The 2013 Pier Award Nominees

To Be Considered: Album of the Year…

There were a ton of great albums released in 2013 and we could easily nominate 20 in this category, but we kept it to the top 10 based on reviews & general feedback from the year. Sure, some albums have really good songs that stay with you for awhile, but we nominated albums that we feel will stay with you in its entirety, from start to finish. From production to creativity, originality to its likability, we focused on ten albums, all of which received the highest star rating in our reviews earning at least 3.5 out of five stars. (EPs have been excluded from this category). Read ALL of our Album Reviews!. The Nominees to be considered are:

To Be Considered: Live Artist of the Year…

Any artist can stay at home, record music and throw a project up on iTunes, promoting only with a crazy internet marketing, while playing sparingly at local venues. But to get in a van and perform most of the year at a new venue in a new city, each night, isn’t easy. There are challenges that go into organizing a tour with the members not only surviving one another, but the harsh realities (and liabilities) of being on the road. It takes time, patience, networking & a lot of sacrifice to suffice a tour. You have to leave an impact when you take the stage with your live presence, crowd control and sound. Even still, when the stage is clear for them to play, regardless of the capacity or who showed up, they slay the venue with their high energy, stage presence & face-melting musical art. The ten nominees in this category brought some of the best live energy to more than just their hometown and are worthy of their live presence to be nominated for Live Artist of the Year for 2013. The Nominees to be considered are:

To Be Considered: Break-Out Artist of the Year…

Each year, there are bands that seem to be carrying a weight of momentum that can’t be ignored. Maybe due to a new album or they’re showing up on constant festivals and being added to various seasonal tours. Sometimes these are artists that are either emerging as a ‘new unknown from out of nowhere’ or a re-emerging artist making new waves from networking, to releasing new music and revitalized touring. Maybe these groups weren’t nominated for Album of the Year, or they didn’t have enough of an impact to be Artist of the Year, but the following groups certainly had a Break-Out year, setting the tone for years to come with their presence. These ten selected groups figured it out and have worked their tail off earning them a spot as a Breakout Artist in 2013. The Nominees to be considered are:

To Be Considered: Music Video of the Year…

For those of you who don’t know, music videos have not gone away. They may appear to be less relevant without the vintage outlet of MTV or VH1, but they’re still being done and they’re being done well! Some bands have put in crazy production into their videos, some using actors/actresses and it’s a cherry on top to a professional sound, to include a professional music video. We feel that if you’re a group and you decide to do a full production music video, then it should be recognized. Plus, music videos are rad when quality production is used to compliment a new song. There are ten solid music videos nominated for Music Video of the Year, and we hope you watch each one before just simply voting for the band you’re most familiar with. The Nominees to be considered are:

Ballyhoo! – “No Good”

Fayuca – Por Que Seguir”

Pepper – “FKARND”

SOJA – “When We Were Younger”

Pacific Dub – “Tightrope”

Anuhea & Tarrus Riley – “Only Man in the World”

Etana – “Reggae”

Slightly Stoopid – “Don’t Stop”

Spiritual Rez – “Agapoula Mou”

Morgan Heritage – “Perfect Love Song”