President: AMP Awards will be bigger and better

President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Association of Music Professionals (AMP) Bomani Charles says that he expects the 2015 staging of the AMP Awards to be bigger and better.{{more}}

Charles told SEARCHLIGHT on Monday that the organization intends to build on what viewers, listeners and those who attended the inaugural event experienced last Friday night.

“The executive will meet shortly with the production team so we could access and get a better sense of where we can improve on.

“We had to create something first. So, now we can go forward and improve and build on it. If there is nothing there, then we would have nothing to improve and build on,” Charles said, of the show that was held at the Peace Memorial Hall.

Areas that Charles said are likely to increase are the number of categories and the number of nominees in each category.

Following the event on Friday, Charles said that at least two categories will be included for future awards, with more local artistes having a chance of taking home a prize.

“We plan on increasing the number of categories to include collaborations and incorporate pan sides… as well as increase the number of nominees from three to five, and provide through our telecom partner a people’s choice category, where the public at large may be able to participate and join our association in honouring Vincy music.

“It was felt that three nominees in each category to start with was manageable in terms of the capacity and the streamlining of the process in this initial stage. Now that we have seen that we are more than capable of managing three nominees in each category, I believe we can be able to accommodate five nominees.

Charles, not only the president, but also an award winner, said that the majority of the feedback that he has received about the night was favourable, persons congratulating him for his personal victory, but also the Association for having pulled off the event.

He said that, of course, there were some negative criticisms regarding the event and some of the nominees and winners, but he was confident that the selection process was transparent and fair.

Charles pointed out that he was proud that the awards show achieved its main objectives: getting Vincentians to talk about Vincentian artistes, and recognizing those artistes for their contribution to the music scene over the past year.

“The general feeling is that this award has been a long time coming. We wanted people to focus on Vincentians musicians and that was accomplished.

“We selected individuals for the committees, who brought not just a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table, but we specifically requested objective and dispassionate assessments of the works.

“We chose a format that’s more akin to the Grammys, where nominees are honoured by their peers….

“We want to be able to maintain the standards within our membership to strive for excellence and recognise and support each others efforts within the musician community,” Charles said. (JJ)