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2010 Index of Winners

Best local instrumentalist BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Jim Ransone

Runner-up: Klimchak

www.myspace.com/klimchak

Best local international music art BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

A Fight to the Death

www.afighttothedeath.com

Runner-up: Rua 6

www.rua6.net

Best local jazz act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Bonaventure Quartet

www.thebonaventurequartet.com

Runner-up: Bernadette Seacrest and Her Provocateurs

www.bernadetteseacrest.com

Best local label BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Double Phantom Records

www.doublephantom.com

Runner-up: Stickfigure Records

www.stickfigurerecordings.com

Best local mainstream act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Mastodon

www.mastodonrocks.com

Runner-up: Constellations

www.theconstellationsmusic.com

Best local mainstream artist to give the industry the middle finger BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Big Boi

Best local mixtape BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Searching for Bobby Fischer by Stanza

www.djbooth.net

Runner-up: Breaking Bad by Mudfish

www.myspace.com/mudfish

Best local new music act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Mermaids

www.myspace.com/mermaidsatl

Runner-up: The Wheeler Boys

www.myspace.com/thewheelerboys

Best Local overall music act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Zoroaster

Best local overall music act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Yacht Rock

yachtrock.com

Runner-up: Constellations

www.theconstellationsmusic.com

Best local promoter BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Cobra Corps

www.myspace.com/itz_cwill

Runner-up: Mon Cherie

www.myspace.com/rockabillylounge

Best local R&B/soul act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Janelle Monae

www.jmonae.com

Runner-up: Gritz & Jelly Butter

www.myspace.com/gritzandjellybutter

Best local rock act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Damage Report

www.myspace.com/damagereportatl

Runner-up: Jungol

www.jungol.net

Best local songwriter BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Sara Crawford

www.saracrawford.net

Runner-up: Levi Lowrey

www.levilowrey.com

Best local studio BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Tree Sound Studios

Runner-up: Patchwerk Recording Studios

1094 Hemphill Ave., 404-874-9880, www.patchwerk.com

Best local vocalist BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Bernadette Seacrest

www.bernadetteseacrest.com

Runner-up: Sara Crawford

saracrawford.net

Best lounge BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Halo Lounge

Runner-up: Aurum Lounge

915 Peachtree St. N.E., 404-815-9426, www.aurumlounge.com/

Best mixtape to bump in your box Chevy BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Trunk Muzik

Seems like we've been heralding Gadsden, Ala., transplant Yelawolf as the next big thing since he was hood-high to a Chevy. With TRUNK MUZIK, the rest of the nation, and Interscope Records, finally took notice. 'Bout time. www.myspace.com/yelawolf

Best mixtape to play while assuming the lotus position BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Supernova: A prelude to a journey

Best neighborhood bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Brick Store Pub

Runner-up: Flatiron Restaurant & Bar

520 Flat Shoals Ave. S.E., 404-688-8864

Best new club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

The Shelter

Runner-up: Gold Room

2416 Piedmont Road N.E., 404-693-9693, www.goldroomatl.com/

Best new kid behind the soundboard BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Jonathan Rhum

A good soundman is hard to find. So when Curt Wells, the Earl's in-house man behind the board since 2007, decided it was time to move on, he left a pretty big hole to fill. While no one was looking, former Earthshaking Music salesman JONATHAN RHUM stepped in and started running sound in one seamless motion. Like Wells before him, Rhum possesses a keen ear and a guitar-playing past that gives him an ability to work the club's sound system in inventive ways. With a down-to-earth disposition, Rhum rises above the stereotype of the grumpy sound guy. And in just a few months, he's already earned a sound reputation. 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. less...

Best non-mainstream mixtape to mainline intravenously BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

1140: The Overdose

The aptly titled 1140: THE OVERDOSE paired Atlanta's up-from-dirt MC Pill with mixtape royalty DJ Drama in a release that is the polar opposite of everything Atlanta rap has come to represent. We deem that a good thing. www.theeducatedvillains.com

Best OTP music club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Sweetwater Bar and Grill

Runner-up: Darwin's

1598 Roswell Road, Marietta, 770-578-6872

Best outdoor music venue BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park

Runner-up: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

2200 Encore Parkway, 404-733-5010, www.vzwamp.com/

Best place to hear local music BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Eddie's Attic

Runner-up: The Earl

488 Flat Shoals Avenue S.E., 404-522-3950, www.badearl.com/

Best place to hear music for free BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Park Tavern

Runner-up: Centennial Olympic Park

265 Centennial Olympic Park Drive, 404-223-4412, centennialpark.com/

Best place to throw a party that's not your house BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Graveyard Tavern

Runner-up: Opera

1150 Crescent Ave. N.E., 404-874-3006, www.operaatlanta.com

Best pool hall BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Twain's Brewpub & Billiards

Runner-up: The Independent

931 Monroe Drive N.E., 404-249-9869, www.theindependentatlanta.com/index.php

Best recording studio BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Living Room

THE LIVING ROOM sits in a 104-year-old house on the Westside, where owners/engineers Ed Rawls and Justin McNeight foster a relaxed vibe that's lost in most higher-end studios. There aren't a bunch of hanger-on types looking to party or distract artists from keeping their head in the recording process. Instead, there's an arsenal of vintage gear, and the staff specializes in analog sound. Rawls and McNeight have also been playing in bands and running live sound at clubs around town since the '90s, and their experience shows. In the past year, they made Zoroaster sound heavier, the Black Lips dirtier, and Noot d' Noot even funkier. The track record speaks for itself. 889 Bowen St. 404-808-1781. &emdash;www.myspace.com/livingroomstudio. less...

