David Rudderham
Connector Staff

Last weekend, the city of Lowell hosted the New England Music Awards at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium and other music events all around the city. The weekend was also busy with Winterfest where many local musicians had also played.

On Friday, the day before the official New England Music Awards ceremonies, a brewery tasting event called Brewfest played host to performers Freevolt and Frank Viele. Additionally, there was a showcase featuring NEMA nominees in downtown Lowell at the Blue Shamrock.

The RADAR Awards were also presented on Friday, which was intended for younger crowds and very talented up-and-coming musicians.

At the Blue Shamrock, there was the usual older crowd I would typically see around Lowell on a weekend, but there was also a bunch of young 20-somethings crowding around and talking about music.

Everyone was enjoying themselves, especially the dancing hula-hoop girl who had more energy in her hips than everyone else in the room combined. The rock bands there were talented dive bar heroes and no strangers to performing to drunken crowds and local indigents.

However, Friday night, the crowd showed class through their stiff drinks of courage applauding appreciatively whenever possible like true fans of local music. Bands like the The Romanos Project, The Naked Stills and many other acts performed well and with a professional attitude. It’s not easy to set up for this many acts in one bar, on two floors, on three different stages to set up all their live equipment in a loud setting surrounded by party-goers.

The next day was also a flurry of events, but this time with better weather. There was the artists conference in the afternoon and, of course, Winterfest continued with great musical performances by folks like the Adam Ezra Group, last year’s winner of Band of the Year and The Chad Hollister band, but the pièce de résistance of the night started at 7 p.m. at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. It took me a lot longer to find the place because I had never been there before and my GPS kept on pointing me to a bar named “Hookslide Kelly’s” and telling me that was the auditorium.

After walking by two escalated arguments, cops manhandling a drunken mess of a man who was blocking traffic and disturbing the peace and two folks who almost ended up in a fight after a near car collision, I finally mustered up the courage to ask this lovely old couple where I should be headed. I was literally one street over from where I needed to be.

Barely on time, I sat down and witnessed a great start to the ceremonies. Nemes, Hayley Sabella, and Dressed for the Occasion all had wonderful performances that blew the audience away, but the Party Band proved why they’ve recently become local legends. They marched in through the side entrances and didn’t stand on stage but instead opted to stand in the audience while playing New Orleans style jazz and swing music. Compared to the hard driven and/or well mic’d music of the rest of the night, their brand of music was a welcome change that proves that music cannot truly be expressed in marketing terms, but can be expressed through rhythm and for some members of the audience that night, dance.

The awarding part of the ceremony proved to be less painful than expected. Professional comedian Steve Sweeney hosted the awards well and if there was an award for largest Boston accent he would have won it. His jokes lightened the mood and made the audience willing. Like any other award ceremony this one was about the music performances mostly and Sweeney knew that. He never spoke too long and even made self-conscious jokes about killing time so that musicians could properly set up.

Awards were given to numerous acts including Bad Rabbits – Best in Mass., Sarah Borello – Rock, Darlingside – Indie-Pop, Sarah Barrios – New Act of the Year, Deer Tick – Song of the Year and the Mallett Brothers Band – Album of the Year and Band of the Year.

The musicians showed off their talents, one after another, in a relentless onslaught of pleasurable sound. Most of the night was actually music performance which is how all music awards should be run from now on. Grammy Award producers take notice. Joe Graham, the organizer of the event, the Harvey Weinstein of local music, puts on a ceremony where musicians have longer time limits. When The Mallett Brothers Band took the stage at the end of the show, they performed for about 45 minutes and had invited other musicians to perform with them. Seeing them on stage with The Party Band, Sarah Borello and many other acts from the night was probably the best part. It was a grand finale that prompted me to get as close to the stage as possible.

“Before the days of Instagram and Facebook,” Viele said, “people went out and played music for people who wanted to listen. So, if you’re ever at a show and someone’s being a drunken idiot, tell that person to be quiet.”
Sarah Barrios took home Best New Act of the Year and thanked her family, her hometown of Torrington, Conn. and the other nominees in her category. Barrios was not expecting to win and was “surprised” that she did.
Best Male Performer and Best Female Performer were awarded to Josh Logan and Lori McKenna, respectively. Logan gave thanks to his band, family, friends and supporters over his 17 years in the music business.
Nick Tirrell earned the distinction of being named Best Producer of the Year at the New England Music Awards. Tirrell said, “It continues to blow my mind how many people believe in me.”To show his appreciation, Tirrell offered all of the nominees a free remastering of a song of their choice.
Chris Ross obtained the title of Best Songwriter of the Year. Upon reception of his award, Ross said, “As a songwriter, I tell my secrets to whoever wants to listen.”
Song of the Year went to “The Dream’s in the Ditch” by Deer Tick, but the Providence band was not in attendance.
Finally, the Mallett Brothers Band picked up multiple trophies, winning Album of the Year for “Land” and Band of the Year.
The night included performances by Nemes, Hayley Sabella, Dressed for the Occasion, Josh Logan, Will Dailey, Sarah Borrello, the Mallett Brothers Band and the Party Band.
Sarah Borrello rocked the auditorium with her robust vocals, while her band’s award-winning rock sound, comparable to a modern version of Heart, backed her perfectly. “Strangehold” and “Work It Out” were among the songs she performed.
Hayley Sabella fought through technical difficulties to perform at the awards. Sabella’s guitar was inaudible until halfway through her first song, but she finished strongly.
Band of the Year winners the Mallett Brothers Band closed the awards with a party of their own. With a style that could be noted as a reincarnation of classic rock band the Eagles, they invited all of the nominees and the Party Band for a rousing rendition of “Pay Me My Money Down” by Pete Seeger.
New England Music Awards Co-Founder and Director of Operations Joseph Graham said the event would not have been possible without the help of MEISA (Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association).
Helping organize this event was a no-brainer to the army of music lovers and supporters. “It’s amazing watching this thing grow in the palm of our hands,” said sophomore and MEISA Secretary Regina Alongi. “It’s been my second year working with NEMA and every year it just gets bigger and better and more exciting.”
Freshman sound recording technology major Jeremie Inhaber simply stated, “This is legit.”