On Wednesday and Saturday nights, we presented our Best of the Beat winners. Here’s how it went:

2008 Best of the Beat Award Winners 

MUSIC AWARDS 

Best Blues Band or Performer

Irma Thomas 

Best Blues Album

Irma Thomas: Simply Grand (Rounder) 

Best R&B/Funk Band or Performer

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave. 

Best R&B/Funk Album

Dr. John: City That Care Forgot (429/Savoy) 

Best Rock Band or Performer

Theresa Andersson 

Best Rock Album

Theresa Andersson: Hummingbird, Go! (Basin Street) 

Best Rap/Hip-Hop Band or Performer

Lil Wayne 

Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album

Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III (Cash Money) 

Best Traditional Jazz Band or Performer

Preservation Hall Jazz Band 

Best Traditional Jazz Album

John Boutte: Good Neighbor (Independent) 

Best Contemporary Jazz Band or Performer

Terrence Blanchard 

Best Contemporary Jazz Album

Ellis Marsalis Quartet: An Open Letter to Thelonious (ELM) 

Best Brass Band

Rebirth Brass Band 

Best Gospel Band or Performer

Zion Harmonizers 

Best Cajun Band or Performer

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet 

Best Cajun Album

Michael Doucet: From Now On (Smithsonian Folkways) 

Best Zydeco Band or Performer

Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience 

Best Zydeco Album

Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys: Keep the Tradition Alive! (Maison de Soul) 

Best Country/Folk/Roots Rock Band or Performer

The Iguanas 

Best Country/Folk/Roots Rock Album

The Iguanas: If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times (Yep Roc) 

Best Emerging Artist

Los Po-Boy-Citos 

Best Cover Band or Performer

The Bucktown Allstars 

Female Vocalist

Irma Thomas 

Male Vocalist

John Boutte 

Bass Player

George Porter, Jr. 

Guitar Player

Sonny Landreth 

Drummer/Percussionist

Johnny Vidacovich 

Saxophone

Donald Harrison 

Clarinet

Dr. Michael White 

Trumpet

Trombone Shorty 

Trombone

Mark Mullins 

Tuba / Sousaphone

Matt Perrine 

Piano/Keyboards

Henry Butler 

Accordion

Terrance Simien 

Violin/Fiddle

Michael Doucet 

Other Instrument

Washboard Chaz (washboard) 

Album of the Year

Dr. John: City That Care Forgot (429/Savoy) 

Artist/Band of the Year

Irma Thomas 

BUSINESS AWARDS 

Best Club

d.b.a. 

Best Radio Station

WWOZ 

Best Festival

French Quarter Festival 

Best Festival Outside New Orleans

Festivals Acadiens et Creole 

Best Recording Studio

Studio in the Country 

Record Label of the Year

Basin Street Records 

Producer of the Year

Mark Bingham 

Best Record Store

Louisiana Music Factory 

Best Instrument Store

Ray Fransen’s Drum Center 

Best Pro Audio Store

Guitar Center 

Best Studio Sound Engineer

Ben Mumphrey (Studio in the Country) 

Best Booking Agency

White Oak 

Best Manager

Howie Kaplan 

Best Music Attorney

Ashlye M. Keaton 

Best Music Photographer

Skip Bolen 

Best Club Owner or Manager

Jessie Page (The Blue Nile) 

Best Concert Promoter

Ponderosa Stomp Foundation 

Music Awareness Award

The New Orleans Hornets 

Music Business of the Year

Preservation Hall 

LIFETIME ACHIEVMENT 

Lifetime Achievement in Music

Harold Battiste 

Lifetime Achievement in Music

Bo Dollis 

Posthumous Lifetime Achievement in Music

James Booker 

Lifetime Achievement in Music Business

Maggie Warwick 

Lifetime Achievement Music Education

Donald Harrison and Cherice Harrison-Nelson 

The Heartbeat Award

Antoinette K-Doe

Thanks to Friend of OffBeat Clint Maedgen for getting up this morning to appear on WWL-TV’s morning show with Jan to hype Saturday night’s Best of the Beat at the House of Blues. I also appreciate Maedgen for playing the Best of the Beat because the New Orleans Bingo! Show is also playing the second night of a two-night stand at Le Chat Noir the same night. They’ll start our show at 7:30 and go straight from there to Le Chat for their show. 

Since I set my machine to tape the WWL appearance this morning, I haven’t seen and don’t know if there was any mention of Maedgen’s Thursday night show at Le Chat Noir – Clint Maedgen with Strings. If there was, then the show just got hyped for the second time. Besides working on these projects, he’s also recording his first album with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band as its full-time clarinet player this month.

We finally nailed down the details and can announce that Glen David Andrews will be part of OffBeat’s Best of the Beat Awards show Saturday, January 31 at the House of Blues. He’ll play an early set outside in the Voodoo Lounge at 6:30, so get there early for our food service – from 6 to 7:30 – and free drinks inside at the Glazer’s bar.