PLUG Awards ceremony announced; voting ends Feb. 8 :: Music News :: Articles

In this strange time of awards shows being shortened, de-televised, or eliminated altogether due to the writer's strike, New York's PLUG Independent Music Awards—the thinking-man's/indie-fan's Grammys—have announced big plans and slashed ticket prices for their fourth annual, non-scripted awards ceremony, to be held the evening of March 6 at New York City's Terminal 5. Tickets are a scandalously low $10 (down from $25), thanks to the awards' new sponsor, Dell Lounge, who will also broadcast the whole shindig online for anyone who can't make it to Manhattan.

Comedian and food critic Patton Oswalt will host the festivities, filling the shoes of his archrival/buddy David Cross, who reigned over last year's celebration. As for the music, PLUG serves up an international buffet of acts: St. Vincent, America's indie-rock sweetheart; Dizzee Rascal, two-stepping over from London; José González, singing and strumming his sinister Swedish lullabies; and headlining the whole gig is PLUG Impact Award Honoree/Aussie madman (and recent headline grabber) Nick Cave, who will perform with his band, The Bad Seeds.

There are obviously numerous ways that the PLUG Awards differ from the typical stuffed-shirt affair, but perhaps the most important is how the winners are determined—by we, the people. While PLUG assembles a "cartel" of 250-300 industry veterans to narrow down the nominees for the official PLUG ballot, voting is open to anyone with an Internet connection.

In fact, voting is still open as of today—but the polls close on Feb. 8, so if you haven't yet made your all-important choices, scoot on over to the PLUG website and don't forget to keep your favorite magazine (cough) in mind. We're defending our title here (voted Best Magazine in '06 and '07), after all...

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