The Project Backstage 2012 Midwest Rock Awards lineup has been released. While it is very possible there may be an addition(s) to the show, the lineup for this year is as follows:

Syn City Cowboys
Echo Vendetta
Mute The Idol
Mad Libby
The Liar’s Scene

The awards show will take place in Merriam, KS at Aftershock starting at 5:30pm. Tickets for the 2012 show will be $15 and will go on sale February 1st, 2011 through StubWire which is the official ticket retailer for Aftershock. There will be other events throughout the day prior to the start of the show such as the red carpet ceremonies featuring nominees and performers at 5pm, outdoor free performances from other bands, and a free afterparty for all ticketholders featuring last years “New Artist of the Year”, Evalyn Awake. The afterparty will start immediately following the show at approximately 10:30pm.

Nominations for this years awards will start on January 29th, 2012 at midnight and run through February 12th, 2012 at midnight. The start of the voting, and how the announcement of the nominees will happen will be announced later this week. Nominations this year will be ONE (1) nomination per email address, NOT per day. This means we are only allowing each person to submit one nomination this year rather than daily. The voting process will change also and will be announced after the nominations close as to not confuse the two between each other. This year the Midwest area and the qualifications to make the ballot will be that the band must have resided in 1 of the 17 eligible states during the year of 2011: Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesotta, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama.

For the 2012 awards, the following categories will be on the ballot, with a few more possibly being added at the time nominations open:

Guitarist of the Year
Bassist of the Year
Guitar Duo of the Year
Drummer of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Female Vocalist of the Year
Live Performer of the Year
Metal Band of the Year
Alternative Band of the Year
Cover Band of the Year
Rock Band of the Year
Comeback of the Year
Album of the Year
Video of the Year
Misc/Write-In/What We Forgot
New Artist of the Year
Artist of the Year

Some other nominations that will be accepted as suggestions for, but will not make the ballot as they will be decided by the new panel that will be in place this year are:

Achiever of the Year
Lifetime Achievment Award
Most Giving Artist
Most Character Award
In The Scene Award
Champion of Music Award

All categories will be defined as to the definition of the award, and the qualifications posted via a link next to each category at time of nominations opening to the public.

We are always taking suggestions to make this the strongest award ceremony for independent artists throughout the Midwest. Once the nominations open, the rules that are in place at that time can not change, so please contact us with any thoughts on how to improve this.

Thank you to everyone that continues to support Project Backstage. Without you we can not present major events like the awards show each year. We are very excited about 2012, and if it is anything like 2011, it will be a sold-out party that will be one of the largest of the summer!

Project Backstage Staff