The Northwest Arkansas Music Awards is back for its 14th year
Brady Tackett
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: Lifestyles
The Northwest Arkansas Music Awards, the state's largest music awards event, is back for its 14th year. NAMA hosts performances by local up-and-coming artists and honors seasoned musicians.
The nominees are chosen based on three criteria, said Susan Porter, the editor of the Fayetteville Free Weekly. The anonymous panel, made up of members of the local music industry, looks for "performance and achievement in the past year, talent and popularity," she said.
Some nominees are divided into groups by their musical genre, such as "Best World Music" and "Best Party Band," while others are considered on a more general basis, with categories like "Best New Band" or "Band of the Year." Also honored at this year's NAMA will be two Hall of Fame award recipients and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, according to the event's Web site. The winners are chosen by fans in an online poll at NAMA's Web site.
"We strive to have five nominees in each category, and the categories change every year according to what's popular," Porter said.
Additions to this year's ceremony include the "Urban" and "Electronic/Groove" categories. NAMA remains relevant 14 years after its beginning because of this sensitivity to musical trend.
But Porter said the ceremony is not meant as a popularity contest.
"It's a great way to publicize undiscovered bands or ones that just haven't learned how to draw an audience yet," she said. She cited Fayetteville's Memphis Pencils, who performed at last year's ceremony, as one of the event's success stories.
"They were one my favorites and it seemed like their audience really grew after last year," she said. "We invite popular bands, but we also like having the ones that no one would hear of otherwise."
This year's performers include Jarris, Souled Out, Pat and Mattie, Cletus Got Shot, and Kory Montgomery Band.
"It's more than saying 'this is the best band in the region,'" Porter said. "It's a celebration, a way to honor everyone involved in the local musical community. I love that musicians and music fans can mingle and interact in a way they normally cannot. That's part of why it's such a unique event."
The nominees are chosen based on three criteria, said Susan Porter, the editor of the Fayetteville Free Weekly. The anonymous panel, made up of members of the local music industry, looks for "performance and achievement in the past year, talent and popularity," she said.
Some nominees are divided into groups by their musical genre, such as "Best World Music" and "Best Party Band," while others are considered on a more general basis, with categories like "Best New Band" or "Band of the Year." Also honored at this year's NAMA will be two Hall of Fame award recipients and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, according to the event's Web site. The winners are chosen by fans in an online poll at NAMA's Web site.
"We strive to have five nominees in each category, and the categories change every year according to what's popular," Porter said.
Additions to this year's ceremony include the "Urban" and "Electronic/Groove" categories. NAMA remains relevant 14 years after its beginning because of this sensitivity to musical trend.
But Porter said the ceremony is not meant as a popularity contest.
"It's a great way to publicize undiscovered bands or ones that just haven't learned how to draw an audience yet," she said. She cited Fayetteville's Memphis Pencils, who performed at last year's ceremony, as one of the event's success stories.
"They were one my favorites and it seemed like their audience really grew after last year," she said. "We invite popular bands, but we also like having the ones that no one would hear of otherwise."
This year's performers include Jarris, Souled Out, Pat and Mattie, Cletus Got Shot, and Kory Montgomery Band.
"It's more than saying 'this is the best band in the region,'" Porter said. "It's a celebration, a way to honor everyone involved in the local musical community. I love that musicians and music fans can mingle and interact in a way they normally cannot. That's part of why it's such a unique event."
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