Big Mouth winners at BAMMYS honor Jay Whitney during awards ceremony that had some recipients snowbound | UW-Green Bay’s Adam Gaines received Instructor of the Year | Green Bay Press Gazette

GREEN BAY – It was a celebration of long careers and short speeches Wednesday night at The Tartlon Theatre, and the Bay Area Music Awards were just getting started.

The second annual BAMMYS expanded from the 25 categories of its inaugural year to 42 to include more genres, turning the awards ceremony into a two-night affair. The second set of honorees will be recognized Thursday without the logistical complication of messy mid-March weather that left some of the first evening’s winners snowed in at home.

Bass player Paul Sowinski accepted Americana Artist of the Year on behalf of Dorothy Scott, who was stuck in Door County due to the weather. He did the same for his Dorothy Scott & The Peacekeepers bandmate, Adam Cain, who was awarded Drummer of the Year and also was snowbound in Door County.

Sowinski made another trip to the stage to be recognized for his own talents as Bass Player of the Year.

“I wouldn’t be here without my good friends from Big Mouth & The Power Tool Horns. This is our 34th year. We could write a book,” he said. “We’ve had ups, downs, births, marriages, divorces. We’ve had it all, but it’s like a real family.”

He dedicated his BAMMY to the band’s founder, Jay Whitney, who has been sidelined from the stage since suffering a stroke in 2023.

Trombone player Bill Dennee, who won for Brass Instrumentalist of the Year for his work with Big Mouth and the Green Bay Jazz Orchestra, accepted Horn Band of the Year honors for Big Mouth.

“It’s just really exciting to be able to be playing in this community for such a long time,” he said. “… We very, very dearly miss Jay Whitney and what he brought to our band and what he brought to our community. This is really just for Jay.”

Little Cisco, another veteran group of the area scene with a decades-spanning career, picked up Blues Artist of the Year.

“I feel kind of overwhelmed, because it’s like you guys are giving us love and appreciation for living the dream of rockin’ the (expletive) blues,” Ginny Lee said.

Aviva Hale, who won Vocalist of the Year after being a finalist last year, wondered, “How the hell did I get here?” as she accepted her award.

Modern Haunting, Rock/Alternative Artist of the Year recipient, had one of the shortest speeches of the night, going with just the title of the Night Ranger song “(You Can Still) Rock in America.”

The band was also among the night’s performers, weaving a ghost story into its performance, complete with an onstage appearance by a bed sheet ghost.