The party is back.
After a year where awards were handed out over the internet and via press release due to the pandemic, the Boston Music Awards returned tonight (December 8) to where they should always be: In a packed live music venue filled with the people who made our scene what it is. That was the case at Brighton Music Hall in Allston where the BMAs brought back the IRL festivities for a lively evening of schmooze and booze all packed into the intimate Brighton Avenue rock club.
The night was made notable by a string of animated performances, featuring nominated artists and bands, and a slow rollout of the awards in spaced-out bunches that brought a roar of the crowd back to each unveiling.
It felt pretty fucking cool, to be honest.
But the BMAs are nothing without handing out some hardware, and both some familiar faces and exciting newcomers went home with the awards’ new vinyl disc presentation.
Medford-born, Los Angeles-based rapper BIA leveled up from last year, remarkably, repeating in the Artist of the Year and Hip-Hop Artist of the Year categories while also taking home Album of the Year (1 million+ Streams) for For Certain, and Song of the Year (1 Million+ Streams) for “Whole Lotta Money,” her collab with Nicki Minaj.
Zola Simone, the 18-year-old pop prodigy who dropped debut album Now You See Me over the summer, snagged Song of the Year honors for “Easy” and New Artist of the Year. Van Buren Records, the Brockton hip-hop collective and creative force that seemingly knows no limit to their rise, scored Album of the Year accolades for Black Wall Street and Video of the Year for “CULT”, their collab with AzizTheShake (winner of Studio Producer of the Year) ft. Jazz Cartier.
Elsewhere, Squirrel Flower nabbed Alt/Indie Artist of the Year; Dinosaur Jr. took home Rock Artist of the Year; and Clairo scored Pop Artist of the Year.Vanyaland was named Music Publication of the Year for the eighth time in nine years, and our Music Editor, Boston, Victoria Wasylak, was named Music Journalist of the Year for the second time in three years.
Check out all the winners below. Let’s all sleep in tomorrow.
Boston Music Awards 2021 winners
Artist of the Year: BIA
New Artist of the Year: Zola Simone
Album of the Year (1 Million+ Streams): BIA, For Certain
Album of the Year: Van Buren Records, Black Wall Street
Song of the Year (1 Million+ Streams): BIA ft. Nicki Minaj, “Whole Lotta Money”
Song of the Year: Zola Simone, “Easy”
Video of the Year: Van Buren Records, AzizTheShake ft. Jazz Cartier, “CULT”
Alt/Indie Artist of the Year: Squirrel Flower
Americana Artist of the Year: Twisted Pine
Blues Artist of the Year: GA-20
Country Artist of the Year: Ward Hayden and the Outliers
Dance/Electronic Artist of the Year: Honeycomb
DJ of the Year: DJ Snax
Folk Artist of the Year: Darlingside
Hip-Hop Artist of the Year: BIA
Jazz Artist of the Year: Lake Street Dive
Metal Artist of the Year: Inverter
Pop Artist of the Year: Clairo
Punk/Hardcore Artist of the Year: Fiddlehead
R&B Artist of the Year: Notebook P
Rock Artist of the Year: Dinosaur Jr.
Singer-Songwriter of the Year: Izzy Heltai
Vocalist of the Year: Lynn Gunn
Session Musician of the Year: Jonathan Ulman
Live Music Venue of the Year (250+ cap): The Sinclair
Live Music Venue of the Year (Under 250 cap): O’Brien’s Pub
Talent Buyer of the Year: Alex Pickert
Music Promoter of the Year: Bowery Boston Presents
Production Manager/Live Engineer of the Year: Brittany Sirois
Recording Studio of the Year: The Bridge Sound & Stage
Studio Producer of the Year: AzizTheShake
Live Music Photographer of the Year: Angel “Hal” Ocasio
Music Videographer of the Year: Dom “Tanj” Bruno
Music Publication of the Year: Vanyaland
Music Journalist of the Year: Victoria Wasylak
Music Podcast/Radio Show of the Year: CWTFB Radio
617Sessions Artist of the Year: Mallcops