Karen Peck & New River, Gaither Vocal Band, Jeff & Sheri Easter, and producers Wayne Haun and Lari Goss Named Big Winners
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – (April 13, 2012) – The 2011 Absolutely Gospel Music Awards were handed out last night at a special concert celebration in Smyrna, Tennessee to a standing room only crowd. The award winners were spread evenly throughout the course of the evening as three artists and two producers walked away with three or four awards apiece.
Karen Peck & New River was the big winner of the evening again this year. The popular trio took home another four awards including a second consecutive win for Fan Favorite Artist of the Year. The group also won Mixed Group of the Year and Progressive Song of the Year (for “Why Can’t All God’s Children Get Along”). Group founder and owner Karen Peck Gooch took home the coveted Female Vocalist of the Year trophy.
The Gaither Vocal Band won three awards, including Male Group of the Year. The group’s lead vocalist Michael English took home his second consecutive Male Vocalist of the Year honor as well as Producer of the Year (Artist).
Jeff & Sheri Easter also made out well this year taking home their first ever Song of the Year award for their #1 hit single “Born to Climb.” The group also won Country Song of the Year for “Born to Climb.” Group guitarist and last night’s host Madison Easter walked away with his second consecutive Musician of the Year award as well.
Producer, songwriter, and pianist for Ernie Haase & Signature Sound Wayne Haun was the most awarded individual of the evening. Haun took home awards for producing the Album of the Year and Traditional Album of the Year (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound’s A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet) and writing the Song of the Year and Country Song of the Year (for the aforementioned “Born to Climb”).
Lari Goss, who co-produced A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet, took home two awards for that recording as well as Producer of the Year (Professional) for a total of three individual awards throughout the night as well.
The biggest award of the evening – 2011 Pacesetter Award – was handed to the Branson Gospel Music Convention – one of the Southern Gospel industry’s newest and most impressive multi-day events. This was the second consecutive year that the Branson Gospel Music Convention won this prestigious award.
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and songwriter Joel Lindsey (co-writer of “Born to Climb”) won two awards throughout the evening as well.
The staff of AbsolutelyGospel.com and the Unthank family introduced a new award to this year’s program – the Susan Unthank Memorial Award. This new award will honor women who have worked in this field of music and made a resounding impact on Southern Gospel music. The very first recipient of the Susan Unthank Memorial Award was veteran booking agent Beckie Simmons Bates.
The event was hosted by Madison Easter and Devin McGlamery. The evening featured show-shopping performances from the Booth Brothers, Karen Peck & New River, Triumphant Quartet, Jeff & Sheri Easter, the Bowling Family, The Nelons, Sisters, Beyond the Ashes, Three Bridges, The Dunaways, Crystal River, Crawford Crossing, and sponsors the Mystery Men Quartet.
“With the passing of my wife and site founder Susan earlier this year, it made it extremely difficult to do this show without her this year,” mentioned Deon Unthank. “However, we knew that she wouldn’t want us to stop, and though it was touch and go for a while leading up to the show, we are so thankful for everyone who turned up and supported us this year!”
The Absolutely Gospel Music Awards are an annual award handed out each year by the staff at AbsolutelyGospel.com. Each January, the staff decides upon the nominees in over twenty categories. In February of that year, the readers of the site are then allowed to vote for their favorites. This is the tenth year the awards have been in existence.
The official sponsors for the 2011 Absolutely Gospel Music Awards Celebration were The Mystery Men.
2011 Absolutely Gospel Music Award Winners:
SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Born to Climb” – Jeff & Sheri Easter (written by Wayne Haun & Joel Lindsey)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet – Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (produced by Lari Goss & Wayne Haun)
PACESETTER:
Branson Gospel Music Convention
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Beyond the Ashes
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Michael English (Gaither Vocal Band)
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Karen Peck Gooch (Karen Peck & New River)
MALE GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Gaither Vocal Band
FEMALE GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Sisters
MIXED GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Karen Peck & New River
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR (Artist):
Joseph Habedank (The Perrys)
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR (Professional):
Kenna West
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (Artist):
Michael English (Gaither Vocal Band)
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (Professional):
Lari Goss
ENGINEER OF THE YEAR:
Terry Thompson
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR:
Madison Easter (Jeff & Sheri Easter)
BEST LIVE PERFORMER:
Booth Brothers
TRADITIONAL SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Somebody Died For Me” – Triumphant Quartet (written by Kyle Matthews & Christy Sutherland)
TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet – Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (produced by Lari Goss & Wayne Haun)
PROGRESSIVE SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Why Can’t All God’s Children Get Along” – Karen Peck & New River (written by Stephen Hill)
PROGRESSIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Never Walk Alone – Brian Free & Assurance (produced by Ricky Free)
COUNTRY SONG OF THE YEAR (a tie necessitated 2 winners in this category):
“Born to Climb” – Jeff & Sheri Easter (written by Wayne Haun & Joel Lindsey)
and
“When There’s No Hope, There Is Grace” – The Dunaways (written by Rick Hendrix)
COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Shine – The Bowling Family (produced by Kelly Bowling, Mike Bowling, & Terah Penhollow)
SPECIAL EVENT PROJECT OF THE YEAR:
Christmas – The Isaacs (produced by Ben Isaacs)
FAN FAVORITE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Karen Peck & New River
SUSAN UNTHANK MEMORIAL AWARD:
Beckie Simmons Bates
More information on the Absolutely Gospel Music Awards and past winners can be found at http://absolutelygospel.com .
About AbsolutelyGospel.com
AbsolutelyGospel.com (formerly SoGospelNews.com) has grown from relative obscurity to the industry's leading internet publication for Southern Gospel news and information in only a few short years. The site includes a wide variety of features, consisting of artist interviews, a weekly chart, late-breaking news, and much more.
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