From the Gloucester Daily Times (click for full article):
Marina Evans, a local singer-songwriter, has been nominated for Female Performer of the Year at the New England Music Awards for the second year in a row.
Her competition in the Female Performer of the Year category in 2015 is Ashley Jordan, Jessie Chris, Sarah Barrios, Faith Ziegler and Anna Lombard.
In this competition, music fans play a significant role in the selection of the winners by voting online for their preferred performers, so Evans is hopeful that Cape Ann fans will cast their votes. Voting is open to the public until March 1; visit nemusicawards.com to vote for your favorite artists, and to learn more about the New England Music Awards.
“The New England Music Awards are presented every year to the musicians who call New England their home and whose dedication, spirit, and achievements over the last year have without a doubt established them as a contributing force to the most robust and diverse music scene in the country,” according to the website.
The nominating committee consists of a variety of music industry experts including journalists, radio personalities, talent buyers, event planners, record label executives and others.
Evans combines a background in jazz with traditional folk and indie rock. Over the past decade, she has cultivated her unique sound. Her career began on Cape Ann at the age of 16. Since then she has performed throughout the United States, in London, and in Italy, and she has written and recorded three original EPs and the full-length album “Unbound.”
Both her new album and her live performances have received high marks over the past year.
“She creates as much dramatic feeling as two gunslingers approaching each other with hands over holsters,” according to Bill Copeland Music News.
She also stepped up to help out in a community service sort of way last year. She performed at a Rockport PTO musical fund-raising event last spring, and in a benefit concert for the North Shore Health Project this past fall. In both instances, the crowd was eager to purchase her music after the show and learn more about her.