The city’s radio history will be honored at the annual Modesto Area Music Association Awards, which celebrate the region’s entertainment scene.
Voting is underway for the 26th annual MAMAs with thousands of online ballots cast already for the best bands and arts in the Valley. Public voting ends Sunday, Oct. 19, and the invite-only award show will be Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the State Theatre. The event will be livestreamed on Facebook starting at 6:30 p.m.
This year the MAMAs will honor two pieces of local media history as part of the program. The Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Modesto Radio Museum’s Bob Lang, in honor of the city’s first radio station KTRB.
The show will also feature a tribute to the Swanee Cowboys, who in 1933 became the city’s first commercial band to play on the airwaves. Modesto media historian Wes Page worked with MAMA organizers to find local family members of the original band members to celebrate their work with the community.
Page and other area media history buffs were able to locate a physical recording of the Swanee Cowboys’ single “Just Because.” At the awards they’ll reveal how they discovered the song along with a slideshow about the band’s history and cover performance.
Recurring MAMA award winners and performers The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit will cover the song accompanied by two grandchildren of original Swanee Cowboys member Stanley Dennis, who was known as “Skeeter.”
MAMAs cofounder Chris Murphy, a local businessman and arts backer, said he asked the Oakdale-based Americana band to perform because he felt the song fits the group’s sound and genre.
Chris Doud plays rhythm guitar and sings for The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. He said since taking home MAMA awards in the early 2000s, members have dedicated their talents to the organization.
“I’m really glad to see that they’re pulling in bands from the Oakdale area and even the foothills and a little bit farther out too. You know, they’re reaching out to, like other bands around the area, which is great,” Doud said.
He said he is excited to learn more about the Swanee Cowboys at the event, along with his community.
This year, the public will have 16 categories to vote for, including musical artists in multiple genres, comedians, venues and events in the region.
Murphy and event cofounder Chris Ricci, a longtime area art promoter and current Modesto councilman, said they work with a team of local artists to bring fresh faces to the nominations each year and ensure selected groups have a strong local presence.
The event is the nonprofit MAMA’s main fundraiser to help support free, local music programming like Music in the Plaza and Rockin’ Holiday, where local musicians are hired to play.
“Do not play for free. There is no such thing as playing for exposure. Musicians should be paid to play,” Murphy said about his and his team’s motivations behind the annual event.
Polls close on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Cast your vote at https://vote.modestoareamusic.com.
Vivienne Aguilar is a reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at vivienne@cvlocaljournalism.org.