Maybe only knowing half of the Boston Music Awards nominees is a good thing.

Petty Morals picked up two nominations.
Petty Morals picked up two nominations.

It’s Boston Music Awards season. Time for some spirited online banter!

Discussions about who deserves to win a Boston Music Award are generally conducted with a modicum of civility. It’s usually not until after the winners are announced when things get really ugly. Talk of overlooked acts is touchier. Reactions range from understandable disappointment to vitriol revolving around conspiracy theories, systematic corruption, sacrificial rituals and secret handshakes. And they would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids! Wait, what? Forget I said anything.

Sidewalk Driver are nominated for Live Artist Of The Year.
Sidewalk Driver are nominated for Live Artist Of The Year.

I’ll leave reporting on the above topics, including valid concerns and potential solutions, to the professionals. There’s something else that worries me. A common criticism of the Boston Music Awards goes something like this:

I’m actively involved in the Boston music scene and I’ve only heard of half of these bands.

Look, I want all of my favorite bands to get recognized, too, but you’ve got to be kidding me with this. Is this really a problem? Let’s look at it another way:

Congratulations! You know half of the Boston Music Awards nominees!

How great is that? Our music scene is so vibrant and so prolific that you, a person with a finger on the pulse and a ear to the ground, are only familiar with half of the acts. That’s incredible! What a wonderful opportunity to discover new music this is for you. Why not check out some of those artists that you’ve never heard of. Maybe you’ll even like one or two of them.

Going into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble the past couple of years, I’ve know about half of the bands before hand. I’ve written in the past about what an exciting prospect that is. I feel the same way about the Boston Music Awards. Doing a quick tally, it turns out I’m familiar with 45 of the 90 or so musical acts that earned nominations. Lucky me. I’ve got some listening to do.

Daykamp Music is proud and maybe a little lucky to be a 2014 Boston Music Award nominee. A vote for Daykamp Music is a vote for more Scooby Doo references in blog posts.

Nate Leavitt is nominated for Singer-Songwriter Of The Year.
Nate Leavitt is nominated for Singer-Songwriter Of The Year.