2021 Eddies Music Awards highlights

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The 2021 Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards were announced Sunday at Universal Preservation Hall before a live audience. The night’s big winners were The Sea The Sea, who won Album of the Year, and in a tie with Joel Brown, Record of the Year.  

Nippertown and WEXT also received two awards each in recognition for their contributions to promoting the local music scene.

The third annual awards ceremony recognized the work done in 2020 and several categories were created to reflect streamed and socially distanced music events. All genre categories were dropped for one year in recognition of the lack of live music performances in 2020.  

The Eddies Special Merit Awards were a new addition. These awards honored the work of music community members whose efforts did not fit neatly into a traditional category. Among the recipients was Eddies co-founder Sal Prizio, who is leaving the area for an out-of-state job opportunity.  

Schenectady’s DJ Ketchup served as emcee and Boomhauer, Dark Honey, Sawyer Fredericks (with band), and Sirsy all performed.  

The Eddies Music Awards and UPH are part of Proctors Collaborative. More information is available at theeddiesawards.com 

The recipients are:  

Arts Publication of the Year
Nippertown

Arts Journalist of the Year
Jim Gilbert (Nippertown) 

Radio Station of the Year 
WEXT 

Radio DJ of the Year 
Chris Wienk (WEXT) 

Recording Studio of the Year 
Blue Sky Music Studios 

Record Label of the Year (tie) 
Cacophone Records 
Upstate Records 

Best Presenter of Virtual Live Music Shows
Caffe Lena – “Stay Home Sessions” 

Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist 
Show or Series – Covers 
Moriah Formica 

Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist 
Show or Series – Original Music
Sean Rowe – “Quarantined”   

Best Socially Distant In-Person Live Music Series 
Jericho Drive-In Series 
Erin Harkes – The Reluctant Retailer 
Roger & Christine Sharp (High Peaks Event Production) – “Red Light Project”
First Reformed Church of Schenectady – “Jazz Vespers”
Sal Prizio – Co-founder, the Eddies Music Awards 

Songwriter of the Year 
Girl Blue 

Music Video of the Year
Buggy Jive – “Ain’t Going Anywhere”

Record of the Year (tie)
Joel Brown – “Everyone’s Gone Home” 
The Sea The Sea – “A Thousand Years”

Album of the Year
The Sea The Sea – “Stumbling Home”