Winners Announced for 2021 Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The 2021 Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards were announced Sunday at Universal Preservation Hall before a live audience. The night’s big winners were The Sea The Sea, who won Album of the Year, and in a tie with Joel Brown, Record of the Year.  

Nippertown and WEXT also received two awards each in recognition for music media contributions.  

The third annual awards ceremony recognized the work done in 2020 and several categories were created to reflect streamed and socially distanced music events. All genre categories were dropped for one year in recognition of the lack of live music performances in 2020.  

The Eddies Special Merit Awards were a new addition. These awards honored the work of music community members whose efforts did not fit neatly into a traditional category. Among the recipients was Eddies co-founder Sal Prizio, who is leaving the area for an out-of-state job opportunity.  

Schenectady’s DJ Ketchup served as emcee and Boomhauer, Dark Honey, Sawyer Fredericks (with band), and Sirsy all performed.  

The Eddies Music Awards and UPH are part of Proctors Collaborative. More information is available at theeddiesawards.com 

The recipients:  

Album of the Year: The Sea The Sea – “Stumbling Home” 

Recording Studio of the Year: Blue Sky Music Studios 

Record Label of the Year (tie): Cacophone Records & Upstate Records 

Record of the Year (tie): Joel Brown – “Everyone’s Gone Home” & The Sea The Sea – “A Thousand Years”

Best Presenter of Virtual Live Music Shows: Caffe Lena – “Stay Home Sessions” 

Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist Show or Series – Covers: Moriah Formica 

Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist Show or Series – Original Music: Sean Rowe – “Quarantined”  

Arts Publication of the Year: Nippertown

Arts Journalist of the Year: Jim Gilbert (Nippertown) 

Songwriter of the Year: Girl Blue 

Radio Station of the Year: WEXT 

Radio DJ of the Year: Chris Wienk (WEXT) 

Best Socially Distant In-Person Live Music Series: Jericho Drive-In Series 

Music Video of the Year: Buggy Jive – “Ain’t Going Anywhere”

The Eddies Special Merit Award: Erin Harkes – The Reluctant Retailer 

The Eddies Special Merit Award: Roger & Christine Sharp (High Peaks Event Production) – “Red Light Project”

The Eddies Special Merit Award: First Reformed Church of Schenectady – “Jazz Vespers”

The Eddies Special Merit Award: Sal Prizio – Co-founder, the Eddies Music Awards