Best restaurant with a bar scene BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Noni's Bar & Deli

"Bar" comes before "deli" in the name of this brave little establishment, and for good reason. A charming Italian restaurant in the respectable hours, a boisterous beatnik headquarters when the lights dim, NONI'S BAR & DELI has administered new life to a storied street. After two years, its hipster hangout status is no longer top secret. Without TVs or video games, it's sleek and sophisticated, all while keeping a Sicilian grandmother's touch. And the Saturday night dance parties have become the sweatiest and most talked about in the city. If only grandma's cookbook called for all those PBRs and shots of Jameson. 357 Edgewood Ave. 404-343-1808 www.nonisdeli.com. less...

Best rock club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

The Earl

Runner-up: Masquerade

695 North Ave. N.E., 404-577-8178, www.masq.com

Best sex club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Trapeze

Runner-up: Flex Baths USA

76 Fourth St. N.W., 404-815-0456, www.flexbaths.com

Best sign that you can't keep a good music scene down BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

529 Bar

Runners-up:

Eddie's Attic

515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur, 404-377-4976, www.eddiesattic.com

AND

The Earl

488 Flat Shoals Ave., 404-522-3950, www.badearl.com

Best soundtrack for two-fisting it in L5P BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

'Fucked up in Public' (Young Antiques Music)

Atlanta's consummate power-pop songwriter Blake Rainey takes a drunken stroll through the bars of Little Five Points on the 7-inch "FUCKED UP IN PUBLIC" from the Young Antiques (Young Antiques Music). A rapid-fire jangle and searing lead follows our hero through his mini odyssey in this night in themore...

Best sports bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

STATS Brewpub

Runner-up: Woofs

2425 Piedmont Road N.E., 404-869-9422, www.woofsatlanta.com/

Best strip club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Clermont Lounge

Runner-up: Pink Pony

1837 Corporate Blvd. N.E., 404-634-6396, www.showbars.com

Best strip club DJ BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Strokers Club

Best strip club event BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Clermont Lounge

Besides being Atlanta's oldest strip club (and featuring some of Atlanta's oldest strippers), Clermont Lounge remains the freakiest trip in town. And on Saturday nights, the long-running DISCO FUNK WITH ROMEO COLOGNE serves up elixir for the soul. Something about James Brown and the J.B.'s chanting "Make It Funky" while Blondie crushes empty PBR cans betwixt her boobs just makes you check your inhibitions at the dance floor. Perfect for date night. 789 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-874-4783. www.clermontlounge.net. less...

Best stripper BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Blondie at Clermont Lounge

twitter.com/clermontblondie

Runner-up: Anthony at Swinging Richards

1400 Northside Drive N.W., 404-352-0532, www.swingingrichards.com/

Best throwback soul band BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Soulphonics & Ruby Velle

Egomaniacal frontmen (and women) take note. Lest there be any doubt about magnanimity in the ranks of the classy and copious SOULPHONICS & RUBY VELLE, check out the name, where the backing band gets first billing. But that's far from the only reason we think they're the best. With a towering voice and steady spirit, the incandescent and impossibly young Ms. Velle is the seven-member group's onstage focal point. The grooving gem of a collective applies its members' exhaustive knowledge of the last few decades of soul to the construction of one funky, devastating sound attack. Simply, it'll make you wanna move. Soulphonics' Stax-indebted music is horn-heavy, grooving, family-friendly fare, but like all good rock and soul, there's a subtle measure of sex and sorrow afoot. www.myspace.com/soulphonics less...

Best trivia night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Joe's On Juniper

Runner-up: Jack's Pizza & Wings

676 Highland Ave. N.E., 404-525-4444

Best urban music club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

Apache Cafe

Runner-up: Echelon 3000 Ultra Bistro

1179 S. Hairston Road, Stone Mountain, 404-294-1820, www.echelon3000.com

Best weekly club night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Readers Pick

MJQ Concourse

Runner-up: VIA Wednesdays

262 Pharr Road N.E., 404-214-5404, www.viarestaurant.net

Best young punks BOA Award Winner

Year » 2010
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » After Dark » Critics Pick

Ralph

RALPH's buzz-bomb guitars and screaming tornado-punk whir sound more like gems plucked from the grooves of a Killed by Death '80s punk compilation than anything recorded in recent years. The foursome of (barely) twentysomethings explodes with the kind of reeling spastic energy that couldn't be channeled into anything but punk rock. Of all the bands in Atlanta, Ralph keeps the lifeblood flowing through the post-Rob's House Records scene, and they do so without aping anyone's style. It's punk in its raw, Reagan-era form (Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, the Germs), meaning the band exists in a state of primordial three-chord bliss. The old-school punk ethos is all about capturing something special before it goes bust; the kids in Ralph are definitely reveling in that moment. www.myspace.com/imgonnaralph less...