Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) is an American volunteer organization founded in 1980, and based in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Its stated purpose is "to educate and recognize the achievements and accomplishments of individuals in the Wisconsin music industry." The organization is best known for its annual awards for Wisconsin musicians from various genres of music. It also hosts seminars and workshops on subjects related to music and the music industry, such as performing, recording and marketing.

Partnerships and Objectives

The WAMI works with several organizations within the local music industry. These groups include: *Guitar 4 Vets *

Awards

WAMI began presenting awards in 1980. It held its award ceremony in

until switching to Appleton. Notable artists who have won the WAMI Artist of the Year award include

The Gufs The Gufs are an American pop and rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band's latest album ''A Different Sea'' was released on October 17, 2006. Their first single from the album was "Beautiful Disaster", which was the #2 unsigned artist downlo ...

(1998) and

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

(2009). Members of WAMI's hall of fame include the diverse artists

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album '' Nev ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

Bob Kames Bob Kames (April 21, 1925 – April 9, 2008) was an American musician who specialized in genres such as polka. Kames is credited with developing and popularizing the modern-day version of the song " Dance Little Bird," which is much better known ...

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

, Violent Femmes, and BoDeans. Other notable artists to receive awards include alternative rock group

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...

, rockers

Fever Marlene Fever Marlene is a rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Originally a two-piece, made up of Scott Starr (vocals, guitar, bass pedals, synth) and Kevin Dunphy (vocals, drums) the band emerged into the "garage rock" revival scene in early 200 ...

and

Verona Grove Verona Grove was an American pop punk band from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The band is signed to Pat's Record Company, a subsidiary of Universal Records. Members include singer/guitarist Tony Anders, bass guitar/background singer Charlie Wilhelm, an ...

, hip hop/rap group

Rusty Ps The Rusty Ps is a hip hop/rap group based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Initially known as the ''Rusty Pelicans'' after forming in 1995, its membership currently consists of Phantom Channel (MC), Count Classic (MC), S Watson (production), and Madhatt ...

, power pop rock band

Yipes! Yipes! is an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History Band members McCurdy, Hoffmann, and Strand had been playing together since 1971, but formed Yipes! in 1977 after the addition of Freese and Bartel.Verne Meisner LaVerne Donald "Verne" Meisner (December 4, 1938 – June 10, 2005) was an American polka musician born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin. He was inducted into five halls of fame, including the International Polka Asso ...

and

Louis Bashell Louis Bashell (July 1, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American polka musician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was known for playing the Slovenian-style polka. He was nicknamed "Milwaukee's polka king". Bashell's band was signed to RCA Victo ...

. Nominees have included 2009 ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

'' contestant Danny Gokey who didn't win that year but won the Male Vocalist the following year.

Current Board Members

Exec Board: * Jason Klagstad - President * Ron Books - Vice President * Jessie Greenwald - Secretary * Dave Dayler - Treasurer * Mike Mann - Operations General Board: * Brian J Harrison - Member * Pat Nettesheim - Member * Ann Rakiowiecki - Member * Joey Carini - Member * Phil Norby - Member * Danny Faustmann - Member * Drew Ahlborg - Member * Jimmy Schwarz - Member * Steve Brill - Member * Carrie Zylka - Member * Aaron Hopgood - Member * Marcell Guyton - Member * Rick Hagopian - Member

References

Official website:https://wami.org/ {{authority control 1980 establishments in Wisconsin Organizations based in Milwaukee Organizations established in 1980