Last night OffBeat presented the 2010 Best of the Beat Business Awards at the Ogden Museum’s Taylor Library. These awards honor achievement in all aspects of the New Orleans music business, from club management to music photography.

HBO’s Treme received this year’s Heartbeat Award for its dedication to faithful on-screen representation of New Orleans. The Lifetime Achievement in Music award went to Dave Bartholomew for his over-a-half-century of work as a songwriter, producer, arranger and bandleader. Bartholomew penned some of Fats Domino’s most recognizable tunes, including “Blue Monday” and “Walking to New Orleans”.

This year’s awards included three new categories. The Bourbon Street Award honors businesses that contribute positively to the musical life of Bourbon Street; the first recipient is the Royal Sonesta, home of Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, which brought the tradition of live, high-quality modern jazz back to Bourbon. The new award for Best Street Promotion, which honors non-traditional and guerrilla level promotion of music went to Lawrence Parker of Supreme Street, who put on concerts by large national hip-hop acts, released mixtapes by local artists, and staged New Orleans’ first local hip-hop awards show this year. The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, which provides high-quality health services to local artists, was honored in the new Best Musician Resource category.

The Best of the Beat Music Awards show takes place this Friday night at Generations Hall. Tickets and more information are available here.

 

Special Honorees

 

Music Education: Derrick Tabb and the Roots of Music

Music Business: Johnny Palazzotto

Heartbeat Award: HBO’s Treme

Lifetime Achievement in Music: Dave Bartholomew

 

Awards

 

Music Business of the Year: Preservation Hall

Best Music Programming: Ogden Museum of Southern Art for “Ogden After Hours”

Best Club: Snug Harbor

Best Club Owner or Manger: John Blancher of Rock ‘n’ Bowl

Best Concert Promoter: Kerry Brown of the Gretna Heritage Festival

Best Radio Station: WTUL

Best Festival: French Quarter Festival

Best Festival Outside New Orleans: Gretna Heritage Festival

Best Neighborhood Festival: Bayou Boogaloo

Best Recording Studio: Piety Street Recording

Best Studio Sound Engineer: Earl Scioneaux

Best Producer: Ben Ellman

Best Record Label: Threadhead Records

Best Record Store: Louisiana Music Factory

Best Instrument Store: International Vintage Guitars

Best Booking Agency: White Oak Productions

Best Manager: Tony Ciaccio and Hypersoul

Best Music Attorney: Ashlye M. Keaton

Best Photographer: Erika Goldring

Bourbon Street Award: Royal Sonesta Hotel

Best Street Promotion: Lawrence Parker (Supreme Street)

Musicians Resource Award: New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic

Music Awareness Award: Tobacco-Free Living

Non-Profit Achievement Award: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation

See the list of Music Award Winners