http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412954

Eighth annual NAMMY nominees announced

Posted: May 10, 2006

by: Scott Essman / Today correspondent

NEW YORK - On April 15, the Native American Music Awards announced the nominees for this year's eighth annual awards program, which will take place June 8.

Top nominated musicians were Keith Secola, Anishinabe, for his recording ''Native Americana,'' featuring ex-Doors drummer John Densmore; notable folk singer Rita Coolidge, Cherokee, for ''And So Is Love''; Jim Boyd, Colville, for ''Them Old Guitars''; and Brule's ''The Collection.'' All led the pack with four nominations each.

In late March, a national voting campaign began the nomination selection process. More than 150 national recordings were submitted for nomination consideration and were featured on the NAMMY official Web site, www.nammys.com.

Registered NAMMY advisory board members selected music tracks and listened to each recording before casting their vote. ''This year's nominees feature an equal mix of new artists making their debut on the national circuit as well as previous NAMMY Award winners and nominees,'' said Ellen Bello, NAMMY founder and CEO.

More than 125 nominees with origins as far as Alaska (Medicine Dream), Hawaii (Keola Beamer) and New Zealand (Arjdijah) were featured in 25 awards categories.

Award categories were organized into Best Rock/Pop Recording, Jazz/Blues Recording, Gospel/Christian Recording, Instrumental Recording, Traditional Recording, Pow Wow Recording, Rap/Hip Hop recording and Spoken Word, among other categories.

Other noteworthy nominees included Douglas Blue Feather, Cherokee; Gary Small, Northern Cheyenne; Gil Silverbird; Apache; Jana, Lumbee; Pura Fe', Tuscarora; and Wade Fernandez, Menominee. Earning two nominations were Arvel Bird, Paiute/Metis; Eagle & Hawk, Ojibway; Joanne Shenandoah, Oneida; Joseph Firecrow, Cheyenne; Marlena, Dine'; Radmilla Cody, Dine'; Tommy Wildcat, Cherokee; drum groups Northern Cree and Black Lodge; plus new artists AIRO, Sioux/Apache; Blue Dog, Lakota; and Red Rhythm Band, Comanche/Kiowa. The compact disc ''Sacred Ground'' also is up for two nominations after winning a GRAMMY award earlier this year.

An estimated 1 million people will participate in the final voting process, which ends in early June.

Winners of the 8th annual NAMMYs will be determined through membership print ballots and a national voting campaign open to the public, which will be posted shortly as a ''listen and vote'' system on the NAMMY Web site.

The Native American Music Awards Inc. is the country's leading membership-based association made up of music industry professionals, musicians, programmers, producers, engineers and other professionals dedicated to promoting and preserving American Indian music throughout the United States and the world.

The NAMMY awards will be presented to winners June 8 at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

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