BETTER LATE THAN NOT / 2016 CHOICE AWARDS January 26, 2016 / by John "Stoney" Cannon Twenty years ago a loose gathering of area musicians gathered for a night of music at a small watering hole on Central Avenue populated by a mix of college kids and the cream of the Augusta alt music elite. That night a handful of certificates, the first ever Lokal Loudness Awards, were handed out. Over the next few years the trend would continue at an annual event. Then in February 2002, as Lokal Loudness celebrated a decade covering Augusta/CSRA music, the awards that would eventually be named the Lexie's Plexis emerged and every year since the awards have been presented. The Choice Awards, a public nominated and decided group of awards that has over the years grown to a total of 18 awards, is more about the area music/arts community than the physical awards themselves. Each year musicians and fans get together to celebrate a thriving art community that has existed for decades and continues to shower amazing artists on the area. Yes it's true that the area has helped produce award-winning, game changing artists such as James Brown, Steve Morse, Brenda Lee, Amy Grant, Blind Willie McTell, The Lewis Family, The Swanee Quintet, Lady Antebellum, and many others, but perhaps the most creative artists are those who remain close to the area perhaps only to be known by those who work and play in the CSRA. When the time period for nominating and voting came and went, it was decided that perhaps skipping a year would recharge batteries but that recharging came by the way of an unexpected surge from a group of area artists who were not content with Lokal Loudness skipping a year. To put it mildly, several pairs of feet were firmly planted in the cheeks of Lokal Loudness leading up to this announcement: ANNOUNCING THE 2016 LOKAL LOUDNESS CHOICE AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED APRIL 15TH AT SKY CITY! Public online nominations will take place from the anniversary of Lokal Loudness (1/10) until February 24th (yep...only two weeks...we ain't playing around!) with final online voting running from February 29th (that's right...it's leap year...so leap up and vote) until March 21st (yep...only three weeks). On Tuesday March 15th, a month before the show, we will announce the performance lineup for the awards show...and just to make this year fun...and to say thank you to all the artists, music, fans,supporters, etc... THE 2016 LOKAL LOUDNESS CHOICE AWARDS WILL BE FREE TO THE PUBLIC!!!!!! Yep...free...to...the...public...there will be music, food, awards, and more...all presented by this years co-hosts- kick-ass rock singer Paul Knight and elite hip hop artist Catch 22! So don't miss it...April 15th at Sky City...doors open 8pm...event starts immediately after doors open...