31 years later, the SAMMY Awards champion local music

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In 1993, Syracuse resident Frank Malfitano sent handwritten postcards to a few musicians in the area, pitching his idea of a local music award show. Thirty-one years later in 2024, the Syracuse Area Music Awards garnered 330 submissions from artists of various genres, all connected by their central New York roots.

“I am just stunned that every year, there are more and more submissions,” said Liz Nowak, executive director of the SAMMYS. “It really encourages local musicians to record their work, make a record of it and to go through the paces of what it takes to get their music out there.”

Each year, local talent submits recordings for consideration in 13 categories, ranging from “Best Single” to “Best Jam Band.” A nomination committee ultimately chooses the top artists to represent the Syracuse music scene at the show, which is a chance for local musicians to come together to celebrate their accomplishments.

This year’s event has two parts: the show’s Hall of Fame Dinner taking place at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que on March 7 and the award show at the Palace Theatre the following night.

The 2024 SAMMY nominees include 63 musicians and six Hall of Fame Inductees. After receiving submissions from December through early-January, the nomination committee began verifying each piece of work, ensuring local artists properly recorded their music and submitted it before the deadline, Nowak said.

Then, the committee sent the music to James Abbott, a recording engineer and professor at Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, who chose the winners with his own panel of industry professionals and educators.

“This way it’s not, ‘Oh, it’s Joe from the corner bar that plays every weekend, we like him,’” Nowak said. “It’s really objective and unbiased. You are judged on the quality of your songwriting, your recording and how you present yourself on your streaming service.”

Besides living within 60 miles of Syracuse, there are no limits on who can submit music for the committee’s consideration, Nowak said.

Steven Cal — a singer-songwriter from Cato, New York, and a 2019 SAMMY award recipient — is nominated for “Best Country” and “Best Single” this year. He said the country music community in central New York is “pretty tight-knit” and influenced his work over the years.

“This is the third time I have been nominated for an award, and I have never been nominated for two, so I’m pretty excited about that,” Cali said. “It’s nice to put in a lot of hard work and then have something that shows you that other people have listened and enjoyed it.”

Cali’s 2023 EP, “Nights to Burn,” is nominated for an award, as well as his single, “Girls & Whiskey.” This year marks Cali’s first time performing at the event, a night he said is sure to be exciting.

Alongside this year’s award winners, a handful of members in the city’s music scene will be inducted into the SAMMYS Hall of Fame. Principal Pops Conductor for the Syracuse Orchestra Sean O’Loughlin will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement award.

O’Loughlin is a graduate of SU and the New England Conservatory of Music. He became the principal pops conductor of Symphoria, now the Syracuse Orchestra, in 2012 and has enjoyed watching how the orchestra’s music “changed (central New Yorkers’) lives in a very positive way.” This is his first time receiving a SAMMYS award.

“I feel like this award is a marker for all of the great work that the Syracuse Orchestra and I have done in our community throughout the past decade and more,” O’Loughlin said. “It is nice to pause and reflect on that work while at the same time looking forward to the years ahead.”

Nowak said the SAMMYS have helped further the career of local musicians and highlights the variety of talent in Syracuse. Reminding local musicians that they don’t need to travel to New York City to make it big is a priority, she said.

“If one trombone doesn’t get left in a closet,” Nowak said, “we’ve done our job.”