The 2022 Best of the Beat Music Business Awards event was held on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The following Louisiana music businesses were recognized for their work in 2021-2022, and was attended by members of the Louisiana music business community in an intimate ceremony and networking session.

Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Jan Ramsey presided over the event, which also included the presentation of Lifetime Achievement Awards to Little Freddie King (Music), Mark Samuels (Music Business), Tony Dagradi (Music Education) and Benny Jones, Sr. (HeartBeat Award). The audience was also treated to a short-form video honoring King, which was directed by OffBeat’s own Noé Cugny. The video will also be shown at the Best of The Beat Music Awards on Thursday, November 10 in the 3rd Floor Performance venue at the Jazz Museum during the awards party.

Tipitina’s was the big winner of the evening at the Best of the Beat Beat Music Award event, winning for Best Club and Music Business of the Year, with general manager Brian “Tank” Greenburg taking home the award for Best Club/Venue Manager.

Best Club: Tipitina’s
As a legendary music venue in New Orleans, in the past this music club has weathered closures, changes in ownership and operation and financial challenges that seemed almost insurmountable. Tipitina’s has not only survived, but is thriving and has revived its foundation as the “Tip-It” Foundation, started a very successful vinyl record club, and continues to serve the community and New Orleans music lovers locally and worldwide.

Best Radio Station: WWOZ
There’s really only one logical choice for this, and they won year after year. They can never receive enough accolades as a window for the world into New Orleans music.

Best Large Festival: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
After three cancellations, we finally got to enjoy the revival of the city’s and world’s paean to Louisiana music and culture, and this year the festival was an astounding success.

Best Festival Outside New Orleans: Bluesberry Festival
New Orleans claims the largest number of festivals in Louisiana, but a lot of the music we enjoy can be claimed by many of our smaller towns and cities throughout the state. As the city’s metro area grows and prospers, love of our music and festival culture continues to grow and expand and to include the metro area suburban festivals. The Northshore a.k.a. St. Tammany Parish is lucky to be able to host a newer, family-friendly festival on the banks of the beautiful Bogue Falaya River.

Best Neighborhood Festival: Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival
We must acknowledge the continued growth and excellence of the free festivals organized by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation as a part of their commitment to supporting and preserving our indigenous music and culture. By organizing these festivals, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival must be recognized as doing a fantastic job in not only entertaining locals and visitors alike, but also employing local musicians and small businesses and artisans and craftspeople at the fest.

Best Recording Studio: Marigny Studios
In this time of DIY recording, it’s great to be able to award this recording studio our “Best of” Award to studio that’s been involved in everything from film, radio, television and soundtracks to national and local performers, including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Sweet Crude, Trombone Shorty, Clint Maedgen, C.C. Adcock and many more.

Best Record Label: Valcour Records
This Louisiana label, based in Eunice, “showcases on the world stage the extraordinary talents born from the rich and diverse cultures of Louisiana.” It’s due to the continuing efforts and partnerships with musicians, artists and artisans to bring you music and cultural content you won’t find anywhere else.” (Sounds like OffBeat!). A good example of the thread of history and culture that’s been passed down from elders to youth, which makes Louisiana music and musicians so unique around the world. Valcour was started in 2006 by Joel Savoy—a member of one of Louisiana’s most beloved musical families: the Savoys along with partners Phillip LaFargue II and Lucius Fontenot.

Best Producer: C.C. Adcock
There were a lot of people to consider in this category, but this guy stood out this year. He’s a singer/songwriter, guitarist and blues musicians who’s known for his efforts to preserve and promote swamp pop music. He produced work with Lil Band o’ Gold, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Doyle Bramhall, Neko Case, Nick Cave and many more. This year has been a watershed year for him with his production of veteran swamp pop entertainer Tommy McLain, who has received a lot of attention on mainstream media as a result of Adcock’s advocacy.

Best Record Store: Louisiana Music Factory
From its beginnings on Decatur Street to its location now on Frenchmen Street, and also now in the New Orleans Jazz Museum, this record store is beloved by locals and music lovers worldwide. His business weathered the devastation of COVID and is still going strong on Frenchmen Street.

Best Instrument Store: C&M Music Center
On Thursday, November 10, we will honor musicians who have been voted as deserving of a Best of The Beat Music Award. But without instruments and gear, there would not be the ability to support musicians’ art and performances. This small business, C&M Music Center now has locations in Kenner, Mandeville, Lafayette and now in Hattiesburg.

Best Studio Sound Engineer: Tony Daigle
The recipient of this year’s award for best sound engineer is long overdue. Tony Daigle is a 6-time Grammy Award-winning engineer, producer, guitarist and songwriter who owns Electric Comoland Studio in Lafayette, is named after Dr. Tommy Comeaux founding member of BeauSoleil, to honor his name, similar to Jimi Hendrix’ Electric Ladyland Studios in New York, and has worked with hundreds of like B.B. King, Sonny Landreth.

Best Booking Agency: White Oak Productions
The premier booking agency in New Orleans is undoubted and has won this award more times than we can count…you need some competition!

Best Manager: Tavia Osbey and Ried Martin of MidCitizen Entertainment
Once again, we have to acknowledge the outstanding work by our recipient of this award—who also received it last year under a “previous name.” They manage acts like Big Freedia, Tank and the Bangas, The Suffers, Alexis & the Samurai, SaxKixAve, Sweet Crude, Alfred Banks, Low Cut Connie, Pom Pom Squad, and more.

