Washington, D.C.'s local version of the Grammy Awards, the Wammies, is back this weekend after several years of hiatus.
The Washington Area Music Awards, known as the Wammies, are a two-day experience, which will start with a day conference on Saturday, March 30 and an award show on March 31, a news release said.
The award show celebrates D.C.-area artists and musicians for their work.
The award show has 150 nominees in 62 artist categories from different music genres.
The award show will also raise money for The MusicanShip's free-of-charge music programs that serve over 1600 youth, a news release said.
Nominations are only for music released in 2018 from the D.C. area. Finalists were selected by a team of experts in the art, media, culture and education fields. A full list of the nominees can be found here.
Originally started under the Washington Area Music Association in 1985, the Wammies served as an award show to highlight local music in the D.C. area. Because of financial struggles with WAMA, the show hasn't been on since 2016, WAMU reported.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
In August 2018, the Wammies got a new organization, the MusicanShip, a charitable non-profit that gives music lessons, experience and opportunities to others, according to a news release. This announcement came months after WAMA decided to dissolve earlier that year.
“We are proud to preserve this storied award show,” Jeffery Tribble Jr., executive director of The MusicianShip, said in a news release. “We are also incredibly proud to introduce it to a new generation of diverse, enthusiastic, and exciting DMV artists.”
The conference will offer seminars and networking opportunities with over 60 music industry professionals, 20 hours of music education track content and live music all day at Decades DC dance club, the release said.
Anyone interested in attending the conference can buy tickets here.
The award show will be the next day at 7 p.m. in the Lincoln Theatre.
Anyone interested in attending the award show can buy tickets here.
