The annual celebration of Greater Cincinnati’s rich music scene, the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (CEAs), returns for its 17th year on Jan. 26. Honoring the 2013 achievements of area musicians from a wide variety of genres, Covington’s Madison Theater will again host the CEA ceremony/party.
Featuring numerous live performances and first-time host Jac Kern,
CityBeat ’s arts and culture editor, the CEA event will also dole out awards to the winners of each category, decided mostly by public voting, as well as a committee of dozens of Greater Cincinnati music experts.
Before the CEAs, CityBeat (which founded and operates the CEAs) will again present a showcase at Corryville club Bogart’s to spotlight new local acts. But, unlike last year, the “Best New Bands” event — scheduled for Jan. 18 — will feature more than just the acts nominated in the New Artist of the Year category. And, while last year’s Bogart’s event involved audience voting to decide the winner of the New Artist category, the showcase this year will not have a voting component. Many felt the process seemed too “battle of the bands”-like. (We don’t totally disagree.)
In response to the explosion of higher-quality music videos from artists without huge budgets (thanks, increasingly inexpensive technology!), for the first time, the CEAs have a “Best Music Video” category. The 10 clips will be posted online so voters can watch each before making their selection.
Visit citybeat.com this Friday to begin voting for your favorites. And stay tuned to the CityBeat website for the latest updates.
Bluegrass
Comet Bluegrass All-Stars, Hickory Robot, Kentucky Timbre, Lawson Family Reunion, Ma Crow and the Lady Slippers, Rumpke Mountain Boys
Country
Dallas Moore Band, Sassy Molasses, Tana Matz, Red Beard’s Revenge, Jeremy Pinnell and the 55’s, Honey & Houston
Folk/Americana
Magnolia Mountain, The Hiders, The Happy Maladies, Ben Knight & the Welldiggers, The Tillers, Shiny and the Spoon
World Music/Reggae
Milton Blake, The Cliftones, Baoku & The Image Afrobeat Band, The Pinstripes, Elementree Livity Project, Azucar Tumbao
Rock
Lemon Sky, Ohio Knife, Pop Goes the Evil, Electric Citizen, The Kickaways, The Upset Victory
Metal/Hard Rock
Moonbow, Grey Host, Valley of the Sun, Eyes on Tomorrow, Mary Cries Red, Siren
Singer/Songwriter
Molly Sullivan, Austin Livingood, Mark Utley, Kelly Thomas, Margaret Darling, Kim Taylor
Indie/Alternative
Archer’s Paradox, Bad Veins, DAAP Girls, Fists of Love, Why?, The Yugos
Punk/Pop Punk
Subsets, Gazer, Tweens, Vacation, The Dopamines, BoyMeetsWorld
Blues
The Whiskey Shambles, Ricky Nye, Kelly Richey Band, The Juice, Scotty Bratcher, Ralph & the Rhythm Hounds
R&B/Funk/Soul
Natural Progression, The Cincy Brass, Jameze Latrail, The Perfect Children, The Almighty Get Down, Black Pharaoh
Jazz
Animal Mother, Samba Jazz Syndicate, The Qtet, The Faux Frenchmen, fo/mo/deep, Brent Gallaher
Hip Hop
MC Forty, Buggs Tha Rocka, Lantana, Abiyah, Valley High, Trademark Aaron
Electronic
Black Signal, Dark Colour, ADM, Playfully Yours, Skeleton Hands, Firecat 451
Best Live Act
The Perfect Children, The Happy Maladies, Foxy Shazam, The Pinstripes, DAAP Girls, Eclipse
Best Music Video
Black Pharaoh’s “Man I Killed”; DAAP Girls’ “Molly”; Culture Queer’s “Melloncamp”; Lantana’s “Every Cloud In It”; Mia Carruthers’ “Bell and a Basket”; Bad Veins’
“Kindness”; Valley High’s “8 Ball”; The Kickaways’ “Fake Blood”; Trademark Aaron’s “Faith”; Moonbow’s “The End of Time”
Critical Achievement Awards
Album Of The Year
Over the Rhine’s
Meet Me at the Edge of the World ; Allan Pray’s
Race: The Portrait of a Town ; The Frankl Project’s
Standards ; Various Artists’
Music for the Mountains 2: A Benefit to Stop Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining ; Moonbow’s
The End of Time ; The Tillers’
Hand on the Plow ; DAAP Girls’
Tape Songs ; Fists of Love’s
I Sang My Heart Out to a Snake Once
New Artist Of the Year
Electric Citizen, Archer’s Paradox, Pop Goes the Evil, Tweens, Mardou, Austin Livingood
Artist Of The Year
The Tillers, Walk the Moon, Kim Taylor, DAAP Girls, Lantana, Mad Anthony
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2013.