Jammy Award


The Jammy Award is an awards show for bands - referred to as jam bands - and other artists associated with live, improvisational music, created by Dean Budnick and Peter Shapiro. The Jammys are sponsored by Relix magazine, Jambands.com, and Shapiro. The Jammy Awards returned in 2008 to the WAMU Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City after taking a one-year break.

First Annual Jammy Awards (2000)

The First Annual Jammy Awards were held on June 22, 2000, at Irving Plaza in New York City. The event was presented by Jambands.com and executive producers Peter Shapiro and Dean Budnick. Shapiro, who owns the Wetlands Preserve, is the publisher of Jambands.com. Budnick is editor in chief of Jambands.com and also co-hosted The Jammys with Peter Prince of Moon Boot Lover. The evening had two basic components: awards were presented in various categories, and the scene's best bands performed sets of blistering music with special guests. The idea originated nearly 10 months prior in a conversation between Budnick and managers for various bands. John Topper from Moe, Bob Kennedy from Deep Banana Blackout, and Darren Cohen from The Slip had all referenced "The Jammys" as an obvious play on "The Grammys."
Presenters included: Steve Bloom, Richard Gehr, Lee Crumpton, Sam Kopper, John Scofield, Anthony DeCurtis, Kirk West, and Jambands.com staff members.
Strangefolk closed the show joined by Merl Saunders for a Grateful Dead tribute in which they performed "Scarlet Begonias", then Strangefolk's Eric Glocker was replaced on stage with Percy Hill's John Leccese, at which point they jammed into "Fire on the Mountain."

Performers

The Jammy Awards featured performers including The New Deal, Frogwings, The Disco Biscuits & Les Claypool,
Merl Saunders, John Scofield, Strangefolk, Susan Tedeschi, Deep Banana Blackout, Soulive and The Slip.

Award winners

  • Live Set of the Year: Phish – 12/31/99, Set II
  • Jam of the Year: Disco Biscuits – "Akira Jam", 12/31/99
  • Release of the Year: Grateful Dead – So Many Roads
  • Live Album of the Year: moe. – L
  • Wetlands Award : B. B. King
  • Studio Album of the Year: Percy Hill – Color in Bloom
  • Future Jam : Soulive
  • New Groove of the Year: Fat Mama
  • Home Grown Music Award: Strangefolk
  • Radio Show: The Music Never Stops
  • Fan Web Site: etree
  • Community Service: Strangers Helping Strangers
  • Topper Award : Chris Zahn
  • Jambands.com Writer: Jeff Waful

    Second Annual Jammy Awards (2001)

The Second Annual Jammys took place at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The show featured more than five hours of non-stop music and presentations. "The idea for the Jammys was to create a night of music where we didn't know what was going to happen," says Jammys executive producer Peter Shapiro. "We wanted to bring artists who not only hadn't played together, but hadn't met and now, after experiencing what went down, it's a pretty overwhelming feeling."

Performers

, Yonder Mountain String Band's Jeff Austin and Robert Randolph joined the Derek Trucks Band for a version of "Turn On Your Lovelight". Paul Shaffer sat in with Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade featuring Junior Brown for The Beatles' "Taxman" and King Crimson's "Thela Hun Ginjeet". DJ Logic and guitarist Stanley Jordan performed with The Disco Biscuits featuring John Popper for Jane's Addiction's "Three Days" and Led Zeppelin's "Bring It On Home". The show concluded with a two-stage dueling jam on The Meters' classic "Cissy Strut", which followed the presentation of the lifetime achievement award to George Porter Jr. The song featured the Derek Trucks Band with special guests Porter, Popper and Jordan.

Winners

  • Album of the Year: Phish – Farmhouse
  • Live Performance of the Year: Phish – 7/11/00, Noblesville, IN
  • New Groove of the Year: Yonder Mountain String Band
  • Radio Show: Jam Nation
  • Fan Website: etree
  • Festival: Gathering of the Vibes
  • Topper/Zahn Award: Howie Schnee
  • Mimi Fishman Memorial Award: Mockingbird Foundation
  • Live Album: Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – Live Frogs Set 1
  • Jam of the Year: Phil Lesh and Friends with Mike Gordon – 12-31-00
  • Release of the Year: Grateful Dead – Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead
  • Lifetime Achievement: George Porter Jr. and the Meters

    Third Annual Jammy Awards (2002)

The Third Annual Jammy Awards were held October 2, 2002. It was presented by TDK, and took place at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

