Launch of MouthPiece music awards set to celebrate local artists and venues
The Mulberry Tree, Ipswich could be in the running for best venue - Credit: Lucy Taylor
Musicians and venues in Ipswich are set to be recognised for their efforts over the last 12 months, with the launch of a new local music awards.
The MouthPiece awards are due to be officially launched next week in a host of categories including best original band, best cover band, best small and large venues and best staff at a venue.
Organised by drum doctor and Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) presenter Martin ‘Webby’ Webb, the awards aim to get non-musicians involved as well as those who are prevalent on the music scene.
“The whole idea is to celebrate local acts,” he said.
“You put it all together and the interesting thing is there’s an opportunity to promote and do good, and that is what is going to drive it forward.”
A website is set to be launched over the coming weeks with a full list of categories, with voting expected to be open for around three weeks.
Once the votes have been collated, Webby is hopeful a presentation evening will be held.
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“The first one will probably be fairly low key and just see how it goes, and as with anything will take time but should be a good thing for everyone.”
A provisional list posted online drew criticism for including categories such as ‘worst band’ and ‘worst song’, after being taken from local music awards in other cities, but organisers confirmed they would be removed.
“It’s one of those things where you get a backlash, but it helps you shape the awards,” Webby said, adding that a list of categories was being finalised.
In the meantime, people are able to see a provisional list online at the MouthPiece Facebook page, as well as being able to message award suggestions, nominate in the categories and offer any help in running the awards.
Webby concluded: “If we take it forward and get all the right people behind it, it will be a good thing for the town, and completely devoid of any marketing input.”
