Native American fiddler Arvel bird won the Nammy (the Native
American Music Awards) for Best Instrumental. This is Arvel’s Nammy thank you
statement: “I would like to thank the Native American Music Awards for all
the work they’ve done to produce the Nammy Awards and the Seminole Nation for
hosting the event in their beautiful Hard Rock Live venue. Thank you, Ellen
Bello, for the opportunity to perform this year, also Donald Kelly, Uncle Joe
Bello and all the volunteers who dedicated themselves to putting on this
wonderful event. Big thank you to Daniel Tramper and the other dancers who added
so much to each performance! James and Ernie were the perfect MCs for the show
and really kept things fun and moving!I would also like to thank all the advisory board members that voted for me
and the estimated one million people who took the time to go to the Nammys.com
website to vote for their favorite artists. Thank you. With that kind of growing
support, Native American entertainers are quickly becoming a force to reckon
with.
I’d like to especially thank all the people who bought
Animal Totems, my first Native American CD, and the multitudes who
asked if the stories I tell in my live performance were on the Animal Totems CD
(which they were not) because without their requests,
Arvel Bird Live! CD would never have been recorded.
And most of all, I want to thank my biggest fan, Kimberly Kelley, whose
tireless efforts and dedication made it possible for me to be there.
This is not only a win for me it’s also a win for the Southern Paiutes of
Utah, Arizona and Nevada who have been much overlooked and underestimated for
far too long.”
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central