Wednesday, 12 January is the last day on which votes are accepted for the Irish Music Awards. The competition, hosted by the Irish Music Association in the USA, focuses on traditional Irish music. The awards ceremony takes place on 26 January at O’Malley’s Pub in Weston, Montana, which lies sixty feet underground. The full list of nominees for the 2010 awards is as follows:

Top Solo Performer in Concert (US, IRE, EU, UK)
Mairead Nesbitt, Méav, Luka Bloom, Christy Moore

Top Solo Performer in a Pub Venue (US, IRE, EU, UK)
Stevie Dunne, Tony Cummins, Tom Dahill, Sean Brady

Top Duo in a Pub, Festival, Concert (US, IRE, EU, UK)
Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill, Switchback, The HiBs, Brendan Begley & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh

Top Group (US, IRE & EU)
High Kings, Cara, The Irish Tenors, Cherish the Ladies

Best New Irish Music Artist(s) (US, IRE, EU, UK)
Kill Krinkle Club, Qristina & Quinn Bachand, Siobhan Owen, Girsa

Top Celtic Rock Band (US, IRE, EU, UK)
The Kreellers, Beltaine, Scythian, Roger Drawdy and the Firestarters

Best Irish Tenor (individual)
Finbar Wright, Tommy Fleming, Daryl Simpson

Best Female Vocalist (individual/trad.)
Lynn Hillary, Deirdre Shannon, Lisa Kelly, Mary Black

Best Sean-nos Singer
Brid Ní Mhaoilchiaráin, Iarla Ó Lionaird, Róisín Elsafty, Máirín Uí Chéide

Top Traditional Performance Show
Celtic Woman, Chieftains, Riverdance, Trad on the Prom

Top Traditonal Group - In Festival, Pub & Concert
Qristina & Quinn Bachand, At First Light, Guidewires, Switchback

Tommy Makem Award
John Doyle, Jimmy Crowley, Mick Moloney, Andy Irvine

Best New Irish CD
Orla Fallon, John McSherry, The Mickey Finns

Top Harpist (US, IRE & EU, UK)
Siobhan Owen, Darren Raleigh, Michael Rooney

Top Uilleann Piper (US, IRE, EU)
Tim Britton, Tommy Martin, Diarmaid Moynihan, Paddy Keenan

Top Fiddle (US, IRE, EU, UK)
Martin Hayes, Liz Carroll, Cora Smyth, Eileen Ivers

Top Button Accordian (US, IRE, EU, UK)
James Keane, Dermot Byrne, Liam O’Connor, Johnny B. Connelly

Lifetime Achievement Award
Patrick Healy, Arty McGlynn, Mick Moloney, Patsy Whelan

www.irishmusicawards.com