This year the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) was delayed because of COVID-19. But it was announced that the Awards Show will take place on October 17, 2021.
The honors are going to be provided in 36 music categories. They include Artist of the year, Jazz artist, Album of the year, Fan of the year, and many other categories. The event is going to feature People’s Choice honors. Moreover, the return of Wisconsin music will be celebrated there as well as its resilience after the hard period for venues, musicians, and others within the industry.
7 Musicians from Wisconsin With the Largest Impact Over the Last 100 Years
Even though there are a lot of talented producers, musicians, and other people involved in the music industry, the awards can only be given to the best. Below, you can get acquainted with the list of the seven most influential musicians of Wisconsin.
Die Kreuzen
Four musicians, two from Brookfield, Wisconsin, and two from Rockford, Illinois, formed Die Kreuzen band in 1981. The band was among the most conservative and thrilling American hardcore exponents. The Cows and Beer album was the debut of Die Kreuzen, and it was released in 1982. The band released five albums in total, and in 1992 they split up. The reason was that the members of Die Kreuzen decided to choose different directions.
Howie Epstein
Howard Noman (Howie) Epstein was a musician who was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1955. It is not surprising that he chose the music career because he grew up in a musical environment. He is famous for his collaboration with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The musician took part in a few Milwaukee bands, including Winks, The Craze, and Forearm Smash, until the early 1970s. Then he started playing bass in a new John Hiatt’s band, where he was involved for two years.
Howie Epstein is famous not only as a bass player but also as a producer and songwriter. Two John Prine’s albums were produced by Howie Epstein, and one of them was award-winning. The musician died in 2003.
John Harmon
John Harmon is known as the person who founded the jazz studies program and was its director until the 1970s. Matrix, a nine-member jazz-fusion band founded by Harmon, was awarded the Golden Feather by Leonard Feather. Six albums were recorded, and some of them were for RCA and Warner Brothers.
John Harmon also created the music for “The Orchestra” of Los Angeles, the Santa Fe Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the Fox Valley Symphony. His creations comprise various jazz elements.
Greg Koch
A famous guitarist from the US grew up in the Milwaukee area. He started playing guitar when he was only 12. In 1989, the talented young won the Bluesbreaker Guitar Showdown. Koch used to cooperatie with Joe Bonamassa, but he is a Martin Guitar clinician these days. Furthermore, the musician has written and released many books about different guitar styles and methods.
Joe Schermie
Joseph Edward Schermetzler (Joe Shermie) was famous for being a bass player for Three Dog Night, a rock-pop band. Moreover, Joe Shermie used to be their original bassist who played in the bigger part of the band’s 21 Billboard Top 40 hits. In 1973, Shermie left the band and created another group named S.S.Fools. He also cooperated with Yvonne Elliman, Stephen Stills, etc. Unfortunately, he died when he was 56 due to a heart attack.
Spanic Boys
The duet of father and son was extremely popular during the late 1980s - early 1990s. That was when Spanic Boys introduced three albums. The duet is famous for its exceptional, loud, and raging guitar sound. Spanic Boys’ first success was in 1990 at Saturday Night Live performance. In 1991, they released Strange World, an album that immediately became popular.
Jidenna
A song and rap performer from the US, Jidenna Theodore Mobisson released “Yoga” and “Classic Man” singles in 2015. Two years later he introduced his debut album called The Chief, and it turned out to reach the 38th position on the Billboard 200.
Just like all the above-mentioned musicians, Jidenna started his way early. He used to be a co-founder of the rap band Black Spadez while being a high school student. The band let out their first album in 2003 as their last Milton Academy project. After the graduation, Jidenna continued his career being a teacher on a full-time basis at the same time.
The musician is signed to Wonderland Records label. He has also worked with numerous artists who are signed to the same label, like Roman GianArthur, Janelle Monáe, etc.