awards upon us, and again give us reasons for pause.
Reason 1. Where's the folk?
Folk Artist Of The Year
Antje Duvekot
Banditas
Rose Polenzani
Kris Delmhorst
Lori McKenna
Where's the folk? All are fine pop singer-songwriters who belong in the BMA's "singer-songwriter" category:
Singer Songwriter Of The Year
Aly Spaltro (Lady Lamb the Beekeeper)
Antje Duvekot
Marissa Nadler
Mike Fiore (Faces on Film)
Rose Polenzani
(well, at least BMA got two of them right).
Reason #2: Where's the old-time? bluegrass? sea chanties????
The BMA's music award categories also include Americana, Blues, DJ, Electronic, Hip Hop, R&B/Soul/Urban Contemporary, International, Gospel/Inspirational, Jazz, Metal/Hardcore and Punk. But Boston has very strong traditional folk, old-time, Celtic, bluegrass, sea chanty and contradance communities, where are their categories?
To usurp the word "folk" by calling pop singer-songwriters such and not to include these genre in the award categories is both a misuse of the word and a disservice to these communities. Before next year's program is planned, I encourage BMA to cooperate with organizations such as New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA), the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston (FSSGB), the Folk Arts Center of New England (FACNE), the Traditional Music Project, the Boston Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, NE Chantey Sings, and other area folk organizations in two ways: appropriate use of the word "folk" and creation of realistic, not contrived, folk music award categories.
