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2012 Index of Winners

Best Local Jazz Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Wasted Potential Brass Band

Best Local Record Label BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Southern Ground

Best Local Mainstream Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Zac Brown Band

Best Local Mixtape BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Capt. Mudfish’s Breaking Bad
captmudfish.tumblr.com

Best Local Music Blog BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Freak Beat

Best Local New Music Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Tclarence

Best Local Overall Music Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Tom P

Best Local Promoter BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Iris Presents

Best Local R&B/Soul Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics

Best Local Rock Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Sexual Side Effects

Best Local Songwriter BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Levi Lowrey

Best Local Studio BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Tree Sound Studios

Best Local Vocalist BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Sonia Leigh

Best Lounge BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Eastside Lounge

Best Local Metal Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Royal Thunder

Best Local Hip-Hop Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Two9
If the children are the future, Two9 is a harbinger of hell to pay. And no, that’s not a backhanded compliment. Like Los Angeles’ Odd Future and Harlem’s A$AP Mob, the ragtag Atlanta collective of MCs and producers recalls an era when smoking blunts and bagging stunts was no fun if the homies couldn’tmore...
If the children are the future, Two9 is a harbinger of hell to pay. And no, that’s not a backhanded compliment. Like Los Angeles’ Odd Future and Harlem’s A$AP Mob, the ragtag Atlanta collective of MCs and producers recalls an era when smoking blunts and bagging stunts was no fun if the homies couldn’t have none. Ratchet lyrical aspirations aside, this young crew of rowdy upstarts has a mean work ethic that includes an endless stream of new music, in-house video direction, and production, which they’ve successfully farmed out to big names such as Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, and Kreayshawn. Did we mention they run deep? With a core consisting of Key!, Curtis Williams, Fat Kids Brotha, Retro Su$h!, Wavy Wallace, and Damien Aidoo, Two9’s extended list of hometown affiliates (MoneyMakinNique, Papa Jae, the Coolismac, DJ Osh Kosh, Originalfani, Gunner Stahl) make it hard to sleep on the self-made movement espoused on the recent mixtape Two 9 Forever. Five years ago, an otherground rap scene sprouted in Atlanta that largely went unheralded by the industry players-that-be. The emergence of Two9 feels like a second coming of sorts. Just don’t expect these kids to be content with asking for what’s presumably theirs for the taking. www.two-9.tumblr.com. less...

Best Neighborhood Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Edgewood Corner Tavern
And multiple metro Atlanta locations.

Best Neighborhood for Nightlife BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
East Atlanta Village

Best band to push Atlanta’s boundaries BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Primitive Patterns

Best Concert Venue BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Terminal West
Outside, its bouncers are smiling. Inside, its three bars supply 25 different beers. Terminal West is now Robert Shaw and Alan Sher’s dream venue, built after years of throwing concerts inside a King Plow Arts Center gallery space that required them to rebuild and destroy their stage setup for everymore...
Outside, its bouncers are smiling. Inside, its three bars supply 25 different beers. Terminal West is now Robert Shaw and Alan Sher’s dream venue, built after years of throwing concerts inside a King Plow Arts Center gallery space that required them to rebuild and destroy their stage setup for every show booked. Their persistence inspired an avid following that justified the need for a permanent venue. Terminal West now resides inside a former 6,700-square-foot iron and steel foundry, and its back patio faces train tracks running parallel to Marietta Street. But the better view is inside - featuring a stage setup capable of illuminating and amplifying newgrass pioneer Sam Bush, New Orleans sissy bounce queen Big Freedia, and the most buzzed-about DJ/electronic music producer of the year, Skrillex. Best of all, it’s here to stay. less...

Best Nightlife Event BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Atlanta Bass Wars

Best OTP Music Venue BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Sweetwater Bar and Grill

Best Outdoor Music Venue for Concerts BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park

Best Club/Party DJ BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
DJ Kemit
Based on his output over the course of the last year, it would be hard not to recognize DJ Kemit as one of the city’s best DJs. He is after all, the musical force behind three of the city’s most beloved soul/house nightlife events: Soul Makossa, Kickin’ Up Dust (both at the Sound Table), and themore...
Based on his output over the course of the last year, it would be hard not to recognize DJ Kemit as one of the city’s best DJs. He is after all, the musical force behind three of the city’s most beloved soul/house nightlife events: Soul Makossa, Kickin’ Up Dust (both at the Sound Table), and the mega-fun Spread Love (595 North). He’s also one of the featured spinners - along with Salah Ananse, Kai Alce, and Ramon Rawsoul - at the massive annual House in the Park gathering. And Kemit recently dropped his debut album, Everlasting, which showcases vocals by superstars such as Eric Roberson, Carl McIntosh (of Loose Ends), N’Dambi, and more. So, you see our point about not giving him some shine, right? Yeah, we thought so. www.twitter.com/DJKemit. less...

