The Indie Music Hall Of Fame "Induction Award" is the crown jewel of
the Indie Music Hall Of Fame.
This honor is awarded each year to 6 individuals from a list of thousands in recognition of their tremendous achievements and contributions as an independent artist.
2020 Indie Music Hall of Fame Inductees
(Listed alphabetically below)
Che Blaq
Che Blaq found a love for song very early at age 4 he had is first audience performing "You Are My Sunshine" on an afternoon bus ride with his mother. In Austin, TX, where he attended elementary school, Che experienced physical and verbal bullying for the first time by his classmates. This is when Che Blaq's love for music came into play, giving him his only escape from his antagonizers.
Nervous and somewhat shy, Che Blaq found solid footing when his 4th grade music teacher placed him as soloist for a school production performing for Queen Elizabeth of England. Che Blaq moved to Seattle taking the lessons learned, sharpening his singing and songwriting abilities in middle and high school in a number of groups winning multiple talent competitions and community festivals gaining moderate success.
Today, Che Blaq is an outstanding artist/producer of R&B songs heard around the world. In 2019, Che Blaq won the award for Best Male R&B Artist at the 2019 Indie Music Channel Awards.
https://www.indiemusicchannel.com/profile/CheBlaq
(Mr. Leon Hughes, 3rd from the left)
Leon Hughes
Leon "Pops" Hughes is the last original member of the legendary group "The Coasters" (creators of the hits "Yakety Yak", "Charlie Brown").
Mr. Hughes started acting with his parents as a child and toured with early lineups of the Hollywood Flames (with which he also recently acted in a 1998 revival show). He was an original member of the Lamplighters during 1952-53 (together with Mathew Nelson and Willie Ray Rockwell). Hughes left the Lamplighters before they recorded with new lead Al Frazier. Leon was recommended by Bobby Nunn (who knew him from Watts, L.A.) for "The Coasters" original line-up. Around this time (approx. 1957), Leon recorded with The Celebrity's (which included his brother Elder O’Neal) on Caroline and also recorded on his own label Leoneal Records with The Signeals (a group inlcuding both his brother and his sister Shirley Hughes). Leon stayed in California when the Coasters moved to New York (recorded the two Flip singles as The Dukes with Bobby Nunn in 1959) and later launched a non-original, occasionally acting, Coasters group originally featuring Young Jessie (one record on Chelan was issued as "The Coasters Two Plus Two" featuring him and Nunn in 1975 – and two other singles were issued as "The World Famous Coasters").
Today, "Pops" is still going strong (he turns 90 years young in May), touring around the world as an independent artist with his group, known as "Leon Hughes - the Original & His Coasters".
Sangeeta Kaur
Continuing to bend genre and break new ground as a unique leader in the modern renaissance wave of New Age music, Teresa Mai, the artist known as SANGEETA KAUR, is embarking on a banner year in her multifaceted career.
Cinematic and hypnotic in sound and scope, Sangeeta alchemizes her Vietnamese American roots, Classical Crossover Operatic expertise and authentic connection with Sacred Mantra Music to create a new sonic and vocal experience.
With a great passion for performance, Sangeeta brings an award winning pedigree aligning classical opera training, Kundalini yoga and a deeply personal Tibetan Buddhist practice. Her unique style and commitment to honoring her dharma as a Voice for the sacred path, has taken Sangeeta all over the globe from world renown venues in the United States such as the Broad Stage and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts to Sydney Opera House in Australia, Sangeeta delivers a presence and live experience that is internationally compelling.
She is the first artist to compose a “Mantra Opera”, that work known as “Niguma” and its sequel “Ascension” opened to rave reviews and was the first work of its kind to congruently combine Ancient Sacred Wisdom of the East with a cinematic visual choreography on the stage that built a bridge between the worlds of sacred chant and classical opera and modern dance.
In 2019, Sangeeta won "Best New Female Artist of the Year", as well as other awards at the 2019 Indie Music Channel Awards.
Frank Piombo
Multi Award Winning Guitarist/Composer and Acclaimed International Recording Artist. Voting Member of the Recording Academy. Nominated by the “East Coast Music Hall of Fame.” Frank Piombo was born 1950, and raised in Libya, Tripoli, to Italians parents, it’s no wonder that music was a constant in Frank’s life. At the tender age of six, Frank’s family would move to Rome (his mother’s birthplace), where he was inspired by the sounds of his father’s music. An avid accordion player, Frank was moved by the romantic tunes produced by his father, and their effects can be heard in Frank’s music even today. By the time the family immigrated to the United States, at age eight, Frank was inspired by the sounds of the late fifties and early sixties, prompting him to take guitar lessons. But it was the sound of The Beatles that motivated Frank most, and helped the teen to focus more seriously on his music. By his late teens, Frank was playing gigs at weddings and small venues, eventually graduating to known jazz venues in and around town.
Flash forward more than forty years, and today Frank Piombo’s portfolio is an impressive one. Appearing as lead guitarist and vocalist alongside Sidewalk Symphony, The Fantasy Band, Stepping Out, The New Prince Band, US & Co, the Original Infernos; and sharing the stage with the likes of The Duprees, The Mello Kings, Vito and the Salutations, and Vito and the Elegants, Frank has proved to be much more than a jazz guitarist.
In addition to touring the New York Metropolitan Area, where he has built a solid fan base, Frank has also shared the stage with various European artists, such as “I Nuovi Angeli” and the “Formula Tre.” Frank’s CDs (“The Night Speaks,” “Sleepwalk,” “Smooth Reminiscence,” and “Keep It Movin’”) have led to a large international following, prompting several fan pages on Facebook. And his music is now heard throughout North America, and several other continents, including: Africa, Australia, Europe, and South America.
Frank has won numerous Indie Music Channel Awards.
https://www.indiemusicchannel.com/profile/FrankPiombo
Grant Maloy Smith
American Roots recording artist Grant Maloy Smith heard the strains of bluegrass from his Kentucky-born and raised Grandmother, and it got into his blood. His widely anticipated latest album Dust Bowl - American Stories is set squarely in the Great Plains of the 1930's, during the worst economic and environmental disaster that America has ever seen.
Grant has won numerous Indie Music Channel Awards.
TerryLee Whetstone
TerryLee Whetstone is a true professional in every sense of the word. His American Indian Style Flute Music touches the hearts and lives of people world wide with international fans becoming a part of our family daily. There is total magic in every project TerryLee touches. He has won numerous awards for his art and sculpture work, as well as numerous Indie Music Channel Awards.
https://www.indiemusicchannel.com/profile/TerryLeeWHETSTONe
