2008 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards

November 23 will be a special night for Cincinnati music. The annual Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (CEA) will not only be honoring the best in music this year, but will also be paying tribute, with the 65th anniversary of King Records, with a special performance by the legendary bluegrass musician, Ralph Stanley. They're also saying that another special performance is in the works. The event will taking place at The Emery Theatre in Over-the-Rhine.

For more details on this event, you can visit here, here or you can even cast your vote right here. You can also keep reading, to see my perspective on the whole thing.

Our music scene here in Cincinnati, grows stronger every year, with more talented bands popping out of the wood work. More and more bands from the tri-state are starting to make names for themselves, and are beginning to build fanbases across the country. The CEA's honor the best in every type of music genre you can think of, but even though there is only one winner, these categories are loaded with a great array of talent.

Here's what you, the public, gets to vote on:

And the nominees are...

Bluegrass
Comet Bluegrass Allstars
Katie Laur
Moonshine Drive
Mt. Pleasant String Band
Rumpke Mountain Boys
Tanner Hill

Blues
J. Dorsey Blues Band
Dallas Moore Band
Kinsey Rose
Straw Boss
The Turkeys
Dan Varner Band

Country
The Bad Words
Dallas Moore Band
Kinsey Rose
Straw Boss
The Turkeys
Dan Varner Band

Experimental/Electronic
Chick Pimp, Coke Dealer at a Bar
Eagle to Squirrel
Pete Fosco
IOVAE
Johnnytwentythree
C. Spencer Yeh

Folk/Americana
Greg Mahan
Daniel Martin Moore
Jeff Scott Roberson
Jake Speed & the Freddies
The Tillers
Mark Utley & Magnolia Mountain

Hard Rock/Metal
Angels of Meth
Banderas
Chakras
Foxy Shazam
The Host
noctaluca

Hip-Hop
Billfold Entertainment
Eclipse
Ill Poetic
IsWhat?!
Khadijah
da muttss

Indie/Alternative
Bad Veins
The Chocolate Horse
Pomegranates
The Seedy Seeds
The Sundresses
Wussy

Jazz
Rusty Burge
Phil DeGreg/Brasilia
Dan Faehnle
The Faux Frenchmen
Gordy Horn
Dan Karlsberg

Punk/Post Punk/Hardcore
A Decade to Die For
The Dopamines
The Frankl Project
Knife the Symphony
The Read
John Walsh

R&B/Funk
II Juicy
Daughters & Sons
Iolite
Los Honchos
Shades of J
SOUSE

Rock
Alone at 3AM
Buffalo Killers
The Cincinnati Suds
Pete Dressman & the Soul Unified Nation
500 Miles to Memphis
The Lions Rampant

Singer/Songwriter
Chris Arduser
Dusty Bryant
Wake the Bear (aka Scott Cunningham)
Nathan Holscher
Daniel Martin Moore
Kim Taylor

World Music/Reggae
Baoku & the Image Afro-Beat Band
Dark Moll
duppy a jamba
Lagniappe
Poco Loco
Super-Massive

Best Musical Ambassador for the City
Bad Veins
Bootsy Collins
Buffalo Killers
Foxy Shazam
Josh Hisle/Lost in Holland
Daniel Martin Moore
Seabird
C. Spencer Yeh

Best Live Act
The Chocolate Horse
Foxy Shazam
The Host
The Lions Rampant
Rumpke Mountain Boys
Straw Boss
The Sundresses
Wussy

The Critical Achievement Awards (unfortunately, we cannot vote for these categories. The votes specifically come from a committee)

New Artist of the Year
Bosco Rossi
Cash Flagg
The Chauncers
Cut in the Hill Gang
The Emeralds
The Flux Capacitors
The Harlequins
The Koala Fires
Daniel Martin Moore
Wonky Tonk

Album of the Year
Peter Adams: I Woke With Planets in My Face
Banderas: Beast Sounds and Parlour Tricks
Buffalo Killers: Let It Ride
The Faux Frenchmen: Oblivion
The Hiders: Penny Harvest Field
Pomegranates: Everything is Alive
Jeff Scott Roberson: Summer's Here
Seabird: 'Til We See the Shore
The Sundresses: Barkinghaus
Super-Massive: Super-Massive

Artist of the Year
Bad Veins
Buffalo Killers
Eat Sugar
Daniel Martin Moore
Pomegranates
Kelly Richey
Seabird
The Sundresses
Wussy
C. Spencer Yeh