Best Place to Hear Local Music BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
529 Bar

Best Place to Hear Music For Free BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
529 Bar

Best Place to Play Pool BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Independent

Best Local Hip-Hop Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
2 Chainz

Best Rock Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Earl

Best Soul or Jazz Songstress BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Algebra Blessett

Best Sex Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Trapeze

Best Local Songwriter BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Adron

Best Soul album BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Clementine Sun
In early 2012, bassist/producer Khari Cabral (aka Khari Simmons) stepped away from Jiva, the band he founded in the late 1990s, and released his first solo collection of music, Clementine Sun; and soul music fans were glad that he did. The lush, melodic, bossa nova-tinged album was produced and arrangedmore...
In early 2012, bassist/producer Khari Cabral (aka Khari Simmons) stepped away from Jiva, the band he founded in the late 1990s, and released his first solo collection of music, Clementine Sun; and soul music fans were glad that he did. The lush, melodic, bossa nova-tinged album was produced and arranged by Cabral, but was mixed by the international icon Bluey of the group Incognito and features vocals from a lineup of heavyweight singers, including Sabrina Malheiros, Monday Michiru, and Atlanta’s own India.Arie, among others. What this means for the future of Jiva is unknown, but in the meantime, we suggest folks dive deep in the sounds of Clementine Sun - there’s lots to enjoy. less...

Best Sports Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Taco Mac Virginia Highlands
And other metro Atlanta locations.

Best Strip Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Clermont Lounge

Best Stripper Other Than Blondie BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Pink Pony

Best Trap Music Ambassadors BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Daniel Disaster
With a bio that boasts, “We’re only interested in making music you can fight or strip to,” Daniel Disaster, the DJ, producer, and driving force behind Heroes x Villains, has made huge strides in an era when the roles of the DJ and the artist are becoming one in the same. As the man who coined themore...
With a bio that boasts, “We’re only interested in making music you can fight or strip to,” Daniel Disaster, the DJ, producer, and driving force behind Heroes x Villains, has made huge strides in an era when the roles of the DJ and the artist are becoming one in the same. As the man who coined the term luxury trap, giving credence to the 70-140 BPM hybrid of post-dubstep and trap music, no one is pushing the boundaries of electronic dance music with more flare. And with this year’s arrival of his first official song, “Original Choppaz,” he makes good on his promise to deliver the soundtrack to sex and violence with a dark, pervasive flare. www.heroesxvillains.tumblr.com. less...

Best Trivia Night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
The Independent

Best Urban Music Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
MJQ Concourse

Best Weekly Club Night BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Legacy Live

Best act of civil disobedience BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
Georgia State Capitol Museum
Democratic women had heard and seen enough. After sitting through days and days of discussions under the Gold Dome about making abortions more difficult and restricting access to contraceptives, part of the out-of-nowhere, unnecessary “War on Women”, they decided to take a stand - literally. Onmore...
Democratic women had heard and seen enough. After sitting through days and days of discussions under the Gold Dome about making abortions more difficult and restricting access to contraceptives, part of the out-of-nowhere, unnecessary “War on Women”, they decided to take a stand - literally. On the final day of the 40-day legislative session, after the state Senate voted to approve a bill that tightened restrictions on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, female Democrats wrapped themselves in yellow caution tape and marched out of the upper chamber and into the Capitol’s hallways, shouting “Women will remember in November.” The bill passed, but the women of the minority party were able to remind GOP lawmakers that they’re the ones affected by such pieces of legislation. less...

Best Contribution to Atlanta’s Urban Design BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
Imperial Hotel
Atlanta Beltline Inc. purchased and converted a Reynoldstown loft into affordable housing. And a developer plans to renovate a Section 8 tower located at Ponce de Leon and Highland avenues. But none compare to the Imperial Hotel. Since 1997, the majestic eight-story building located along Peachtree Streetmore...
Atlanta Beltline Inc. purchased and converted a Reynoldstown loft into affordable housing. And a developer plans to renovate a Section 8 tower located at Ponce de Leon and Highland avenues. But none compare to the Imperial Hotel. Since 1997, the majestic eight-story building located along Peachtree Street in the heart of downtown Atlanta has provided an affordable place for low-income Atlantans and formerly homeless men and women to live. But in 2010, the historic building - Little Richard reportedly performed in the hotel’s lounge - went into receivership and appeared to be in jeopardy. Rather than be converted into pricey condos by developers eager to charge a premium for the picturesque views, two affordable housing developers, working with the city and state, moved in to renovate the building and keep it affordable. Columbia Residential and National Church Residences plan to spend the next year - and millions of dollars - renovating the building’s interior and exterior. Once complete, the overhauled building will feature larger units, space for care providers, and, if they wish to return, affordable homes for residents who were relocated during renovations. Thank God the building, which is located near transit and medical facilities, didn’t turn into yet another expensive condo tower. less...

