The winners of the annual Boston Music Awards were announced late last night at the Sinclair in Cambridge, and showcased a wide breadth of the city’s scenes and talents, as they have been since 1987. To no one’s surprise, our pals Speedy Ortiz swept many of the larger awards, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year after putting out a breathtaking sophomore release, Foil Deer, out on Carpark Records earlier this year.
Among the other standouts were Palehound, whose excellent debut full-length Dry Food won them New Artist of the Year, Michael Christmas for Hip-hop Artist of the Year, and Evan Dando, of Lemonheads fame, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Check out the full list of winners below.
2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: Evan Dando
ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Speedy Ortiz
ALBUM/EP OF THE YEAR: Speedy Ortiz, “Foil Deer”
SONG OF THE YEAR: Speedy Ortiz, “Raising the Skate”
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Palehound
LIVE ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Tigerman WOAH
ROCK/INDIE ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Dirty Bangs
HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Michael Christmas
POP ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Ruby Rose Fox
R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Bad Rabbits
AMERICANA ARTIST OF THE YEAR: The Ballroom Thieves
BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Barrence Whitfield & the Savages
DJ/PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: Frank White
ELECTRONIC ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Bearstronaut
FOLK ARTIST OF THE YEAR: The Ballroom Thieves
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Shun Ng
JAZZ ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Lake Street Dive
METAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Worshipper
PUNK/HARDCORE ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Zip-Tie Handcuffs
SINGER-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR: Abbie Barrett
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Ruby Rose Fox
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Will Daley
STUDIO PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: Ed Valauskas
VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Petty Morals, “Just a Game”
BEST DANCE NIGHT: Soulelujah at Zuzu
BEST LIVE MUSIC VENUE: The Sinclair
BEST LIVE ONGOING RESIDENCY: The Blue Ribbons at Toad
BEST MUSIC BLOG: Vanyaland
BEST LOCAL PROMOTER: Bowery Presents Boston
BEST LIVE MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Sparks Keegan
BEST BRAND COLLABORATION: Dirty Bangs/Wrangler Television Spot
BEST CHARITABLE EFFORT: Speedy Ortiz/Girls Rock Camp Foundation
UNSUNG HERO AWARD: Chip Rives