On Wednesday evening, January 15, 2014, OffBeat Magazine presented 27 awards to local music businesses, as well as its Lifetime Achievement Awards, at its annual Best of The Beat Music Business Awards event.
Networking is a big part of the Best of The Beat Music Business Awards event. (Photo: Earl Perry)
The awards were held in the third floor performance venue at the Old U.S. Mint, and was co-hosted by sponsor Louisiana State Museums.
The event began with an hour of networking by roughly 250 musicians and music business professionals, and included a performance by local singer/songwriter/pianist Sarah McCoy, who was described by a member of the audience as “fantastic” with a voice that sounded like “Janis Joplin swallowed Tom Waits.”
Publisher Jan Ramsey speaks about local music businesses. (Photo: Kyle Encar)
Publisher Jan Ramsey started giving awards to the music businesses in the state because she says “the people behind the scenes are very rarely acknowledged and appreciated, and they are an integral part of our music scene, and the success of our music community. They deserve some props.”
Business Awards included:
Best Club
Maison
Best Radio Station
WWOZ FM
Best Large Festival
Best Festival Outside of New Orleans
Festival International de Louisiane
Best Neighborhood Festival
Treme Creole Gumbo Festival
Best Recording Studio
The Living Room
Best Record Label
Basin Street Records
Best Producer
Anders Osborne
Best Record Store
Louisiana Music Factory
Best Instruments Store
New Orleans Music Exchange
Best Studio Sound Engineer
Misha Kachkachishvili
Best Booking Agency
White Oak
Best Manager
Rueben Williams, Thunderbird Management
Best Music Attorney
Ashlye M. Keaton
Best Music Photographer
Jeffrey Dupuis
Best Club Owner/Manager
Brian Greiner and Jeff Bromberger, Maison
Best Concert Promoter
Dr. Ira Padnos, Ponderosa Stomp
Bourbon Street Award
Pat O’Brien’s
Musicians Resource Award
Ellis Marsalis Center for Music
Best Use of Music or Musicians to Promote New Orleans
Lily Keber, Mairzy Doats Productions “Bayou Maharajah”
Music Business of the Year
Hypersoul (Tony Ciaccio and Donna Santiago)
Community Music Award
Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MACCNO)
Best Use of Music or Musician in Local Advertising
Zehnder Communications (Advertising spots for Times-Picayune/Nola.com and Superior Honda)
In addition, Publisher Ramsey also presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to deserving individuals who have excelled in a lifetime of dedication to music, music business, music education and for giving back to their community (the OffBeat “HeartBeat” award). These recipients were:
Lifetime Music
Lifetime Music Business
Lifetime Education
HeartBeat Award
View the Best of the Beat 2013 Music Business Awards photo galleries below…
This year's Best of the Beat trophies were hand-made by local artist and glass-blower Ginger Kelly.
And the winners are…
[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157640076204806″]
All photos courtesy Kyle Encar. For more photos from the New Orleans music scene, check out and follow OffBeat’s Flickr stream here.
