A2IM Announces 2019 Libera Award Nominees

As the countdown begins for the kickoff of A2IM's Indie Week, A2IM is announcing the list of nominees for the 2019 Libera Awards presented by SoundExchange. The Awards recognize a wide range of musicians and visionaries and offer the independent music community the opportunity to honor the hard work and accomplishments of their peers.

This year's awards celebrate artists, albums, and videos from a diversity of genres, as well as the labels and marketing teams that help bring the music to the fans. The Libera Awards are made possible by the generosity of its sponsors, from SoundExchange, its presenting sponsor, to the organizations who sponsor individual categories.

The nominees for the 2019 Libera Awards include:

Album of the Year (sponsored by The Orchard)

* Mitski - Be The Cowboy (Dead Oceans)

* IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance. (Partisan Records)

* serpentwithfeet - soil (Secretly Canadian)

* Yves Tumor - Safe In The Hands Of Love (Warp Records)

* Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth (Young Turks)

Best Live Act

* King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (ATO Records)

* Mitski (Dead Oceans)

* BADBADNOTGOOD (Innovative Leisure)

* Run the Jewels (RTJ Music, Inc.)

* Kelela (Warp Records)

The full list of this year's nominees is below

The 2019 Libera Awards will be held on June 20, 2019. While the Awards were originally slated to take place again at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square, an enormous increase in demand for tickets resulted in the event being moved to a new venue. The Libera Awards will now take place at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in NYC (141 West 54th St.)

The Awards come as the culmination of A2IM's Indie Week (June 17-20), which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Indie Week is a four-day gathering of the best and brightest of music industry innovators. Because of its explosive growth Indie Week will this year be held at the New York Law School in Tribeca (185 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013). The event provides an opportunity for those in the independent music industry to network, learn, and be inspired.

Every year, the Libera Awards and Indie Week serve as fulfillments of A2IM's pledge to act as representatives and guardians of the independent music industry. Its three-pronged mission includes advocacy, education, and connection-building. With membership, ticket sales, and international attendance for Indie Week and the Libera Awards seeing a dramatic increase year after year, the organization is proud to have the support and participation from the ever-expanding independent music community.

For tickets and more information about the Libera Awards presented by SoundExchange, please visit www.liberaawards.stayindie.net.

To learn more about A2IM, visit www.a2im.org.

The 2019 Libera Award Nominees:

Best American Roots/Folk Album

* Calexico - The Thread That Keeps Us (ANTI Records)

* Richard Thompson - 13 Rivers (New West Records)

* John Prine - The Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy Records)

* I'm With Her - See You Around (Rounder Records)

* Dom Flemons - Black Cowboys (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)

Best Blues Album

* Shemekia Copeland - America's Child (Alligator Records)

* Boz Scaggs - Out Of The Blues (Concord Records / Concord)

* Fantastic Negrito - Please Don't Be Dead (Concord Records / Concord)

* Deva Mahal - Run Deep (Motema Music)

* Cedric Burnside - Benton County Relic (Single Lock Records)

Best Classical Album

* Niklas Paschburg - Oceanic (7k!)

* Henrik Schwarz & Metropole Orkest - Scripted Orkestra (7k!)

* Jean-michel Blais - Dans ma main (Arts & Crafts Productions Inc.)

* London Symphony Orchestra - Fuchs: Piano Concerto "Spiritualist" (Naxos American Classics)

* Oliver Coates - John Luther Adams - Canticles of the Sky (RVNG Intl.)

Best Country/Americana Album

* Phosphorescent - C'est La Vie (Dead Oceans)

* Mary Gauthier - Rifles and Rosary BeadsI (n the Black / CD Baby)

* John Prine - The Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy Records)

* Jim Lauderdale - Time Flies (Yep Roc Records)

* Alejandro Escovedo - The Crossing (Yep Roc Records)

Best Dance/Electronic Album (sponsored by Symphonic Distribution)

* Leon Vynehall - Nothing Is Still (Ninja Tune)

* Jon Hopkins - Singularity (Domino Recording Co. Ltd.)

* SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides (Future Classic)

* Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of (Warp Records)

* Yves Tumor - Safe In The Hands Of Love (Warp Records)

Best Hip-Hop/Rap Album (sponsored by Songtrust)

* August Greene - August Greene (August Greene)

* Awkwafina - In Fina We Trust (Awkwafina Records / AWAL)

* Myke Bogan - Joe Fontana (EYRST / CD Baby)

* Blueface - Famous Cryp (Fifth Amendment, Inc / Entertainment One)

* Junglepussy - JP3 (Junglepussy)

Best Jazz Album

* Onyx Collective - Lower East Suite Part Three (Big Dada / Ninja Tune)

* Esperanza Spalding - 12 Little Spells (Concord Records / Concord)

* Julian Lage - Modern Lore (Mack Avenue Music Group)

* Tia Fuller - Diamond Cut (Mack Avenue Music Group)

* Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth (Young Turks)

Best Latin Album

* Cuco - Chiquito (Cuco / AWAL)

* Orquesta Akokán - Orquesta Akokán (Daptone Records)

* El Alfa - El Hombre (El Jefe Records / CD Baby)

* Bad Bunny - X 100PRE (Rimas Entertainment)

* Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles - Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)

Best Metal Album

* Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (ANTI Records)

* High on Fire - Electric Messiah (Entertainment One)

* Underoath - Erase Me (Fearless Records)

* Thou - Magus (Sacred Bones Records)

* Sleep - The Sciences (Third Man Records)

Best Outlier Album

* Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo (Dead Oceans)

* Kero Kero Bonito - Time 'n' Place (Polyvinyl Record Co.)

