lvma17_logoGet ready to dance as the Greater Lehigh Valley Music Association and ArtsQuest announce the performers for this year’s Lehigh Valley Music Awards presented by Tri Outdoor. Performers for the awards ceremony, held March 6, 4 p.m., at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, include the Craig Thatcher Band, female-fronted power-metal group MindMaze, country powerhouse Erin Kelly and more.

Entertaining audiences since 1993, the Craig Thatcher Band is a must-see-live blues/rock group beloved by residents of the region and beyond. The band has performed with artists such as Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, Ted Nugent and more. They’ve also been named Artist-in-Residence by Musikfest, and in 2001 they were even chosen to represent the City of Bethlehem at Stadtfest, a traditional city festival held in Bethlehem’s German sister city, Schwäbisch Gmünd.

Allentown natives MindMaze, Erin Kelly and the Brosky/Meyer Duo will also perform at LVMA17. MindMaze’s debut album Mask of Lies is an outstanding piece of independent metal that is refreshing while being firmly rooted in many classic metal mainstays. The 21-year-old Erin Kelly has country roots that emerged at an early age when singing in several traditional country bands. Never one to be intimated by large audiences, Kelly has performed for the Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Phillies, Hershey Bears, Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, just to name a few.

The Brosky/Meyer Duo, a combination of Allentown icon Steve Brosky and Jimmy Meyer, who as a member of Air Products’ corporate band The Difference won the first ever Battle of the Corporate Bands at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has shared the stage with B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Monty Montgomery, Leon Russell and more. The duo has collectively won more than 25 Lehigh Valley Music Awards since 2004; this year they will receive a Special Recognition honor.

The confirmed list of performers so far is:

Brosky & Meyer
Craig Thatcher Band
DJ Menace Collaboration
Erin Kelly
Fusion Jazz Trio
Larry Werner
MindMaze
Whiskeyhickon Boys
Tenor Trio – John Carelli, Rick Bouley & Lane Conklin (first time performing together)
Student Showcase from The Lesson Center, School of Rock and the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts – produced by Mike Stanley

 

Gary U.S. Bonds to Receive Lifetime Recognition Award at LVMA17

Gary US BondsGary U.S. Bonds, best known for his classic hits “New Orleans” and “Quarter to Three,” will be honored with a Lifetime Recognition Award at LVMA17.

Born Gary Anderson, Bonds’ first hit, “New Orleans,” was brought to attention when record producer Frank Guida sent promotional copies to radio stations in sleeves inscribed “Buy U.S. Bonds,” hoping disc jockeys would mistake the record for a public-service announcement and give it extra airplay. The follow-up was the now legendary ‘party’ record, “Quarter to Three,” a number-one hit with a spirit and energy that would eventually inspire and influence a generation. Bonds performed throughout the world, rising to a status so high that on a 1963 tour of Europe, he headlined above a group of relative newcomers… The Beatles.

Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt, who had grown up on Bonds’ music, developed a friendship with Bonds after a chance meeting in the early ‘80s. Shortly after, a musical collaboration resulted in Bonds’ career resurgence with two albums: Dedication and On the Line, with singles “This Little Girl Is Mine,” “Out of Work,” “Jole Blon” and “Daddy’s Come Home.”

Bonds’ work as a songwriter garnered him a nomination for the Country Music Association’s “Songwriter of the Year” in 1972 and Rolling Stone called his music “… some of America’s best rock and roll.”

Started in 1999 by the Greater Lehigh Valley Music Association (GLVMA), the Lehigh Valley Music Awards are designed to honor and celebrate the musicians and music related businesses of the Greater Lehigh Valley. The LVMAs, now in their 17th year, is a partnership between the Greater Lehigh Valley Music Association and ArtsQuest, and are made possible thanks to the support of Tri Outdoor, in association with Chevy 21, Bethlehem Brew Works and Connoisseur Media.

Tickets for the 2016 LVMAs are on sale now at www.steelstacks.org and 610-332-3378. For more information on the LVMAs, please visit www.lehighvalleymusicawards.org.