BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PRESTONSBURG — The Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards ceremony was held Saturday in Prestonsburg. Winners from across the 13 Appalachian states were announced and honored with grand pomp and circumstance at the Mountain Arts Center.
Winners each received a trophy commemorating their achievement, the coveted “Appy.” Kentuckians were well-represented among this year’s Appy winners, making up 34 of the 51 artists, entertainers and educators selected by the judges. Members of the public voted on the top 3 finalists in each category.
Several local artists won awards including Whitney Johnson, the Appalachian Forager, from Blaine, who won for Best Social Media Influencer.
Jayce Turley of Greenup won Best EP of the Year for his debut record, “The Opening Act.”
“I’m honestly so shocked to have received this great honor. Thank y’all so much for the nomination and the help to get me voted into the finalists,” said Turley. “It’s a true honor. Hopefully there will be more for y’all to tune into soon.”
Corduroy Brown of Huntington won Best Album of the Year for his record “Let Me Know.”
“So much of our souls went into making that album,” said Brown. “Let’s all celebrate this one.”
Walk-for-Water activist Austin Shuck won Best Podcast for his show “What the Shuck?!”
“The goal has always been to provide a platform to the incredibly interesting folks of Kentucky and Appalachia and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” said Shuck. “Thank y’all for helping make this happen.”
Eastern Kentucky jam-rock band the MoonDogs won in the category of Best Rock.
Bek Smallwood of Pikeville, singer for Bek & the Starlight Revue won Best Female Vocalist.
Donnie Bowling, originally from Prestonsburg and his musical partner Brett Higgins won Best Indie/Indie Folk as their duo Brett & Donnie.
Below is the complete list of winners by category:
Education
Best High School Band: Dobyns Bennett High School (TN)
Best High School: Franklin County High School (KY)
Best Music Educator: Route 60 (WV)
Best Acting/Drama/Speech Educator: The Barter Theatre (VA)
Best Dance Educator: Carla Gover (KY)
Best Art Educator: Joshua Spencer (KY)
Written Works
Best Author/Writer: Robyn Chapman (OH)
Best Poet: George Ecklund (KY)
Visual Arts
Best Digital/Mixed Media Artist: Chris Burkhardt (KY)
Best Graphic Designer: Frida Gonzalez (KY)
Best Painting: Tiffini Scherbing (KY)
Best Sculpture/Pottery: Link Henderson (KY)
Best Tattoo Artist: Laura Saadati Kepper (TN)
Best Photography: Larry Epling (KY)
Best Cartoonist/Illustrator: Frida Gonzalez (KY)
Best Textile: New Frontier (KY)
Best Jewelry Design: Kathy Stout (WV)
Music and Film
Best Social Media Influencer: The Appalachian Forager, Whitney Johnson (KY)
Best Original Movie/Short Film/Documentary: Greg Austin, “The Austin City Saloon Years” (KY)
EP of the Year: “The Opening Act” by Jayce Turley (KY)
Album of the Year: “Let Me Know” by Corduroy Brown (WV)
Industry
Best Radio Personality: Dennis Dillon: 92.1 WBVX FM (KY)
Best Podcast: Austin Shuck, “What the Shuck?!” (KY)
Best Small Live Music Venue (500 seats or fewer): Blue Grass Barrel House (KY)
Best Large Live Music Venue (501 seats or greater): Riverbend (OH)
Best Luthier: John Ryster (KY)
Best Recording Studio/Engineer/Producer: Kyle Manner (TN)
Best Music Festival: Manchester Music Festival (KY)
Best Television Host/Personality: Chad Hedrick with WKYT Lexington (KY)
Genre
Best Americana: Trippin Roots (KY)
Best Bluegrass: Bobby Maynard and Family (WV)
Best Blues: TeeDee Young (KY)
Best Country: Cody Lee Meece & The Poor Excuses (KY)
Best Funk/R&B/Reggae: Joslyn & The Sweet Compression (KY)
Best Religious/Worship/Spiritual: My Brother’s Keeper (OH)
Best Hip-Hop/Rap: Charlie Brown Superstar (WV)
Best Indie/Indie Folk: Brett And Donnie (KY)
Best Jazz/Latin/Big Band/World: Big Sugg and the Jazz FUNckers (KY)
Best Metal/Punk: What Drives the Weak (KY)
Best Original Song: Brando Vanschoyck (KY)
Best Pop: Hailey Newman (KY)
Best Rock: The MoonDogs (KY)
Best Singer-Songwriter: Brando Vanschoyck (KY)
Performance
Best Bassist: Oliver Sayani (TN)
Best Cover Band/ Variety Act: Nathan and Chesi Arnett (KY)
Best Drummer/ Percussionist: Jeremy “Wood” Roberts (WV)
Best Guitarist: Jonathan Goodwin (KY)
Best Strings (Non-guitar/bass): Titus Luckhaupt (OH)
Best Female Vocalist (Any style): Bek Smallwood (KY)
Best Male Vocalist (Any style): Landau Eugene Murphy Jr (WV)
Best Wind and Brass: Matthew Polashek (KY)