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• BEST UNSUNG ROCK VENUE
  Gusman Center for the Performing Arts
  BEST UNSUNG ROCK VENUE Gusman Center for the Performing Arts 174 E. Flagler Street Miami 305-372-0925 The packed show by Bright Eyes this past January displayed what both Miami International Film Festival and Philharmonic attendees have long known -- the Gusman is one of this town's... More >>
• BEST REGGAE RADIO PROGRAM
  96 Mixx (MIXX-FM 96.1)
  BEST REGGAE RADIO PROGRAM 96 Mixx (MIXX-FM 96.1) www.96mixx.com Most of the major urban FM stations have one: a reggae program stashed away late at night or on a Sunday evening. The mainstream DJs all do fine work in the few hours the programming gods grant them, but they are all pawns in what... More >>
• BEST JAZZ RADIO PROGRAM
  Evenin' Jazz with Len Pace
  BEST JAZZ RADIO PROGRAM Evenin' Jazz with Len Pace 9:15 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Monday through Friday WLRN-FM (91.3) 305-995-2220 Len Pace is South Florida's wise old man of jazz. For more than three decades he's been a convivial presence on our radio airwaves, his musical interests... More >>
• BEST ROCK RADIO PROGRAM
  93 Rock (WHDR-FM 93.1)
  With the execution of ZETA (WZTA-FM 94.9) at the hands of Clear Channel executives, things seemed bleak for the rock-radio listener. It appeared that the only recourse would be classic rock station WBGG-FM (105.9), where Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Creedence Clearwater Revival frequent... More >>
• BEST BRAZILIAN RADIO PROGRAM (4 Comments)
  Café Brasil with Gene de Souza
  BEST BRAZILIAN RADIO PROGRAM Café Brasil with Gene de Souza Sundays from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WDNA-FM (88.9) www.wdna.org If the extent of your exposure to Brazilian music is "The Girl from Ipanema," then you have really been missing out. Brazil has the most diverse music culture:... More >>
• BEST PIANO MAN
  Mike Orta
  BEST PIANO MAN Mike Orta He's toured and recorded with Arturo Sandoval and alternated tracks with jazz legend Chick Corea. He's played with Paquito D'Rivera and in Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra. And his day gig is director of jazz studies at Florida International University. But... More >>
• BEST LATIN MUSIC PROGRAM
  Fusión Latina
  BEST LATIN MUSIC PROGRAM Fusión Latina Weeknights from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. WDNA-FM (88.9) Distracted by beautifully moving bodies at dance clubs, many people easily forget that a great deal of today's popular Latin music has roots firmly planted in the jazz tradition. Thanks to a clever... More >>
• BEST LOCAL SOLO MUSICIAN
  Scott Nixon
  BEST LOCAL SOLO MUSICIAN Scott Nixon It takes a lot of balls to get up onstage all by your lonesome, especially when in your past life as the lead singer of a band you were known for being a reluctant frontman. Such is the case for the erstwhile vocalist/bassist for Ed Matus' Struggle and... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BAND NAME OF ALL TIME
  Adam Walsh and the McArthur Kids
  BEST LOCAL BAND NAME OF ALL TIME Adam Walsh and the McArthur Kids Amber Alert. It has been some time since anyone heard of these unscrupulous punk rockers with the audacity to capitalize on missing and murdered children. The Kendall thrashers had a short run ripping up local venues before they... More >>
• BEST LOCAL LATIN SINGER
  Aymee Nuviola
  BEST LOCAL LATIN SINGER Aymee Nuviola This fair city has a well-deserved reputation for welcoming émigrés with open arms and launching them into the world brighter and bigger than ever. Aymee Nuviola, who left Cuba and arrived here via Costa Rica last year, seems destined to follow... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BAND NAME
  Buddha Gonzalez and the Headless Chiwawas
  BEST LOCAL BAND NAME Buddha Gonzalez and the Headless Chiwawas If you don't get it, you need to spark up some buddha and listen to Buddha and his funky gang as you let the THC soak in. More >>
• BEST LOCAL PERCUSSIONIST
  Kala
  BEST LOCAL PERCUSSIONIST Kala "I play by feeling. I have to feel the vibe," says Kala (one name, like Sting), the percussionist and keyboardist for electro-rock foursome 10 Sheen. The 31-year-old Hialeah native has no real half-beat/quarter-beat training; he taught himself after a childhood of... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BAND TO BREAK UP IN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
  Secret Service
