The Go-Go Museum & Café is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2020 Go-Go Awards airing 7 p.m. Nov. 22. The event will cap off a week of activities to commemorate the 2nd annual Go-Go Preservation Week in the first award ceremony since Go-Go was stamped as the “Official Music of Washington, D.C.”
CAST YOUR VOTE for nominees in 25 categories that recognize excellence in a range of Go-Go genres from Bounce Beat, Traditional, Adult-like, Gospel, and mastery in lead vocals, lead talker, rapping, rhythm section and percussion. “We want this recognition to influence these bands, inspire them to get even more creative,” said Go-Go Award Committee Chair DJ Supa Dan, founder of www.wearegogomusic.com “We want to see more original music. If you set the bar high, the artists will reach it.”
The awards are a celebration of artistic achievement and resilience during a catastrophic year when go-go clubs went silent due to the pandemic. “Go-go revived the city once again,” said Go-Go Museum Café co-founder Ronald Moten. “Go-Go figured it out. Backyard was the first to stream their practice live on Facebook, and everyone followed suit.”
New to the awards this year are categories such as “Best Virtual Performance” and the “Petey Greene Award for Truth-telling and Advocacy.” The first-ever “Best Outside the Beltway Band” demonstrates that D.C.’s hometown sound is flourishing in places such as Greensboro, N.C., Columbus, OH, Miami, Atlanta and Richmond. Members of Go-Go’s extended creative economy—including deejays, promoters, sound engineers, and fashion design—also earned nods from the 10-member committee comprised of go-go historians, journalists, radio hosts, marketing execs and deejays
Fans can cast their vote for their favorite artists at this LINK.
At 7 p.m. November 22th, the Go-Go Awards ceremony will be streamed live with special performances and celebrity appearances.
This year's partners include:
Don't Mute DC, Lil SoSo Productions, Smithsonian Folklife, District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Howard University MFA in Film Program, EVENTS DC, the Kennedy Center Culture Caucus, and more.