* serpentwithfeet - soil (Secretly Canadian)

* Yves Tumor - Safe In The Hands Of Love (Warp Records)

* Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of (Warp Records)

Best R&B Album

* Charles Bradley - Black Velvet (Daptone Records)

* Durand Jones & The Indications - Durand Jones & The Indications (Dead Oceans)

* Blood Orange - Negro Swan (Domino Recording Co. Ltd.)

* Kadhja Bonet - Childqueen (Fat Possum)

* serpentwithfeet - soil (Secretly Canadian)

Best Re-Issue Album

* Pixies - Come On Pilgrim...It's Surfer Rosa (4AD)

* Tom Waits - Small Change (ANTI Records)

* Bauhaus - The Bela Session (Leaving Records/Stones Throw Records)

* Liz Phair - Girly-Sound To Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Boxset (Matador Records)

* Hiss Golden Messenger - Devotion: Songs About Rivers and Spirits and Children (Merge Records)

Best Rock Album

* Mitski - Be The Cowboy (Dead Oceans)

* Shame - Songs of Praise (Dead Oceans)

* Snail Mail - Lush (Matador Records)

* Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel (Mom+Pop)

* IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance. (Partisan Records)

Best Sync Usage

* Gillian Welch "The Way It Will Be" in THIS IS US (Acony Records)

* Shigeto - "Ann Arbor Pt 1"- "Lady Misaki:" Japan's Decorated Trucks - Shot on iPhone - Apple (Ghostly International)

* Perfume Genius - "Eighth Grade" Trailer (Matador Records)

* Alice Merton - No Roots (Mini Cooper Sync) (Mom+Pop)

* Run the Jewels - x Black Panther (RTJ Music, Inc.)

Best World Album

* Gilberto Gil - OK OK OK (Gege Produções)

* Femi Kuti - One People One World (Knitting Factory Records)

* Angelique Kidjo - Remain in Light (Kravenworks)

* Bombino - Deran (Partisan Records)

* Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Black Times (STRUT)

Breakthrough Artist/Release (sponsored by Ingrooves)

* Snail Mail - Lush (Matador Records)

* Lucy Dacus - Historian (Matador Records)

* Sunflower Bean - Come For Me (Mom+Pop)

* Caroline Rose - Loner (New West Records)

* IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance. (Partisan Records)

Creative Packaging

* Various Artists - Brainfeeder X (Brainfeeder)

* Charles Bradley - Black Velvet Deluxe Box (Daptone Records)

* Mitski - Be The Cowboy (Dead Oceans)

* John Maus - Vinyl Box Set (Ribbon Music)

* Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth (Young Turks)

Independent Champion

* Caroline

* CD Baby

* NPR

* Redeye

* SoundExchange

Label of the Year (Big) (sponsored by ADA)

* Dead Oceans

* Domino Recording Co. Ltd.

* Polyvinyl Record Co.

* Rough Trade Records

* Warp Records

Label of the Year (Medium)

* Bloodshot Records

* Mom+Pop

* Partisan Records

* Saddle Creek

* Yep Roc Records

Label of the Year (Small)

* Brainfeeder

* Daptone Records

* Hardly Art

* Innovative Leisure

* Oh Boy Records

Marketing Genius

* King Gizzard Reissues Campaign (ATO Records)

* Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo (Dead Oceans)

* IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance. (Partisan Records)

* Reggae Month - Studio One (Studio One)

* Aphex Twin - Collapse EP (Warp Records)

Video of the Year

* Mitski - "Nobody" (Dead Oceans)

* Moses Sumney - "Quarrel" (Jagjaguwar)

* John Prine - "Summer's End" (Oh Boy Records)

* Aphex Twin - "T69 Collapse" (Warp Records)

* Kamasi Washington - "Street Fighter Mas" (Young Turks)

About A2IM:

A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City that exists to support and strengthen the independent recorded music sector. Membership currently includes a broad coalition of more than 600 Independently-owned American music labels. A2IM represents these independently owned small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) interests in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community. In doing so, it supports a key segment of America's creative class that represents America's diverse musical cultural heritage. Billboard Magazine identified the Independent music label sector as 37.32 percent of the music industry's U.S. recorded music sales market in 2016 based on copyright ownership, making Independent labels collectively larger than the biggest major label.www.a2im.org

The organization's board of directors consists of the following: Laura Ballance - Merge Records, Glen Barros - Concord, Glenn Dicker - YepRoc/Redeye, Kris Gillespie - Domino Recording Co., Andrew Kautz - Big Machine Label Group, Tony Kiewel - Sub Pop Records, Rosie Lopez - Tommy Boy, Louis Posen - Hopeless Records, Thaddeus Rudd - Mom & Pop, Portia Sabin - Kill Rock Stars, and Victor Zaraya - R&T Industries

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