Same Song, Second Verse

The GO Music Awards are back for a second year. Here's what you need to know.

Click here to nominate for this year's awards!

Click to read about last year's winners!

The last time we wrote about the GO Music Awards, we had just finished a rocking day of music at the Rotary Clubs of Springfield’s annual Rock’n Ribs barbecue festival. A Day Away had been crowned the winner of our inaugural contest. Our entire staff—indeed, most of Springfield’s rib-eating public—had excruciating sunburns.

But that—like A Day Away’s Springfield gigging schedule—is a thing of the past, and we’re ready to launch the massive ship of sound that is the 2008 GO Music Awards. We haven’t tinkered with the categories (see the ballot at right for a full list) other than to add a new one: Best Music Venue. The good people at Rock’n Ribs are back in the fold, as well; once again, our five Best Band finalists (the only category to be settled on the stage, not in the ballot box) will play for a panel of judges. This year’s GO Music Awards at Rock’n Ribs—where announce name the winners of all the fan-vote categories, as well—are scheduled for April 19 in Bass Pro’s south parking lot.

But really, the GO Music Awards are once again all about you, the Springfield music fan. Hundreds of you voted last year, but we figured you could use a refresher course in how the GMA’s work (You see what we did there? That’s called branding.)

January 9: Nominations begin. To nominate bands, solo acts, albums or venues, simply fill out the ballot at right and mail to our office (address at bottom) or, if you have joined the 21st century, log on to springfieldgo.com and fill out our electronic ballot. We urge each reader to nominate once and only once, so we get a fair representation of what the voting public likes.

February 15: Nominations end.

February 27: Online and paper-ballot voting for all categories EXCEPT Best Band begins. The five most-nominated bands, albums and venues in each category will appear on the ballot. Best Band finalists will be revealed on this date or shortly thereafter (depending on how hard it is to get in touch with them). Performance order and stage times at Rock’n Ribs will be announced along with the lineup.

March 21: Paper and online voting for GO Music Awards ends.

April 19: Five GO Music Awards Best Band finalists perform at Rock’n Ribs. Winners in all other categories announced following final band.

Official stuff

A few disclaimers, simply for the sake of transparency should bands decide to start campaigning now:

• All nominees must be locally based, and have played at least one show in Springfield since December 1, 2007. Cover bands, solo musicians and hip-hop acts have their own categories, and are therefore not eligible to be Best Band finalists. It is ROCK’n Ribs, after all.

• Rock’n Ribs is a charity event, commonly attended by families. Acts deemed inappropriate for such an environment by GO Magazine will not be eligible as Best Band finalists, though they may be considered for other, non-performing categories.

• The Best Rock Band category is a rock’n roll catch-all, fan-vote category that includes metal, punk and shock rock. These bands (if venue-appropriate) may also be nominated for Best Band, to play at Rock’n Ribs.

• Performers must agree to abide by a code of conduct—no vulgarity, no throwing crap from the stage; violators will be immediately disqualified—and will be asked to play for free to be eligible for the Best Band finals (though last year’s winners did receive a nice cash prize). This is for charity after all, and Rock’n Ribs is one of Springfield’s best-attended events. The exposure will be worth it, the party will be divine, and you’ll be done in time to play a paying gig that evening.