The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) held its 7th annual Libera Awards this past Thursday, June 21st at New York City’s PlayStation Theater hosted by comedian Kate Wolff.
The evening featured performances by Best American Roots & Folk winner Aimee Mann, Natalie Prass, Vicktor Taiwó, Raul Midón, Sam Outlaw and a touching tribute to soul singers Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley from Saundra Williams and Lee Fields backed by the Dap-Kings and the Extraordinaires.
The awards ended with a live performances by Independent Icon Award recipients legendary hip-hop group, Funky Four +1 and special recognition to Lifetime Achievement recipient Bad Religion’s Brett Gurewitz, founder of Epitaph Records.
Check out the full list of winners below!
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Big Thief | Capacity | Saddle Creek
Chuck Berry | CHUCK | Dualtone Music Group
Cigarettes After Sex | Cigarettes After Sex | Partisan Records
Father John Misty | Pure Comedy | Sub Pop Records
Slowdive | Slowdive | Dead Oceans WINNER
BEST AMERICAN ROOTS & FOLK ALBUM
Aimee Mann | Mental Illness | SuperEgo Records WINNER
Big Thief | Capacity | Saddle Creek
Hiss Golden Messenger | Hallelujah Anyhow | Merge Records
Kevin Morby | City Music | Dead Oceans
Phoebe Bridgers | Stranger In The Alps | Dead Oceans
BEST BLUES ALBUM
Benjamin Booker | Witness | ATO Records WINNER
Chuck Berry | CHUCK | Dualtone Music Group
Joe Bonamassa | Live at Carnegie Hall | J&R Adventures
Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ | TajMo | Concord Records
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band | Front Porch Sessions | Family Owned Records
BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM
Boris Giltburg; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Carlos Miguel Prieto (conductor) | Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 – 8 Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 | Naxos
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta (conductor) | Novák: In the Tatra Mountains, Lady Godiva & Eternal Longing | Naxos
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin (conductor) | Copland: Symphony No. 3 & 3 Latin American Sketches | Naxos WINNER
Grandbrothers | Open | City Slang
Luca D’Alberto | Endless | 7K! Records
BEST COUNTRY/AMERICANA ALBUM
Deer Tick | Deer Tick Vol. 1 | Partisan Records
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit | The Nashville Sound | Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers WINNER
Lee Ann Womack | The Lonely, The Lonesome, and The Gone | ATO Records
Midland | On The Rocks | Big Machine Records
The Wild Reeds | The World We Built | Dualtone Music Group
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM
Bicep | Bicep | Ninja Tune
Four Tet | New Energy | Text Records
Nicolas Jaar | Sirens (deluxe edition) | Other People/Kobalt
Oneohtrix Point Never | Good Time Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Warp Records
Sylvan Esso | What Now | Loma Vista Recordings WINNER
Yaeji | EP2 | GODMODE
BEST HIP-HOP/RAP ALBUM
Lil Baby | Harder Than Hard | Quality Control Music
Meyhem Lauren & DJ Muggs | Gems From The Equinox | Soul Assassins
Sean Price | Imperious Rex | Ruck Down Records
Shabazz Palaces | Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star | Sub Pop Records WINNER
Wu-Tang Clan | The Saga Continues | eOne/36 Chambers
BEST JAZZ ALBUM
Kamasi Washington | Harmony of Difference | Young Turks (Winner)
Kiefer | Kickinit Alone | Leaving Records
King Krule | The Ooz | Matador Records
Mike Stern | Trip | Heads Up International
Thelonious Monk | Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 | Sam Records
BEST LATIN ALBUM
Chicano Batman | Freedom Is Free | ATO Records WINNER
Él Mató A Un Policía Motorizado | La Síntesis O’Konor | Nacional Records
Eliane Elias | Dance of Time | Concord Jazz
Ibeyi | Ash | XL Recordings
La Vida Boheme | La Lucha | Nacional Records
BEST LIVE ACT
Father John Misty | Sub Pop Records
Flying Lotus | Warp Records
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard | ATO Records
Nick Cave | Bad Seed LTD WINNER
Queens Of The Stone Age | Matador Records
BEST METAL ALBUM
Chelsea Wolfe | Hiss Spun | Sargent House
Converge | The Dusk In Us | Epitaph Records WINNER
Mutoid Man | War Moans | Sargent House
Myrkur | Mareridt | Relapse Records
Powerflo | Powerflo | New Damage Records
BEST OUTLIER ALBUM
Alex Cameron | Forced Witness | Secretly Canadian
Arca | Arca | XL Recordings
Moses Sumney | Aromanticism | Jagjaguwar WINNER
Sleaford Mods | English Tapas | Rough Trade Records
Sneaks | It’s a Myth | Merge Records
BEST R&B ALBUM
Jamila Woods | HEAVN | Jagjaguwar
Katie Hargrove | Katie Hargrove | Transoceanic Records
Kelela | Take Me Apart | Warp Records
Mavis Staples | If All I Was Was Black | Anti- Records
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings | Soul of a Woman | Daptone Records WINNER
BEST RE-ISSUE
Alice Coltrane | World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda | Luaka Bop
Elliott Smith | Either/Or: Expanded Edition | Kill Rock Stars WINNER
Fela Kuti | Fela Kuti Box Set #4 Curated By Erykah Badu | Knitting Factory Records
Hüsker Dü | Savage Young Dü | The Numero Group
Radiohead | OKNOTOK | XL Recordings
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Bully | Losing | Sub Pop Records
Manchester Orchestra | A Black Mile to the Surface | Loma Vista Recordings
Queens Of The Stone Age | Villains | Matador Records
The National | Sleep Well Beast | 4AD WINNER
BEST SYNC USAGE
Cigarettes After Sex | The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu (Music Supervision: Jessica Dolinger) | Partisan Records / Spanish Prayers WINNER
Luca D’Alberto | Salvation Episode One (Music Supervision: Nora Felder) | 7K! Records
Run the Jewels | EA’s FIFA ’18 Official trailer starring Cristiano Ronaldo | (Music Supervision: Raphaella Lima & Amaechi Uzoigwe) | Run the Jewels, Inc.
