The 2009 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards Show ended not even two hours ago at the Madison Theater in Covington, Kentucky. Over eighty bands were nominated in twenty different categories, which would ultimately represent the best in local music, as decided by critics, venue owners, radio personnel, fans and many countless others in between.
This year’s show featured standout performances from the Lions Rampant, Mark Utley & Magnolia Mountain, You, You’re Awesome, II Juicy, Small Time Crooks and Brian Olive. The event was hosted by Jen Dalton of Channel 12, and featured other keynote speakers like Dan McCabe of CityBeat Magazine, Jim Tarbell, Aaron Sharpe of WNKU, Marvin Hawkins, Elliot Ruther, and Kelly Thomas of the Rivertown Music Club, who gave a heartfelt speech about the Red McCormack Recording Grant Fund. This year’s recipient of the recording grant was Mark Utley and Magnolia Mountain.
Once again, congratulations to all of those who won, those who were nominated, and even those not nominated. Cincinnati has an exceptional music scene not just because of the talent and diversity, but also because of the continuing support of its devoted fans. You hear about places with strong music communities like New York City, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans and Austin, but I like to think that those places don’t have quite the heart that we have here. There’s no reason Cincinnati can’t be on the same level as those cities. Let’s keep it growing!
2009 CEA Winners
Artist of the Year
Bad Veins
Album of the Year
The Seedy Seeds, Count the Days
New Artist of the Year
You, You’re Awesome
Alternative/Indie
The Seedy Seeds
Bluegrass
Rumpke Mountain Boys
Blues
J. Dorsey Blues Revival
Country
Dallas Moore
Experimental/Electronic
Chick Pimp, Coke Dealer at a Bar
Folk/Americana
The Tillers
Hip Hop
Eclipse
Jazz
Northside Jazz Ensemble
Metal/Hardcore
Beneath the Sky
Punk
The Frankl Project
R&B/Funk
Freekbass
Rock/Hard Rock
Buffalo Killers
Singer/Songwriter
Kim Taylor
World Music
The Pinstripes
Best Musical Ambassador for the City
Heartless Bastards
Best Live Act
The Seedy Seeds
Dude. Small Time Crooks blew me away. They did such a great job.
“…but I like to think that those places don’t have quite the heart that we have here”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, funniest thing I have heard all week. Cincinnati has one of the WORST music scenes….all they want is cover music. It’s a SAD state of affairs (and no, I am not making fun of you Nate, I am complaining about how BAD the scene is here).
yeah, it’s hard for me to get into hip hop, but i really enjoyed what i heard from them
how good or how bad the scene is really depends on people’s opinions. what pisses me off about local music is that it seems like more people than not are only loooking for the cover bands – and local music shouldn’t be about cover bands. don’t get me wrong, a love when a band like the dead, phish or dave throw a cover into their set, but there’s a huge difference between bands who play an occasional cover and bands who only play covers…but at the same time, cover bands seem to make them sound like crap – their sound is terrible, they play easy versions of songs, no real vocal talent – its like karoake with a below average backing band – thats what cover bands are to me – and they suck and they’re a waste – sorry if offended you, but its just one man’s opinion. i don’t want to get too much into cover bands because i think i could write a book on my hatred for them, but i will end that with a question – why/how in the hell do bad cover bands charge a fee to get into their shows at terrible sports bars like shimmers when they offer original, amazing music for free at places like the tavern, comet, molly’s, arnold’s and too many other venues to count?