The newly installed National Music Awards is a grand celebration honouring musicians and practitioners for their significant contributions to the development of our musical art, art forms, and the entertainment industry.

It was the minister himself Daryll Matthew who way back in 2019 was adamant that there must be some sort of event or way in which musicians are honoured. A launch was held back in 2020 but with the advent of the covid pandemic that event never occurred.

“We have actually replanned this award four or five times. It has taken so many shapes and last year, the minister said you know, Khan we need to do something. So, we revisited the plan and we removed some of the categories just so that we can better manage it. See what is happening, and see what is the response we are actually very happy that we did because there are quite a bit of things that came up in the process that we have learned from and we have already started planning for the 2025 awards which will happen in 2026…but the goal of it is to not only recognize but to use it as a tool to encourage musicians, music practitioners to do more,”  Chairman of the National Music Awards Khan Cordice explained on state media.

Over 90 persons were nominated in the various categories.

Persons were nominated for contributions from the December 2023– November 2024 period.

There are three macro awards.

The Musician of the Year – which is broken down into several smaller categories like instrumental, vocal, best recording artist, disc jockey of the year, band of the year, producer of the year, Sound Clash group of the year – Lifetime Achievement award and the Special Recognition award.

Among the distinguished honorees are King Short Shirt, King Obstinate, and the Burning Flames, whose legendary contributions have shaped Antigua and Barbuda’s musical identity on the global stage.

Additional recipients include Vinema Phillip, Junior “Jagger Martin, Eustace “Gaetux” Harris, the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Le Château D’or Music Academy, whose dedication has nurtured musical excellence across generations.

“Some of those categories are adjudicated by a panel of professionals. These professionals are not necessarily musicians and then the balance of the awards would be adjudicated by you the people,” Cordice revealed.

People had the option to vote for their winner in the best recording artist, sound clash group, disc jockey of the year, and dancehall/reggae artist of the year.

Voting ended on Sunday.

An assessment will be done following the awards and the current format could change.

Next year, junior categories will be introduced.

The music awards will take place on February 5th at the John E St. Luce building.