Chappell Roan, Alok, the Stress Dolls, and Outer Shapes were among the first winners at the fourth annual Wavy Awards in New York, a nonprofit committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within the music industry. The full list of winners at the show, which took place Saturday at the Playhouse Theater at the Abrons Center for the Arts in New York, is below; Roan did not appear, but performers included M the Myth, Medusa, Ladybree, SuperKnova, DJ Pastor Rock, Yoshi The Talent, PiPEllA, Outer Shapes, and Jo Lee.
The awards also presented the inaugural Christine Potter Award to Alok (Alok Vaid-Menon), in recognition of his work at the intersection of art and activism.
Since its inception in 2021, the awards have “reshaped industry conversations around inclusivity and accessibility,” according to the announcement. The ceremony celebrates the talents of women, non-binary individuals, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and artists with disabilities, and strives to diversify mainstream talent and provide a platform for voices that are often overlooked in the music industry. Mercreature, Blixunami, from the Netflix show “MerPeople,” was among the presenters, along with Nikki Birch, lead video producer for NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” and a Grammy Award-winning videographer.
“We have never been more committed to our core values of inclusivity and accessibility for all artists to succeed,” says Rebecca Autumn Sansom, founder of Wavys.
“Wavy’s is not just a celebration, it’s a protest. We will not let our freedom slip away,” said artist and co-host M the Myth.
Sponsors include the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Beatbox Beverages, and the Music Inclusion Coalition.
Nominees and winners:
New Artist
• Grilling
• Nicolette Sullivan
• Chappelle Rowan – Winner
• Yoshi talent
• Sword of Bouji
Song for a Cause
• Ariadne Mella for “Firecracker”
• Blxck Cxsper for “Until We Are All Free”
• DJ Pastor Rock for “Virus in the Air”
• K&K featuring James Ian on “We Can Do It Too” – WINNER
• Gene DeSantis for “Freaks”
Music video
• Riva on the song “Too Close”
• Luana Sandoval for “In Time”
• KNoWTe for “Quinn” – WINNER
• Sheris (She-Reese) for the song “Breathe”
• PiPEllA for “Night No. 45”
Live performance
• Tori Amos
• Denzel White
• MiG 718
• Luana Sandoval
• Ladyberry – Winner
Songwriter
• Bennett on “Save Me”
• Morgan Clay for “ANGEL”
• DJ Pastor Rock for “Seen” – WINNER
• Joe Lee for “Habit Forming”
• PiPEllA for “Night No. 45”
Production of the year
• Eliza & Organics for “No Contact”
• Morgan Clay for “ANGEL” – WINNER
• Joe Lee for “Habit Forming”
• Brianna Lewis for “Mae West”
• Dark Austin for “Revenge”
Song of the year
• Morgan Clay for “ANGEL”
• “Close Enough” Stress Dolls – Winner
• Choi on the song “Running in Circles”
• External forms of “Near You”
• Lauren Mayberry for “Shame”
Album of the year
• Stress Dolls for “Queen of Rejection”
• External forms of “senses” – Winner
• LovelyOcean for “Better Than Ever”
• Bethany Cosentino for “Natural Disasters”
• DJ Pastor Rock for “Moshcats Skunk!”
