BMAde Betterz
Hump Day News helps the 2023 Boston Music Awards do New Artist better.
Didja see? The Boston Music Awards nominations started rolling out in September.
BMA Nominating CommitteeWhat are the BMAs? Well, the annual music awards ceremony is presented by the whiskey drink Jack Daniels. It’s held at Big Night Live on December 20th. Tickets are sold for seats you sit in. And the logo looks like Paul Revere on a horse, carrying a boombox?
The website says the nominations were pinned down by September 18th.
If you have the time and prolific output, do what Pile did this year: release a killer album (All Fiction) earlier in the year, reap the extra attention won in a relatively quiet time of the year for album announcements, then drop a short & sweet EP (Hot Air Balloon) in the last quarter to remind everyone that you’re still alive and you’re awesome.
Evil genius!
If you want to vote, vote here.
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Notoriously a bullshit category because most artists listed have been playing around Boston for years in some shape or form.
Instead of overworrying the ‘new’ criteria, let’s celebrate artists that may or may not be new to you – but they’re new to us!
Here’s the list of BMA nominees:
Astral Bitch, Axel & Lolo, BoriRock, Cape Crush, Chrysalis, Clark D, Nay $peaks, ToriTori, Velvet Dreaming, and Yet To Bloom.
Hump Day News has reported a bunch on the protopunkers Astral Bitch. A bit on the emo-tinged rock from Cape Crush. And we’ve spotted Velvet Dreaming stickers above the urinals at O’Brien’s Pub and Deep Cuts, which counts as coverage.
Let’s improve the list with a few adds. Maybe new, maybe not?
How about Main Era?
Sure, the band indiethrash poplords have releases dating back at least a couple of years, but their EP Dreamer (released end of 2022, start of 2023) feels like a breakthrough, an opening to a new chapter of great pop music.
How about Prewn?
The band released the stellar full-length Through The Window on Exploding In Sound in August. Art-damaged postpunk from the Pioneer Valley driven with singer-songwriter personality. Sure, it’s the Boston Music Awards and the band is based in Northampton… Who cares? You’re just encouraging artists to lie about being “Boston-based” in their bios. What struggling artist can afford to live in this town on their own dime anyway?
How about Slow Quit?
The gazey, heavy rock artist has a well-developed sound for a short discography consisting of some singles and the follow up self-titled EP. In six short songs the local band find a surprising number of moods and dimensions. There’s a lot of promise building on these foundations. What more would you want from a best new artist of the year? How about killer merch?
Music Publication Of The Year
