Do you know about Just Plain Folks? Well, they're a community of over 51,000 musicians, music fans and music industry professionals. They also host the world's largest independent music awards. And membership is free! Check out www.jpfolks.com.
On Aug. 29th, Just Plain Folks held their 2009 Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. Both my music partner & husband, Frank Blumer, and I attended as I had received 2 nominations. As the last awards were in 2006, my Dec. 2006 "A Magical Time of Year" CD was eligible in this year's awards. And both the album and the cut, "Merrymaking" were nominated for best Solo Piano Album and best Solo Piano Song.
I really didn't think I had a chance of winning, as there were many fine pianists nominated in both the album and song categories. But I did win - BOTH CATEGORIES!! I was (and still am!) so blown away!! Wow!!!
There were over 42,000 albums submitted for the 2009 awards and over 560,000 songs submitted. That's big. And there were just over 90 categories of music. You can find out more about the categories, see who was nominated and see the winners at this site: http://www.jpfolks.com/default.php?page=awards
There were 10,000 judges for this year's awards. The sole criteria for judging is: "Does it move you?"
I'm sooooooo honored to have won, and not just one award but two.
So all of you indie musicians out there, check out Just Plain Folks. Join up, and check the site for updates and for info for the 2010 awards. You just never know, I might be hearing from you in a year from now, telling me you've won an award too!
BTW, the awards show was awesome. I believe there were 1,200 or more people in attendance at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon, a club large enough to fit all of us sitting comfortably at tables and with a huge stage. The show was 6 hours long and was wonderful. The founder, Brian Austin Whitney, officiated as MC and announced the winners of a few categories, preceded by a one-song performance by a band or musician from one of the categories. We heard music from a vast array of categories and from performers literally from around the world. And the performances were wonderful!!
So check out Just Plain Folks!