Familiar big names mix with emerging acts as the community radio station’s first-ever Friday night awards bonanza hosts two dozen performances on two stages at The Intersection.
Past Jammie of the Year winner Karisa Wilson will light up The Intersection as part of WYCE’s Jammie Awards show. (Photo/John Sinkevics)
Some of Michigan’s brightest musical stars will shine during the 2013 edition of WYCE-FM’s Jammie Awards show, with ultra-popular returnees and past winners such as Karisa Wilson, The Crane Wives, The Soil & The Sun, Delilah DeWylde, An Dro and Legacy Award honoree Jimmie Stagger taking the stage.
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But the must-attend event at The Intersection on Feb. 22 will also shed the spotlight on a host of new and up-and-coming regional artists as well: 15 of the two dozen acts will perform at the Jammies for the first time, according to today’s lineup announcement by WYCE.
Among them will be folk-rock’s The Northern Skies, with frontman Eric Engblade acknowledging that “it’s nice to get nominated and noticed. We are looking forward to it because we’ve been working really hard in Michigan and the Great Lakes area this year.”
The Northern Skies
And with so many different musicians from so many bands in attendance, he added, “it’s nice to be able to play for them as well.”
The 14th annual awards show will honor the region’s best (as voted upon by volunteer programmers, critics and listeners) in a host of different categories, with more than 130 recordings up for album of the year, aka The Big Jammie.
Return performers include Jimmie Stagger (Legacy Award), An Dro, The Crane Wives, Karisa Wilson, Lucas Wilson, Delilah DeWylde & the Lost Boys, The Soil & The Sun and The Wealthy Orphans.
First-time performers are Abass Camara, Antrim Dells, Appleseed Collective, Blue Molly, Edye Evans Hyde, Eric Kehoe, Fauxgrass Quartet, FLASHCLASH, The Go Rounds, The Muteflutes, The Northern Skies, Serita’s Black Rose, Strawberry Heritage, Tia Imani Hanna Project, Tony LaJoye and The True Falsettos.
“I’m so excited,” said LaJoye. “I’ve been following WYCE and the Jammies for years now, so it’s a great feeling to be a part of it this time around.”
Serita Crowley of Serita’s Black Rose said it “means a lot to us, more than what people realize because WYCE has contributed to our community tremendously. It gives people the opportunity to gain exposure while bringing the community together. … We feel very blessed to be able to contribute our talents to the community.”
Blue Molly
Of course, for some folks the “first time” thing is more about the night of the week chosen for this year’s Jammie celebration. For the first time ever, WYCE has opted to unleash its hoopla on a Friday night rather than the traditional Tuesday evening.
Although WYCE station manager Kevin Murphy concedes traditionalists and some longtime Jammies attendees “have expressed their dismay,” moving the event to a Friday should ensure that more people will stay deeper into the evening and it helps tie the Bell’s Brewery sponsorship of the event to the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival at Fifth Third Ballpark the next day.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 22; get the full list of this year’s nominees and more details at the WYCE website.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
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