Photo by Darcy DuBois
Bryan Cherry - WAMI Awards
Bryan Cherry - WAMI 2021 winner for best R&B/Soul artist
As part of its new plan to reach out to fans, musicians and industry folks across the state, Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) wami.org has announced that anyone, regardless of WAMI membership status, can nominate local talent for the WAMI awards. This change in direction comes after years of general perception of WAMI as an exclusive club for insiders.
Jason Klagstad was installed as WAMI president in 2022 with a vision to change and improve the organization. “We are excited to actualize our goal of creating an open forum voting platform for the WAMI Awards and will continue to strive to meet the needs of local musicians in our ever-changing industry,” said Klagstad.
“The post-COVID music scene is vibrant and active, and we are counting on our community here in Milwaukee and across the state to nominate and share their favorite local musicians with us.”
This year, the general public will submit nominations and winners will be elected via a digital voting system used by the Academy of Country Music, the TEC Awards and the Madison Area Music Awards. The new voting and nomination process is vital to continuing transparency within WAMI and promoting inclusivity among the Wisconsin music community.
The nomination process begins today, Tuesday Jan. 17 and is open to the public on wami.org through Thursday, Feb. 21. Once nominations are posted on the WAMI website, there will be two rounds of voting to determine this year’s award winners. Wisconsinites are invited to vote online for the People’s Choice Awards.
The WAMI board has grown from 13 to 20 members, bringing in new business, legal and industry expertise, along with new perspectives and significant community partnerships. The WAMI board continues to prioritize diversity and modernization of operations through community wide outreach.
Here is the timeline for the 2023 WAMI nomination and voting process:
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- Nomination/registration: Tuesday, January 17 through Tuesday, February 14
- First round of voting: Friday, February 24 through Tuesday, March 21
- Final voting round: Tuesday, March 28 through Tuesday, April 18
