Crane Wives, Bootstrap Boys win big at Jammie Awards-Local Spins

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Friday’s musical celebration hosted by WYCE-FM at The Intersection boasted an enthused crowd, riveting sets & honors for In the Valley Below, Michigan Rattlers, Earth Radio, Pablo Eskobear & more.

Big Winners: Big Timmy & The Heavy Chevys played a rousing set after winning two awards. (Photo/Eric Stoike)

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The Crane Wives, Big Timmy & The Heavy Chevys and In the Valley Below were big winners at Friday night’s Jammie Awards held at The Intersection in Grand Rapids, with country favorites The Bootstrap Boys winning ‘Artist of the Year’ honors for the second year in a row.

Alt-rock/folk’s The Crane Wives not only won the prestigious album of the year honors from Jammies host WYCE (88.1 FM) for the Grand Rapids band’s first full-length studio album in eight years, “Beyond Beyond Beyond,” but also snagged the critics’ choice artist of the year award.

The Bootstrap Boys, meanwhile, repeated their 2024 artist of the year win while also earning song of the year honors for their striking cover of “Fade Into You” – two awards that came in the wake of the unexpected death of the band’s beloved guitarist, Nick Alexander, in January.

Packed to the Gills: An overflow crowd in The Stache cheered bands much of the night. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)

Band frontman Jake Stilson said he hoped the camaraderie of the Jammies would “provide some much-needed comfort in the face of our recent tragedy,” describing West Michigan’s music community as “one big family.”

Emerging Grand Rapids R&B and soul band Big Timmy & The Heavy Chevys, meanwhile, wrapped up both listeners’ choice awards – voted on by WYCE’s radio audience – winning for artist of the year and album of the year for “Feel the Weight.”

And Grand Rapids indie-rock band In The Valley Below won the critics’ choice album of the year award for “The Black Moon.”

Well over 1,000 musicians, fans and volunteers turned out for Friday’s night’s 25th Jammie Awards show, with diverse sets by 18 different regional acts on three stages. The action kept attendees moving from performance to performance to cheer their favorites throughout the evening.

Many of the acts were playing the Jammies for the first time ever and many of them also impressed audiences that grew precipitously as the night wore on — from the harmony-laden bluegrass and folk of The Wild Honey Collective on the main stage to the soul and hip hop of Kalamazoo’s Headband Henny in Elevation to the Django-esque jazz of Third Coast Swing in The Stache.

Grand Rapids’ Adrian Wright & The Great Let Gos boasted one of the most energetic sets of the night on the main stage, warming things up perfectly for Detroit’s Jennifer Westwood & The Handsome Devils, Big Timmy and his crew, and finally, Kalamazoo hip-hop cellist Jordan Hamilton.

Crowd-Pleaser: The Cosmoknights (Photo/Derek Ketchum)

As Jacob Betts, frontman for past winner The American Hotel System, so aptly put it: “The Jammie Awards perfectly capture the beautiful diversity of Michigan’s music scene. It’s the incredible moment where artists across genres come together under one roof, creating what I’ve always described as the energy of a multi-stage festival condensed into one vibrant space.”

Noted Thom Jayne of the world music group Whorled, which hyped up an elbow-to-elbow, jubilant throng in The Stache Friday night: “It’s probably the best event in Michigan for getting to watch over a dozen local artists in one evening and getting to connect with many of them.”

Other award winners included Michigan Rattlers (with frontman Graham Young’s grandmother from Petoskey accepting their award for best contemporary folk album), Jordan Hamilton, Overdrive Orchestra, The Wild Honey Collective, Candid Antics, Earth Radio, The Gasoline Gypsies, Pablo Eskobear and pianist/singer-songwriter Caitlin Cusack, who not only won for best pop album but earned this year’s “Against All Odds Award” after releasing “The You Carry Me Project,” featuring original songs she wrote to process the grief of losing her parents.

Come back to Local Spins on Saturday afternoon for a complete wrap-up of the Jammies, video highlights and more photos.