FAMILIAR NOTES
The Boston Music Awards dole out prizes to veterans, deserving newcomers
The current generation of Boston Music Awards voters has done an excellent job of banishing the big acts, artists like Aerosmith with no need to put a BMA trophy next to their Grammys and MTV Moonmen. But the voters aren’t perfect.
While Pvris certainly has local roots, the Lowell-born trio doesn’t really need another BMA — the group already has a major label record deal, literally millions of YouTube hits and Spotify streams, and 2016 trophies for artist and song of the year. Yet the voters handed Pvris big wins at last night’s Boston Music Awards party at the House of Blues.
The dark synth pop band took home another set of artist and song of the year titles and added the pop artist of the year award for good measure. But with a couple dozen BMAs to hand out, Pvris left plenty of room for some nice undercard victories.
Up for six awards, blues, rock and soul sensation Julie
Rhodes nabbed three wins, including female vocalist and Americana artist of the year. Matching Rhodes for most nominations, the hip-hop duo STL GLD had an equally impressive haul, winning album of the year for the astoundingly personal and political “Torch Song.” Rhodes and STL GLD combined to win video of the year (unsigned) for “Feels Like Home,” which also featured
Dutch ReBelle and Tigerman
WOAH. Adding a little extra icing to the sweetness, STL GLD producer Janos Fulop, who works as The Arcitype, grabbed studio producer of the year.
The BMA voters filled the class of 2017 with familiar (and deserving) faces: Bearstronaut (electronic artist)
and The Ballroom Thieves (folk artist), Ruby Rose Fox
(singer songwriter) and
Palehound (alternative/indie artist). But there was also a nice-if-tiny infusion of fresh energy.
Young rocker Carissa
Johnson started the year winning the 2017 Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble. She continued her tremendous roll with three BMA nominations this fall. Last night, in maybe the most deserved victory, she took home the new artist of the year award.
Also at the end of a breakout year, Weakened
Friends nabbed five nominations. The noise rock/ indie pop trio only grabbed one — unsigned artist of the year — but that’s fine. After all, they got to record with Dinosaur Jr. legend J Mascis in 2017, so it’s hard to go up from that.
If a theme emerged from the haze of booze and volume at the event — Johnson, Weakened Friends, STL GLD and half a dozen more acts were in last night’s lineup — it was that the BMAs need to keep expanding. A few years ago, nearly all the nominees were new. Last night, half the victors were veteran winners. Not surprising, considering a big chunk of the ballot looked nearly identical to 2016’s.
The BMAs may be improving with each edition, but you get the sense too many voters are cutting and pasting. If we are going to banish Aerosmith, it might be time to do the same with Pvris and a host of other chronic winners.