Last night the 10th annual Indie Week powered by the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) came to an end with the highly-anticipated Libera Awards at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City. The Libera Awards is one of the largest independent music awards shows in the world, celebrating the successes of the independent music community, bringing together artists, labels, and other advocates and partners. The Orchard is proud of our labels, artists, and friends who received Libby wins last night and all those who were nominated.
Deva Mahal (Motema Music) blew the audience away with her stunning performance kicking off the night. Having just wrapped up a weekend at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Deva was full of contagious energy, leaving her heart and soul on that stage.
Newly Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee John Prine (Oh Boy Records) was awarded Best American Roots/Folk Album and Best Country/Americana Album for The Tree of Forgiveness. Bad Bunny’s X 100 PRE (Rimas Entertainment) won Best Latin Album. Black Velvet — the posthumous album of Charles Bradley, a celebration of his life spanning his entire career, was honored for Best R&B Album. As Paste magazine explained, the “album is a profound exploration through the less-travelled corners of the soulful universe that Charles and his longtime producer, co-writer and friend Tommy “TNT” Brenneck created in the studio together over their decade-long partnership.”
Congrats to all of this year’s winners and nominees! The independent music community is thriving — the Libera Awards was certainly a reflection of that. Here at The Orchard we proudly stand behind and support our labels. As we look ahead at the future, we will continue to celebrate independent artists, the music they create, and the community we’ve built since 1997.
Best American Roots/Folk Album
John Prine The Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy Records)
Best Blues Album
Fantastic Negrito Please Don’t Be Dead (Cooking Vinyl)
Best Country/Americana Album
John Prine The Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy Records)
Best Latin Album
Bad Bunny X 100PRE (Rimas Entertainment)
Best R&B Album
Charles Bradley Black Velvet (Daptone Records)
Best Sync Usage
Run the Jewels x Black Panther (RTJ Music, Inc)
Label of the Year (Small)
Daptone Records
