Since 2000, WYCE has celebrated the best in music, with a who’s who roster of Michigan acts honored. Check out past winners; view the three-stage schedule for the Feb. 20 bash at The Intersection.
That Was Then: Before he became an international superstar, Billy Strings lit up The Intersection at the 2015 Jammie Awards with Kevin Gills and Don Julin. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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It’s been a long — and sometimes circuitous — trip for the WYCE Jammie Awards.
Launched in 2000 as the brainchild of then-station manager Michael Packer and programmer Michael Van Denend, the inaugural year’s show doled out awards to national artists, with the sole “Local Artist of the Year” honors going to soulful, bluesy outfit Roberta Bradley & Gypsy.
For a variety of reasons, the community radio station has moved the event to various Grand Rapids locations over the years, from the old Founders Brewing on Monroe Avenue NW to the defunct Opus 1894 on Ionia Avenue SW to the former home of the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts to The Intersection to Wealthy Theatre and back to The Intersection, where it’s been held since 2009, surviving everything from inclement wintry weather to COVID-19 shutdowns.
Joyous Celebration: The WYCE Jammie Awards (Photo/Eric Stoike)
The event also has since become known as “the biggest night for Michigan music” with awards doled out exclusively to local and regional acts.
Notable Michigan artists — many still performing, others long broken up — have snagged top honors for their albums over the years: Domestic Problems, Fonnmhor, The Willeys, Grasshoppah, Ralston Bowles, Potato Moon (and The Lonely Jones), Drew Nelson, Sweet Japonic, Karisa Wilson, May Erlewine, The Vincent Hayes Project, The Crane Wives, The Soil & The Sun, Afro Zuma, Greensky Bluegrass, The Accidentals, The War and Treaty, Jordan Hamilton, Full Cord, The Bootstrap Boys, Mustard Plug, In the Valley Below, Hollywood Makeout, Heaters, The Go Rounds and others.
Of course, there have been countless memorable performances generated by oft-collaborative and ultra-energetic sets, from young bluegrass phenom Billy Strings — with Don Julin and Kevin Gills — ripping up the stage in 2015 to hip hop’s Adrian Wright & The Great Let Gos filling up that same stage with fiery talent in 2025.
And since it was founded in 2012, Local Spins has covered them all. Relive those blasts from the past online here.
But let’s get back to the future: WYCE (88.1 FM) has announced the schedule of performers for the 2026 Jammie Awards taking place at The Intersection in downtown Grand Rapids on Feb. 20 starting at 6 p.m., with 20 acts performing on three stages. Advance tickets are 12.15, available here. View the schedule below and save the image of set times at the bottom of this post to take with you to keep track of performances.
There’s also a Local Spins Jammie Awards Pre-Show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 18) at SpeakEZ Lounge with a performance by 2025 Jammie Award winner The Wild Honey Collective, and 2026 nominee Dee Sutton. Details here.
We’ll see you at both shows.
2026 JAMMIE AWARDS SCHEDULE (Fri. Feb. 20)
MAIN SHOWROOM STAGE
5:45 – Opening Ceremony / Awards (Listeners’ Choice Artist + Album)
6:00-6:25 – Y-NOT
6:35 – Awards (Americana/Roots, Alternative)
6:45-7:10 – SWEET DEE & THE WILD HONEYS
7:20 – Awards (Folk, Rock)
7:25-7:50 – JUSTIN AVDEK
8:05 – Awards (Jazz, Blues)
8:15-8:40 – LA FURIA DEL RITMO
8:50 – Awards (Against All Odds, Critics’ Choice Artist, Album)
9:00-9:25 – CAMERON BLAKE
9:30 – Awards (Hip Hop, Electronic)
9:40-10:05 – THE GASOLINE GYPSIES
10:10 – Awards (Album by a New Artist, Single of the Year, Song of the Year)
10:20-10:50 – PHABIES
10:50 – Final Awards (WYCE Artist, Album)
ELEVATION
6:10-6:35 – THE SCHROCK BROS
6:50-7:15 – CLAWFOOT
7:30-7:55 – CALIKO
8:10-8:35 – DANTE COPE
8:50-9:15 – CANDID ANTICS
9:30-9:55 – LEVITATOR
10:10-10:40 – LADY ACE BOOGIE & FRIENDS
THE STACHE
6:20-6:45 – AUGUST
7:05-7:30 – LOS HERMANOS 616
7:50-8:15 – BLOCKHOUSE VALLEY
8:35-9:00 – LEXIE BLUE
9:20-9:45 – CAITLIN CUSACK
10:00-10:25 – NORMAL MODE
Save this image on your smartphone to take to the Jammie Awards
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