Best Bizarro Local News Story BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Aimee Copeland Story

Best Bizarro Local News Story BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
A drunken day gone wrong at the Piedmont Driving Club’s East Point golf course
In a year that included stories about a man allegedly beating his girlfriend with her dead dog, Bishop Eddie Long being crowned a king by a visiting rabbi, and a brave woman fighting a flesh-eating bacteria, it was the ribald tales of a drunken day gone wrong at the Piedmont Driving Club’s East Pointmore...
In a year that included stories about a man allegedly beating his girlfriend with her dead dog, Bishop Eddie Long being crowned a king by a visiting rabbi, and a brave woman fighting a flesh-eating bacteria, it was the ribald tales of a drunken day gone wrong at the Piedmont Driving Club’s East Point golf course that blew our minds the most. Naked golf. Drunk men slapping passed-out buddies in the face with their penises. Picking up golf balls from pristine, members-only greens with one’s butt cheeks. And that’s just a sampling. These Caddyshack-type exploits weren’t allegedly committed by frat boys freeloading on dad’s membership account, but by grown men. The story, which went viral thanks to a leaked, tell-all letter by a shocked - shocked! - member of the historic private club for Atlanta’s elite, had it all: intoxicated debauchery, rich people behaving badly, and the closed-lip, we’ll-take-care-of-this treatment of the entire affair by the club. less...

Best Fighters for Atlanta’s Soul BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
Congressman John Lewis
Candidates will usually roll out an oversized font and a simple message for election signs and materials. And if mug shots are ever involved, it’s usually your opponents using your own against you. Not so with Congressman John Lewis. The Atlanta Democrat’s re-election campaign this year sold T-shirtsmore...
Candidates will usually roll out an oversized font and a simple message for election signs and materials. And if mug shots are ever involved, it’s usually your opponents using your own against you. Not so with Congressman John Lewis. The Atlanta Democrat’s re-election campaign this year sold T-shirts and posters featuring the Civil Rights movement icon’s decades-old police photograph above the tagline “Getting into good trouble since 1960.” Lewis, who was part of the Freedom Rides to challenge Jim Crow travel laws, wears his rap sheet as a badge of honor. The 72-year-old has been arrested more than 40 times in the United States and in other countries while protesting for civil rights. We commend Lewis, who faces Republican trial attorney Howard Stopeck in November, on steering clear of staid family portraits and making the usually mundane primary election season more exciting. less...

Best Nonprofit BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Atlanta Community Food Bank

Best Child Care Center BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Primrose School of Midtown at Colony Square
And other Metro Atlanta locations.

Best City View BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Corner of Boulevard and Freedom Parkway

Best College BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Georgia Institute of Technology

Best Columnist/Journalist BOA Award Winner

Year » 2012
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
Charlie Harper
A healthy media diet should consist of hearty servings of views with which you disagree. And sometimes you’ll be surprised to find yourself saying the person has a point. That’s the way we feel about Charlie Harper of Peach Pundit and Dublin’s Courier-Herald fame. The Fayette County native andmore...
A healthy media diet should consist of hearty servings of views with which you disagree. And sometimes you’ll be surprised to find yourself saying the person has a point. That’s the way we feel about Charlie Harper of Peach Pundit and Dublin’s Courier-Herald fame. The Fayette County native and current Cobb County resident first caught political observers’ eyes as Icarus, the nom de plume he used on Peach Pundit, the mostly conservative blog covering Georgia politics. The witty gent proved himself to be a wordsmith who didn’t fall into the same traps filled with both conservative and liberal pundits who simply parroted talking points and shouted ideology. He soon dropped the anonymity, took over the reins of Peach Pundit, and picked up a daily political column in Dublin’s Courier-Herald, which also runs on the blog. Since then he’s called for ethics reform, decried plans to publicly finance a new Atlanta Falcons stadium, and - in a refreshing change for a conservative columnist - urged increased MARTA funding from state lawmakers. We don’t always agree. In fact, we rarely do. But Harper’s voice adds some intellect and common-sense conservatism to the debate. Both are sorely needed. less...


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