Best Music Attorney: The Ella Project
Our next honoree has worked in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law for many years and has continued to work with the musicians and creators in New Orleans and beyond. The best thing is that this entity, led by attorney Ashlye Keaton, continues to provide much-needed legal advice and ongoing educational series for performers, culture bearers and musicians.

Best Club Manager / Owner: Brian “Tank” Greenburg of Tipitina’s
So many good things continue to happen at this venue, that we can only begin to honor the person who’s been at the helm of this iconic music club, weathering the storm of financial issues, ownership changes, and more, while expanding the clubs reach and its stellar reputation with local musicians as well as with music fans.

 

Best Concert Promoter: Live Nation
Like all promoters in New Orleans and worldwide, the year 2021 was incredibly stressful, and led to staff reductions, and tightening of budgets. But they have come back stronger than ever and now promote in local venues House of Blues, the Fillmore and other venues in the metro area and beyond.

Musicians Resource Award: GNO, Inc.’s Music Initiative (“NOME”)
We are presenting the award this year to a “mainstream” business organization that has jumped into the fray to actually support and grow the music industry in New Orleans by producing a music industry study for the city, a directory, and more.

Community Education Award: Cutting Edge Conference
This group started in the early 1990s, not long after OffBeat produced the first educational conference in 1987 to help provide educational and networking resources for local musicians and music businesses. They are still at it, 30 years later.

Community Music Promotion Award: New Orleans & Company for its NOLA X NOLA promotion
It’s been a dream of mine for over 35 years to have the tourism and hospitality industry recognize the importance of music to the city’s economy and culture, and to support the musicians and music businesses that make this city so special. They are proving their commitment to our music with the promotion started last year in the wake of COVID, and on into this year, and I certainly hope they continue the efforts of NOLAxNOLA to support and promote local music—they are aware that music is important, and they are putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak. This promotion is important, not only for its support but for its recognition that music is a serious draw to music fans worldwide.

Community Music Award: The New Orleans Jazz Museum
Well before there was an OffBeat, I wondered why there was no place in New Orleans for the public to learn more and be educated on an ongoing basis on how deep and rich our musical heritage is. It’s been a dream of mine for almost 40 years, and I know it’s also been a dream for the director of the New Orleans Jazz Museum, who has worked for years to create such a place. That person is Greg Lambousy, and his vision for a museum dedicated to music is still evolving. The New Orleans Jazz Museum has been constantly changing, evolving and adding content to the museum year after year, while trying to raise money to create an exhibit space that is world-class. While the fundraising efforts continue, Lambousy and his staff have cemented the New Orleans Jazz Museum as a place to see a variety of live music, educational, and community events on an ongoing basis, as they work towards creating exhibit space that showcases our music.

Music Business of the Year: Tipitina’s
Under the leadership of its new ownership and its visionary general manager, this business is certainly deserving of recognition. From a group of music freaks who started the venue as a place where they could hear the musicians that they loved, under various and sundry leadership changes, through Katrina, through floods, through COVID.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Lifetime Achievement in Music Business: Mark Samuels
I’ve known this gentleman for a very long time—and I call him a gentleman because that is his most outstanding achievement, in addition to his very hard work and business acumen. He’s worked his ass off, having seen him working the streets, selling music and promoting his artists in the most generous way possible, through thick and thin, through tragedy and triumph. I am proud to call this man my friend and am thrilled to present him with this award.

Lifetime Achievement in Music Education: Tony Dagradi
To those who aren’t aware of this, our next awardee is not just a master of his instrument, he’s also been extremely important person in the area of music education, having taught at Loyola’s music school for 30 years. He’s literally taught every sax player at Loyola. We’re so lucky to have had this guy in New Orleans to not only write and perform music that we love, but to have a lasting impact on educating future generations of great musicians from New Orleans. Tony is out of town tonight, and regrets not being able to be here, but he sent us this message that he wanted us to convey to you:

“I’d like to thank the folks at OffBeat for this award. I appreciate being recognized for contributing to the music, culture, and education of our amazing city. When you are talking about music, there is just no other place on earth as rich and diverse as New Orleans; it boggles the mind.
Teaching for 30 years is a long stretch. Academia can be full of paperwork, committees and meetings, etc that have nothing to do with one’s area of expertise. Time becomes a very valuable commodity. There were definitely moments along the way when I felt overworked and under-appreciated. On the flip side, I got to spend time and work with many very talented young players, sharing my knowledge of music that I love. No matter what the context—private lessons, ensembles or improv classes—I always happily gave my all. One of my greatest thrills as an educator was watching students who might be struggling with some concept or technical element have a life changing epiphany right in front of me.
Seeing the light go on in someone’s eyes: Priceless! Similarly, a number of former students have reminisced with me about an important, essential moment for them that I wasn’t even aware of. Finally, a huge source of pride for me is how many young players that I worked with are now busy, respected professionals. Most of these folks were going to be great no matter who they studied with. It was just my good fortune to be in the right
place at the right time. I learned a lot from all of them. Thank you again for this very special honor.”

HeartBeat Award: Benny Jones, Sr.
The HeartBeat Award has been an integral part of our Best of The Beat Music Business Awards over the years. We recognize that there are people who not only play music, and businesses that support our music scene, but about heart and soul, persistence and dedication to the community’s music. No one exemplifies this better than the man to whom we present this award.”Uncle” Benny Jones.

Lifetime Achievement in Music: Little Freddie King