  As much as we hear about Miami's lack of a music scene, there are bands worth coming home smelling like an ashtray and risking that train-ran-over-my-head feeling the morning after. Secret Service, three guys doing punk-meets-pop with high energy and a decibel level to match, took shape in 1998.... More >>
• BEST LOCAL ELECTRONICA RELEASE OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
  Finesse and Runway
  BEST LOCAL ELECTRONICA RELEASE OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS Finesse and Runway Finesse and Runway Melba "Finesse" Payes and Dino "Runway" Felipe's debut album is a product of a life spent in this city, from Finesse's sassy vocoder vocals to Runway's electronic palette. The duo brings forth its... More >>
• BEST LOCAL MUSICIAN TO LEAVE TOWN
  Lee Williams
  BEST LOCAL MUSICIAN TO LEAVE TOWN Lee Williams Sleek funkateer, former New Times columnist, and inveterate letter-writer Lee Williams has moved to New York City to ply his jazz-inflected rap stylings in a town he deems more hospitable to his musical talents. And given Miami's strict hip-hop... More >>
• BEST LOCAL ELECTRONICA ARTIST
  The Waterford Landing
  BEST LOCAL ELECTRONICA ARTIST The Waterford Landing Fronted by unassuming composer/keyboard player/droll singer/arbitrator Alex Caso, the Waterford Landing is actually a democratic trio, with Caso joined by scene veterans Richard Rippe (electric bass, synthesizers) and Ed Matus (electric guitar,... More >>
• BEST LOCAL SONGWRITER
  Sam Beam
  BEST LOCAL SONGWRITER Sam Beam www.ironandwine.com Under the pseudonym Iron & Wine, Sam Beam has garnered positive notices in magazines and newspapers around the world. His plaintive, modest recordings (including this year's Woman King EP), which possess a rustic sonic quality that makes them... More >>
• BEST LOCAL ACOUSTIC PERFORMER
  Jim Camacho
  BEST LOCAL ACOUSTIC PERFORMER Jim Camacho Although he's years removed from major-label status (via his now-defunct band the Goods), Jim Camacho is still an ambitious performer. This past fall he released an independent album, Stalker Songs, that was beautifully packaged with a series of... More >>
• BEST LOCAL LATIN BAND
  Locos por Juana
  BEST LOCAL LATIN BAND Locos por Juana www.locosporjuana.net The nine-member collective known as Locos por Juana, which recently released its second album, Música pa'l Pueblo, isn't a typical Latin band. The players have a strong pop sensibility, mixing salsa, timba, ska, reggae, and... More >>
• BEST LOCAL JAZZ ARTIST
  José Negroni
  BEST LOCAL JAZZ ARTIST José Negroni After teaching for seventeen years at the prestigious Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, pianist José Negroni moved to Miami. In 2003 his trio released its first CD, Naturaleza/Nature, followed last year with Piano-Drums-Bass (both on... More >>
• BEST LOUNGE ACT
  Rose Max
  BEST LOUNGE ACT Rose Max Brazilian chanteuse Rose Max has been around for years, singing in clubs like Van Dyke Café and Jazid and frequently backed by the Don Wilner Quartet. The product of a long line of Rio de Janeiro musicians, Max moved to Miami twelve years ago, slowly becoming a... More >>
• BEST LOCAL RECORD LABEL
  Schematic
  BEST LOCAL RECORD LABEL Schematic www.schematic.net Romulo del Castillo and Josh Kay operate Schematic out of a warehouse space in Little Haiti, issuing a variety of experimental electronic-music albums that veer from vaguely danceable beats to astringent, arrhythmic noise. Since its inception... More >>
• BEST NEW MUSIC TREND
  Dance rock
  BEST NEW MUSIC TREND Dance rock Okay, like most trends that blow up in Miami, this one isn't necessarily new. DJs at downtown nightclubs such as Soho Lounge and I/O have been mashing together tracks by rock bands such as LCD Soundsystem, electro artists such as Miss Kittin, and even uptempo... More >>
• SECOND BEST CONCERT OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
  Wilco at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater
  SECOND BEST CONCERT OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS Wilco at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater It was difficult to tell who was more perplexed by the size and passion of Wilco's crowd: the band's singer Jeff Tweedy or the Pompano Beach Amphitheater's security guards, who spent the early part of the... More >>
• BEST VENUE FOR LIVE MUSIC
  Mansion
  BEST VENUE FOR LIVE MUSIC Mansion 1235 Washington Avenue Miami Beach 305-532-1525 www.mansionmiami.com After Level was purchased by the Opium Group, renovated, and renamed Mansion, this linchpin of South Beach nightlife has become the place for excited celebrity-seekers thanks to the... More >>
• BEST CONCERT OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
  Kraftwerk at the Jackie Gleason Theater
