Niagara Music Awards heading to Frewin Theatre
The Niagara Music Awards are moving to where the magic happens.
The show will celebrate its 10th year Sept. 24 at the Greg Frewin Theatre in Niagara Falls. It marks the seventh venue the show has been held since it began in 2008.
Frewin’s Las Vegas-style theatre, home of the award-winning magician’s nightly illusion show, seats about 700 and will be a huge increase in capacity over last year’s venue for the awards, the former Lundy’s Lane United Church.
“We had some goals to grow this thing and get it into a theatre,” says Niagara Music Awards organizer Todd Brown. “Just keep moving it forward. This is the 10th year, and we wanted to do it up.”
Submissions are now open for the awards at www.niagaramusicawards.ca. Last year’s show handed out more than 20 awards and featured 10 performances.
The awards were founded by Port Colborne producers Morgan Whelan and Jack Mitchell, with the first two shows held at the former NFCVI high school in Niagara Falls. The show moved to Thorold and Welland for two years before returning to Niagara Falls in 2012, where it has remained.
Brown says the new venue offers posh seating, a VIP Room, professional lighting, and other amenities which should improve the look and sound of the event. It regularly hosts concerts, and for years was home to the annual Light of Day Niagara show.
“There’s a lot of elements that we didn’t have before.”
But this year, the show will only be part of the celebration. From Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, there will be live showcases throughout the region as part of Niagara Music Week. Dates and venues are being finalized.
On Sept. 30, the awards will provide the music for the Feast Street food festival in downtown Welland.
Submissions for this year’s awards are open until Aug. 19. Nominees are expected to be announced in early September.