Lots of good Palladium news came out of Creative Loafing’s “Best of the Bay” awards party at the Coliseum Wednesday night.
John, Jun and Mark of La Lucha
Where to begin? How about with our artists who won lots of honors. Selwyn Birchwood and Betty Fox both got nods in the blues and soul categories. Both played sold-out shows at the Side Door this summer. And in jazz it was an all-Palladium night – with La Lucha taking home top band honors and Nate Najar getting the nod as “Best Instrumentalist.” Both Nate and La Lucha are regular features in our Side Door lineup.
And the multi-talented Jun Bustamante also got an award for “Best Folk Fusion.” Not sure exactly what that means, but Jun should win in any category.
The Palladium was part of an award called “Best new tour stop hotspot” – which was all about the music venues in downtown St. Petersburg. Shows by Robyn Hitchcock and India.Arie were cited in that award story.
And in a profile of Gina Vivinetto the Side Door got a big nod from the UT professor and former TB Times music writer. Here’s what it said:
Best way to keep it classy – The Palladium’s Side Door Cabaret. “It makes me think of the Rat Pack and these great cozy lounges where people used to drink and listen to Cole Porter.”
Nate’s award!
Gina gathered some of the bay area’s best musicians for a night of rockers doing American Songbook tunes in the Side Door last year. Next month, she’s doing the same thing for a show we’re calling – “New Wave/No Synths.” It features more great musicians – including the Ditchflowers – doing ’80s New Wave hits without all the electronics. That show is Sunday, Oct. 26.
Last year’s the Side Door won a special award as “Best underground nightclub.” And my wife, Eugenie and I were asked to present awards this year, so I got to hand “Besties” to La Lucha, along with the folks from Jobsite Theater and freeFall.
And there’s more!
The Palladium is a professional lab for St. Petersburg College’s Music Industry and Recording Arts Program, so we are also claiming the “Best of” award naming MIRA as the “Best Music Incubator.“ We have MIRA classes here and interns from the program work on all our major shows. And MIRA’s hip-hop ensemble, The Real Clash, won as best hip-hop act. They play regularly at the Palladium!
Finally, the Palladium’s own Damon Dougherty, who is our operations manager by day, walked off with a “Bestie” for his band Funny Bunny. He’s a drummer, but otherwise he is a very nice person.
Check it all out online or pick up a copy of the Loaf this week. And thanks to everybody at Creative Loafing for their on-going support of our little music venue!
Leave a Reply