Performers

The evening began with Rat Dog bassist Rob Wasserman and DJ Logic. Next was Rusted Root, DJ Logic and guitarist Melvin Sparks, who played "Send Me on My Way" and "Ecstasy", with host John Popper adding harmonica. John Scofield was joined by saxophonist Skerik, drummer Stanton Moore and bassist Andy Hess. Pedal Steel guitarist Robert Randolph sat in with the Blind Boys of Alabama for "Amazing Grace". Unannounced guest John Mayer collaborated with Randolph and Derek Trucks. Particle and Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson of the B-52's played "Planet Claire", "Private Idaho" and "Love Shack". Original Blue Öyster Cult members Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma and Allen Lanier took the stage as Moe was finishing "Rebubula" and segued into " The Reaper." Reid Genauer, Jessica Lurie and Hope Clayburn joined house band The Tom Tom Club for "Take Me to the River". Bassist Stefan Lessard played "Beautifully Broken" with Gov't Mule, before the Allman Brothers Band took the stage.
Rat Dog's set was capped by the dual stage jam, which closed out the show with a version of "Turn on Your Lovelight," with countless musicians on both stages. Rat Dog was joined on the main stage by guitarist Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Al Schnier, Popper, Abts, and DJ Logic. Meanwhile, the second stage included bassist Mike Gordon, guitarist Fuzz, Randolph, saxophonists Skerik, Clayburn, Lurie, Tom Tom Club vocalists Mystic Bowie and Victoria Clamp and "Flute Girl."

Winners

  • TDK Live Performance of the Year: moe. – Bonnaroo Music Festival, 6/22/02
  • Tour of the Year: Trey Anastasio – Summer 2002
  • Studio Album of the Year: Trey Anastasio – Trey Anastasio
  • Live Album of the Year: Widespread Panic – Live in the Classic City
  • Archival Album: Phish – Live Phish Vol. 11: 11/17/97, McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO
  • Song of the Year: Gov't Mule – "Soulshine"
  • New Groove of the Year: Robert Randolph and the Family Band
  • Fan Website of the Year: Philzone.com
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Grateful Dead
  • Mimi Fishman Community Service Award: Joshua Stack
  • Grahamy Jammy : Annabel Lukins

    Fourth Annual Jammy Awards (2004)

The Fourth Annual Jammy Awards were held on March 16, 2004 at Madison Square Garden. It is most notable for the reunion of Black Crowes members Chris Robinson, Rich Robinson and Eddie Harsch which led to their revival of the Crowes in early 2005.

Performers

The night kicked off with a performance of “Higher & Higher” by the Harlem Gospel Choir, which was soon joined by an expanded version of Soulive. The trio welcomed vocalist Reggie Watts of Maktub, trumpeter Rashawn Ross, tenor saxophonist Ryan Zoidis, alto saxophonist Cochemea “Cheme” Gastelum and percussionist Danny Sadownick. Next up was Reid Genauer and the Assembly of Dust with Dickey Betts and Edie Brickell.
The Disco Biscuits launched into their own "Rock Candy." Flavor Flav was originally scheduled to join the band, but he respectfully declined during the last week. So instead, Slick Rick came out and after Rock Candy, Rick and The Biscuits performed La Di Da Di. Rahzel was then booked, but could not make the gig due to a snowstorm in the Northeast. Dr. John, Toots Hibbert, bassist George Porter Jr., guitarist Brian Stoltz, and drummer Matt Abts then took the stage for a set that included "Right Place, Wrong Time", "Pressure Drop" and "Hey Pocky Way," with Widespread Panic keyboardist JoJo Hermann on the latter.
The Derek Trucks Band featured vocalist Solomon Burke for "I wish I knew How it Would Feel to be Free" and "Home in Your Heart." Trucks’ wife, Susan Tedeschi, along with Dickey Betts, then joined in for "Turn on Your Lovelight." The String Cheese Incident opened its portion of the night with the instrumental "Valley of the Jig" and "’Round the Wheel." Jane's Addiction front man Perry Farrell then emerged for "Idiots Rule," which also included the Soulive horn section. Following Gov't Mule’s "Blind Man in the Dark," Black Crowes members Chris Robinson, Rich Robinson and Eddie Harsch shared the stage for "Sometimes Salvation." It was their first performance together since October 2001. The Crowes have been officially on hiatus since January 2002. This was one of the reasons that the band got back together in 2005. Earlier in the set, Chris Robinson joined the Mule for a rendition of Neil Young’s "Southern Man",
Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Steve Winwood and his band took the stage for the evening’s finale, which opened with "Different Light." For the final jam of the night, Betts and The String Cheese Incident’s Michael Kang returned to the stage, along with the show’s host, Robert Randolph, who played guitar, and saxophonist James Carter for "Gimme Some Lovin'", one of Winwood's oldest hits, which he wrote at age 15 while in The Spencer Davis Group.