2013 Review Music Awards Update

    icon Jan 24, 2013
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The Winds of Change 
As we at The Review and embark upon our 27th year of conducting polling & coordinating voting on our 27th Annual Music Awards Ceremony & Celebration, it is both gratifying to see that in the first two weeks over 2500 people weighed in with nominations; yet equally daunting when confronted with the many changes that the local music scene has undergone since this ceremony was first developed, coupled with the many ways music in general has fragmented into so many sub-genres, courtesy of the Internet and all with an emphasis upon visual presentation.
 
In short, how do we keep the focus upon this distinct celebration of local talent fresh?  And when our Executive Awards Committee sat down to brainstorm, one key theme of agreement was centered upon the realization that with 26 years behind us, we need to re-infuse this awards ceremony with a sense of specialty, purpose, and distinction by giving it a complete overhaul and facelift, all focused towards escalating the caliber & importance of the local musical artists that we celebrate.
 
Towards that end, we are shortening the ceremony and will be developing five special performance segments with a focus upon the many divergent components of our regional music scene; many performed & presented with unique cross-genre and generational collaborations.
 
This year's 27th RMA Celebration will be taking place on Sunday, April 21st, 2013 from 5:00-10:00 PM and will be staged at the spacious facilities of our gracious host, THE BARTS Entertainment Complex in Bay City.  And given the shortening of the Ceremony, we intend to open the stage and venue to a broader range of Live music at our Awards AFTER PARTY Showcase, which will give all in attendance a change to celebrate in The Stables from 10 - midnight, so winners and the public can party in a more informal setting.
 
The Michigan Music Hall of Fame Project
 
Two years ago, following a trip to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, it struck me that with so many inimitable artists hailing from the Saginaw, Bay, Flint, & Midland region (see our profile on Sonny Stitt in this issue for starters) it would be a good idea to start showcasing our regions historical legacy through our own regional 'Music Hall of Fame'.
 
Towards that end, I began by assembling a Board of Directors not only for the Music Awards, but to use the awards to springboard a project that will hopefully one day have a 'home' to shelter not only the legacy of incredible talent this region has given birth to, but to chronicle and archive years of performance videos and footage that the public could watch, absorb, appreciate, and hopefully become inspired by through a rekindled sense of cultural pride.
 
To my mind, we have assembled an impressive Board consisting of Timothy Boychuck, Bo White, Ben Cohen, Mike Brush, Matt deHeus, and David Strouse. And to facilitate this ambitious project, we will be soliciting major sponsorships in the days, weeks, and months ahead; presenting a Special Award to the Review Artist of The Year that will not be selected by popular vote, but by a panel of respects music critics & area promoters.
 
We will also be soliciting nominations for the Michigan Music Hall of Fame, but begin by inducting three previously announced Lifetime Achievement Award winners that have emerged from the Review Awards Ceremony over the years: Dick Wagner, Larry McCray and Michael Brush.
 
Keep Those Votes Coming
 
 
The Nomination Round for the 2013 Review Music Awards is still going on, so if you have not registered and voted, I encourage you to do so.  The Final Candidates will be announced in our next edition.
 
More details on tickets, guest artists & performer will be announced in future editions of The Review.

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