21st Annual Boston Music Awards Voting Open Until December 5th

(UPDATE: Here is a bunch of photos I took at the 21st Annual Boston Music Awards plus links to all the winning bands’ websites.)

This year’s 21st Annual Boston Music Awards is a private industry event happening at The Roxy on December 7th. Fans can vote for their favorite local and national bands in twenty-six categories until December 5th. The event is a benefit for The Music Drives Us Foundation.

Some of my favorite Boston bands are up for awards including …

• Girls Guns And Glory (Act of the Year – Local, Album of the Year – Local, Outstanding Americana Act of the Year – Local)
• The Great Bandini (Best Song of the Year – Local)
• Aoifie O’Donovan / Crooked Still ( Female Vocalist of the Year – Local)
• John Powhida (Male Vocalist of the Year – Local)
• The Everyday Visuals (Outstanding Live Act of the Year)
• A.K.A.C.O.D. (Outstanding Rock Act of the Year)
• Mieka Pauley (Outstanding Folk Artist of the Year)

Here are some photos I took at last year’s 20th Annual Boson Music Awards at the Orpheum.

Photos! The Finals at WBCN 30th Annual Rock & Roll Rumble

Until this year, I skipped every other WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble since moving to Boston in 1994. I’m glad I finally ended that tradition and made it out to some of the shows at this year’s 30th annual rumble. The finals night was no exception. The winners, Girls Guns & Glory, played their best show I’ve ever seen (and I’ve been to a bunch). I finally got to see A.K.A.C.O.D., the union of Dana Colley (former Saxaphonist for Morphine), bass player and singer Monique Ortiz and drummer Larry Dersch. Low-rock awesomeness! Despite being a big fan of Girls Guns & Glory I thought there might be a chance that The Great Bandini would win it all. In the end, the rumble belonged to Girls Guns & Glory. Not bad timing for them: next week they’ve got their CD release party for “Inverted Valentine” downstairs at the Middle East on May 2nd. (Not so subtle hint: go, go, go!)

The Neighborhoods, who won the first Rumble thirty years ago, performed at the end of the night to a very enthusiastic crowd. After the music was over, Marc and John from Township, the 2007 Rumble winner, crowned Girls Guns & Glory as the 2008 Rumble winners. Yes, there was a tiara.

To view all the photos I took at the WBCN 30th Annual Rock & Roll Rumble, check out the photo set at Flickr.

Photos in this entry: David Minehan, The Neighborhoods; Marc Pinansky, Township