Sofi Tukker | Apple – Meet iPhone X | (Music Supervision: TBWA\Media Arts Lab) | Sofi Tukker LLC/Ultra Records
William Onyeabor | Apple – iPhone 7 Plus – Barbers (Music Supervision: Apple/Licensing: Fine Gold Music) | Luaka Bop
BEST WORLD ALBUM
Forró In The Dark | Sandcastle | Nacional Records
Ibeyi | Ash | XL Recordings WINNER
Ibibio Sound Machine | Uyai | Merge Records
Tribalistas | Tribalistas | Phonomotor
Vieux Farka Touré | Samba | Six Degrees Records
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Alice Merton | No Roots | Mom+Pop Music
Jamila Woods | HEAVN | Jagjaguwar
Power Trip | Nightmare Logic | Southern Lord
Princess Nokia | 1992 Deluxe | Rough Trade Records WINNER
Trippie Redd | A Love Letter To You | TenThousand Projects/Caroline
CREATIVE PACKAGING
Bob’s Burgers | The Bob’s Burgers Music Album | Sub Pop Records WINNER
Father John Misty | Pure Comedy | Sub Pop Records
Hüsker Dü | Savage Young Dü | Numero Group
Sharon Jones & the E.L. Fields Gospel Wonders | Heaven Bound/Key to the Kingdom | Daptone Records
The National | Sleep Well Beast | 4AD
INDEPENDENT CHAMPION
Bandcamp
MERLIN WINNER
NPR
SoundExchange
Thirty Tigers
Vinyl Me Please
LABEL OF THE YEAR (BIG)
ATO Records
Dead Oceans WINNER
Loma Vista Recordings
Ninja Tune
Numero Group
Warp Records
LABEL OF THE YEAR (SMALL)
Awesome Tapes From Africa
Daptone Records WINNER
Kill Rock Stars
Sacred Bones
Triple Crown Records
MARKETING GENIUS
Bob’s Burgers | Bob’s Burgers (Marketing Lead: Jon Strickland) | Sub Pop Records
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard | Polygondwanaland (Marketing Lead: Eric Moore / Jon Salter / Dave McClain) | ATO Records
Perfume Genius | Wreath Video Contest (Marketing Lead: Rian Fossett, Marisa Gesualdi, Gabe Spierer, Hana Mogulescu)| Beggars Group
Radiohead | OKNOTOK (Marketing Lead: Radiohead, Patrick North, Blake Thomas, Pablo Douzoglou, Claire Taylor) | Beggars Group
Run the Jewels | Call Ticketron! – 646.846.RTJ3 (www.1215.runthejewels.com) (Marketing Lead: Amaechi Uzoigwe & Lee Martin) | Run the Jewels, Inc. WINNER
Slowdive | Slowdive Album Campaign (Marketing Lead: Phil Waldorf / Tom Davies) | Secretly Group
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Arca | Reverie | XL Recordings
Noga Erez | Off the Radar | City Slang
NxWorries | Scared Money | Stones Throw
Perfume Genius | Die 4 You | Matador Records WINNER
Superorganism | Something for your M.I.N.D. | Domino Recording Company
INDEPENDENT IMPACT
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit | The Nashville Sound | Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers
JAY-Z | 4:44 | Roc Nation
Lindsey Stirling | Warmer in the Winter | Concord Records
Queens Of The Stone Age | Villains | Matador Records
Taylor Swift | Reputation | Big Machine Label Group WINNER
