“It is such an honor since the jury was comprised of some of my musical idols: Tom Waits, Ziggy Marley, Suzanne Vega, Meshell Ndegeocello, McCoy Tyner, John Medeski, Chris Wood, Raul Midon, Arturo Sandoval, and more,” said Sofia Rei. “Back in 2009 we received this award for my previous album, Sube Azul, and am super happy to have been chosen again. Thank you very much for your continued support!”
Banned Iranian duo Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat took the top spot in World Traditional Album with their album Twinklings Of Hope. Their music is outlawed in their native country. The record was released by the Kirkelig Kulturverksted label based in Oslo, Norway.
An archival recordings from Woody Guthrie, Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection, received the honor for the Smithsonian-Folkways label in the Compilation category.
The 12th IMA Judging panel featured Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan, Ziggy Marley, Suzanne Vega, Del McCoury, Meshell Ndegeocello, Pete Wentz, Shelby Lynne, G. Love, Brandi Carlile, McCoy Tyner, Judy Collins, John Medeski, Chris Wood, Andrea Marcovicci, Raul Midon, “Weird Al’ Yankovic, Bernie Worrell, Jeremy Taggart, Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, Arturo Sandoval, Joel Madden, Jonatha Brooke and Jim Lauderdale.
The IMA Judging panel was also comprised of record label executives, club and festival talent buyers, music journalists, film & TV music supervisors .
In addition to the judge-determined winners announced today, music fans from around the world have until midnight Friday, July 19th to champion their favorite Nominees and determine The 12th IMA Vox Pop Winners by voting online at www.TheIndependentMusicAwards.com/imanominee/12th
The fan-selected Winners will benefit from additional marketing support from The Independent Music Awards. To date more than 23,000 music fans have cast their votes in support of their favorite 12th IMA artists
Long Form Video Winner – Lou Pallo of Les Paul’s Trio with Special Guests, Thank You Les: A Tribute To Les Paul
Read about other winners at www.TheIndependentMusicAwards.com
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