  BEST CONCERT OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS Kraftwerk at the Jackie Gleason Theater It's no secret that South Florida usually gets short shrift from major touring acts, but November was a grand exception. In an amazing turn of good luck, the granddaddy of electronic/synth acts, Kraftwerk, chose the... More >>
• BEST CONCERT SERIES
  Latin Funk Festival
  BEST CONCERT SERIES Latin Funk Festival Two years ago Easton Bravo Productions, a partnership between Lizzie Easton and Tanya Bravo, launched Latin Funk Festival, an ongoing showcase that takes place in New York and Miami. Save for the occasional headlining act (Spanish salsa star Lucrecia... More >>
• BEST LOCAL ALBUM OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
  Our Endless Numbered Days
  BEST LOCAL ALBUM OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS Our Endless Numbered Days Iron & Wine www.ironandwine.com There's considerable paradox in the fact that a folk poet such as Sam Beam could emerge from the land of Art Deco, Miami Vice, and Modelpalooza. Beam, known as Iron & Wine, sings of stories... More >>
• BEST LOCAL BAND/MuSICian OF ALL TIME
  Jaco Pastorius
  BEST LOCAL BAND/MuSICian OF ALL TIME Jaco Pastorius Jaco, they called him. In jazz circles it's a show of respect to call a musician by his first name. "Jaco" universally refers to the greatest bass player the world has ever heard. He completely revolutionized not just the bass, or even jazz,... More >>
• BEST RECORDING STUDIO
  BEST RECORDING STUDIO The Hit Factory Criteria 1755 NE 149th Street North Miami-Dade 305-947-5611 The digital revolution has enabled aspiring and professional musicians alike to churn out monster hits from their bedrooms. The technology is to a point where even novices can manipulate... More >>
• BEST LOCAL POP BAND
  Humbert
  BEST LOCAL POP BAND Humbert "Pop" could very well be taken as a dig, along the lines of the title of "Miami's own Britney Spears," which wouldn't exactly be a compliment. So for all those who claim Miami has "the worst music scene ever, dude," hey, at least this city isn't known for churning out... More >>
• BEST LOCAL RAP RELEASE OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS
  "Let's Go"
  BEST LOCAL RAP RELEASE OF THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS "Let's Go" Trick Daddy Of all the hits that were either recorded in Miami or made by Miami artists, one track deserves to be singled out. Released in advance of his gold LP Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets, Trick Daddy's "Let's Go" became a... More >>
• BEST LOCAL RAP ARTIST/GROUP
  Garcia
  BEST LOCAL RAP ARTIST/GROUP Garcia "Some people label me a thug in an effort to prejudge/Not trying to be something I'm not," raps Garcia on "None of Dem." But he's no backpacker, and his solid debut album Anti-Social is packed with raw and uncompromising tracks: On the title number, one of the... More >>
• BEST LOCAL ROCK BAND
  The Brand
  BEST LOCAL ROCK BAND The Brand www.myspace.com/thebrandmusic Great rock bands -- at least until they blow up nationally -- are like community leaders. They not only grab the spotlight for themselves, but they also help to shine it on an entire movement. The Brand is well on its way to meeting... More >>
• BEST ROCK VOCALIST (MALE)
  Ivan Marchena
  BEST ROCK VOCALIST (MALE) Ivan Marchena With great power comes great responsibility. Such should be the credo of the male vocalist. Always front and center, almost always the object of the ladies' affection (or at least attention), the vocalist has the job of making each woman in the audience... More >>
• BEST ROCK VOCALIST (FEMALE)
  JD Natasha
  BEST ROCK VOCALIST (FEMALE) JD Natasha www.natashaville.com At seventeen, precocious upstart JD Natasha may seem to be a bit young for this category. But, as evidenced by her debut Imperfecta/Imperfect, she's on her way to becoming a great rock vocalist. A far cry from the glossy pinups that... More >>
• PERSONAL BEST
  The Waterford Landing
  PERSONAL BEST The Waterford Landing "The suburban landscape is fertile with seeds of discontent, mischief, and dreams of flight," muses The Waterford Landing on its Website. It is just this sort of slightly wistful, aridly humorous, possibly serious thought process that distinguishes the... More >>
• BEST LOCAL LATIN ROCK BAND
  Suenalo Sound System
  BEST LOCAL LATIN ROCK BAND Suenalo Sound System www.suenalomusic.com Every year the Florida frontier becomes more polyglot. About the only South Americans who haven't made a move on these parts are the Bolivians, the Guyanans, and the Surinamese. They're also about the only ones not... More >>