WYCE’s Friday night celebration of Michigan music boasted a packed house at The Intersection, diverse sets and awards given out in 18 categories. Get a recap, browse photos and see the full list of winners.
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In a milestone musical celebration rife with diverse performances by Michigan artists on multiple stages, a couple of rootsy acts took home some of the biggest awards on Friday night.
With fans packing The Intersection in downtown Grand Rapids for the 2024 edition of the WYCE Jammie Awards, vintage country’s The Bootstrap Boys won artist of the year and best roots/Americana album honors, with West Michigan bluegrass band Full Cord earning the overall album of the year award for its latest recording, “Cambium.”
They weren’t the only acts winning high-profile awards: The critics’ choice award for album of the year went to ska favorite Mustard Plug for “Where Did All My Friends Go?” with Grand Rapids rock band The American Hotel System named artist of the year.
Public voting by fans, meanwhile, tabbed Americana’s Roosevelt Diggs as artist of the year, with singer-songwriter Chloe Kimes earning the award for album of the year for her self-titled release.
Members of Roosevelt Diggs were thrilled with the award, calling the Jammies “a culmination of local music. It keeps the scene going. It’s priceless. There are 19 bands performing here, but we’re a big family. We’re here to celebrate as a community.”
Aside from The Bootstrap Boys, the only other winner of multiple awards was West Michigan world music trio Whorled, which won Jammies for song of the year (“Seven”) and best traditions album (“Reimagined”).
“It feels really special,” said Whorled fiddler Keala Venema, who also performed on Friday with the jazz-fueled, up-and-coming jazz fusion band Pocket Watch. “I love being able to connect with other people and seeing other musicians I really respect out and about. It’s really a community-building event.”
TOP-NOTCH, FAN-PLEASING PERFORMANCES ON EVERY STAGE
The evening’s real winners, however, may have been the performers and fans who heated up the five-hour-long, 24th edition of the Jammie Awards honoring the best local and regional music of the past year. With 19 bands and solo artists playing three different stages, the festive spectacle touched a bevy of musical bases: hip hop, rock, singer-songwriter, world music, rockabilly, bluegrass, Celtic music, jazz, electronic, R&B, regional Mexicano, pop and more. And fans raved that every set was compelling.
Attendee Drew Phillipe from Grand Rapids was more than impressed with the performance by Pocket Watch, an emerging, jazz-fueled ensemble that kicked things off on the main stage.
“I thought they were awesome. Twenty minutes was not enough,” he said. “They have a nice combination of Western rock and Eastern influences which gave them a mystical sound that was bouncy and fun.”
For The Bootstrap Boys, winning two Jammie awards was just the icing on the cake. “For me, coming down here and meeting with other regional acts that I only see at show or on the road, there’s nothing like it,” said Jake “Big Jake Bootstrap” Stilson. “There is no competition, just a chance to get together and just have a moment — enjoying it all togethers and getting some recognition.”
The event — which drew well over 1,000 people who roamed from stage to stage — also saw the debut of the “Against All Odds Award,” presented by Varnum Law. The first-year award honored electronic music artist Ryan Burkholder, aka Trakzero, who was diagnosed with sudden hearing loss, Specific Autoimmune Disorder, Erosive Osteoarthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a variety of food intolerances and PTSD, with some of these conditions starting during childhood.
After losing nearly all of his hearing in 2020, Burkholder decided to invest his efforts into making music and supporting other musicians, as well as raising awareness of “invisible” diseases. He’s recently made significant improvements to his health, including his hearing, which made it possible to produce and record his latest album, “Inclusions,” from his home studio.
Return to Local Spins on Saturday for a video, more photos and bonus Jammie Awards coverage. – Matt Marn, Holly Holtzclaw, Bill Lee and John Sinkevics contributed to this report.
PHOTO GALLERY: Jammie Awards at The Intersection
Photos by Anna Sink and Chelsea Whitaker