Below is the list of the 2020 Syracuse Area Music Awards Nominees and Hall of Fame Inductees. A press kit is available, which includes pictures, bios and more information. A complete list of all previous SAMMY winners can be found on our Past Recipients page.
Hall of Fame
Tim Fox
Seth Marcel
Judy Mareiniss
Moss Back Mule Band
Music Educator:
Casey Vanderstouw
Lifetime Achievement:
Garland Jeffreys
Best Pop
Stephen Phillips
Big Eyes & Rosy Cheeks
Jenna Cunningham
Seizing Self
Best Hip-Hop or Rap
Slick Fashionž
Purple
315 CA$H
A Rough Start#RELOADED
Coughlin
#TheHeat
The Real Raw Breed
No Excuse
MBK Richy
RS2
Best Americana
Mike Powell
The Full Nelson: Live at the Odeon
The Ripcords
Last Dance
Coffee & Beer
Leap
Off the Ground
Cleared for Takeoff
Ghost Town Ramblers
Outlaw Highway
Best Alternative
Late Earth
Eleventh Hour
Keep Up
Up In Flames
The Action!
20 Years Alive
Mandate of Heaven
Least Concern
Devinne Meyers
Silver Line
Best Rock
Atkins Riot
Too Much Whisky
Underwater Bosses
Aqua La Vista
Chris Eves and the New Normal
One Spark
Slow Train
In Between
Mike Powell & The Black River
Gypsy Winnebago
Ronnie Dark
Sky
Best Hard Rock
Kris Wiechmann
The Heaviest Tenderness
Cry to the Blind
Deliver Me
Ecliptic Vision
Ecliptic Vision
Murder in Rue Morgue
Endless Cycles
Killaton
My Abyss
Best Other Style
Mark Nanni
Towns & Spaces In Between
Josh Dekaney
All the Americas
Leo Crandall & Hymie Witthoft
Unknowable and Stunning Thing
Spotlight Studios
A Holiday Spotlight
O’Connor & Dunn
Which Way to Neverland?
Best Jam Band
Big Sexy & The Scrambled Eggs
Road Less Traveled
Vaporeyes
Vaporeyes
Best Singer/Songwriter
Dale Randall
All the Love I Know
Andrew VanNorstrand
That We Could Find a Way to Be
Cam Caruso
Up Above & Down Below
Sydney Irving
The Greene EP
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
Live and Listening
Best Blues
Sean McLeod
Harriet Tubman Freedom Music Festival-Live! Vol. 4
King Kool and His Royal Blues
Train Wreck
Diana Jacobs
What She Needs
Chris Terra Band
Lady Luck
Earl Slick & The West Side Social Club
The West Side Social Club
Best R&B
Gary Carpentier
LUCID
Barroom Philosophers
Digital Demise
Jaquiel
Changes
Alani Skye
Alani Skye
Best Country
The Cadleys
Duets & Ballads
Whiskey Hollow Rush
True Stories
Jon Rogalia
A Little Too Country
Emalee Herrington
Plans Change
D. Dusk Rogers
Pounded Down By Christmas
Best Jazz
London McDaniel
Masterpieces
Melissa Gardiner
Empowered
Best Electronica
Ruby C.
Ruby C.
Empires in Orbit
Doom City Limits & Singles
Founder’s Award
U A D
James ‘Saul’ Brown
Rick Linzy
Hollis ‘Larry’ Mathis
Isaac Wynn
Jack O Bocchino Spirit of the Sammys Award
Marge Nolan
Submission and Judging Process
SAMMY awards are given based on the judgment of submissions sent by mail to the SAMMYS Board by musicians in Syracuse and the surrounding area. An independent panel of music industry professionals and educators from around the country, led by James Abbott, review the submissions and make their selections based on their merit and their genre.