Pam Purvis & Fredrick Douglas to Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at March 5 Awards Ceremony

Jazz singer Pam Purvis and Fredrick Douglas, who toured with Luther Vandross and The Drifters, are among the 10 artists who will be honored for their outstanding contributions to the region’s music scene during the Lehigh Valley Music Awards presented by Tri Outdoor Advertising March 5, 4 p.m., at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. Tickets for the 2017 LVMAs are $20 and on sale now at www.steelstacks.org and 610-332-3378.

Purvis and Douglas will both receive Lifetime Achievement Awards, while Jake Kaligis, Andrew Chervak and Rob Stoneback will be honored with Board of Directors Awards for the key roles they play in providing musical opportunities and education in the region.

Purvis, who grew up in Louisiana and Texas, began singing jazz in 1974 in Paterson, N.J., at the now famous Gulliver’s. Since then, she has performed all over the Lehigh Valley and toured nationally. During the last several years she has performed with Joe Cohn, Richard Wyands, Dennis Irwin, Earl May, Chip Jackson and Steve Johns among other great musicians. The Bethlehem resident also teaches privately and at colleges including a Union County College Summer Program and jazz vocal workshops at Tennessee State University and Stockton College in New Jersey.

For more than half a century, drummer, keyboardist and lead vocalist Douglas has lent his talents to nationally touring acts including Luther Vandross, The Platters, The Drifters, The Flamingos, Martha and the Vandellas, The Bluenotes and more. Now living in Walnutport, he continues to perform throughout the Lehigh Valley on a regular basis.

In addition to Purvis and Douglas, several local musicians will be honored with Veteran Awards for more than two decades of contributions to the local music industry. This year’s 20 Year Veteran Award honorees are Cherry Bombs guitarist Tony DiLeo; George Hrab of The Philadelphia Funk Authority; Scott Marshall’s Highway Band guitarist Phil Pilorz, and Victor “Baby J” Rodriguez and Tanya “STAR” Suarez.

The complete list of Special Recipient winners is:

Lifetime Achievement Awards (50-plus years in the music industry)
Pam Purvis
Fredrick Douglas

Board of Directors Awards (for work with youth in music)
Jake Kaligis
Andrew Chervak
Rob Stoneback

20 Year Veteran Awards (20-plus years in the music industry)
Tony DiLeo
George Hrab
Phil Pilorz
Victor “Baby J” Rodriguez
Tanya “STAR” Suarez

Special Recognition Awards
Linda Norris-Fiegel & Gary Fiegel of LV Idol & Pocono Idol

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 18th year, are a partnership between the Greater Lehigh Valley Music Association and ArtsQuest.  For more information on the LVMAs, visit www.lehighvalleymusicawards.org.