Austin Music Legends Honored at AMAs
Susan Antone will receive the first-ever Margaret Moser Award
By Chase Hoffberger, 10:17AM, Tue. Mar. 1, 2016
Last year, despite the all-star house band and one-of-a-kind tribute performances to Ian McLagan and Austin High School, the 33rd Austin Music Awards felt like they were missing something special. Margaret Moser, celebrated Chronicle writer who produced and directed more than 30 AMAs, was no longer at the helm.
A brief cameo from Austin music’s Big Mama last year to present the award for Best U-18 act didn’t go unnoticed, but consensus coming out was that future runnings needed more Moser.
Therefore, on Wednesday, March 16, and each year moving forward, the AMAs will present the Margaret Moser Award, established to recognize women in the local music community who bear the accolade namesake’s penchant for breaking down industry stereotypes and making tangible contributions to the homegrown culture. This year’s inaugural recipient will be Susan Antone, the longtime club executive who, with her brother Clifford Antone, helped shaped Austin’s blues scene into an industry benchmark, and recently helped revamp the venue back to usher in a new generation of Texas blues.
“What’s interesting to me about Susan is the way she reshaped her life to focus on two legacies – her brother Clifford’s and the blues itself,” said Moser on Monday. “Those goals are noble and meaningful now in a way they wouldn’t have been even 10 years ago. They drive her spirit and enthusiasm, something that’s present in every inch of the new club.”
In addition to the conferment, this year’s Austin Music Awards include tributes to Antone’s and recently departed KUTX deejay Paul Ray, as well as a 20th anniversary celebration of the SIMS Foundation, the music community’s mental health organization founded in honor of Sims Ellison, the homegrown hard rocker who killed himself in 1995. Also expected is a Freaks & Geeks performance pitting the Golden Dawn Arkestra against pop classicists Mother Falcon; a Blazing Bows segment celebrating central Texas’ rich history of the fiddle; and music from Charlie Sexton and his house band.
KUTX deejays Laurie Gallardo and Rick McNulty hosts for a second straight year.
Festivities begin at 7:55pm upstairs in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Austin Downtown. Tickets are $25 and available online or at Waterloo Records, 600 N. Lamar Blvd. Proceeds benefit the SIMS Foundation
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Nov. 16, 2018
2015/16 Austin Music Awards, SXSW Msic 2016, Margaret Moser, Susan Antone, Clifford Antone, Antone’s Night Club, Paul Ray, KUTX, Laurie Gallardo, Rick McNulty, Sims Ellison, SIMS, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Mother Falcon, Charlie Sexton
