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The 24th Annual Asbury Music Awards returns to the legendary Stone Pony 6 p.m. Thursday.

Comedian Taylor Allen will be returning as master of ceremonies, and featured performances include sets by Predator Dub Assassins, Daughter Vision, Cranston Dean Band, gods, Seaside Caves, The Shady Street Show Band, The Vansaders, Colossal Street Jam, Waiting On Mongo, Francis Lombardi, Corrina, Corrina and Poet Laureate.

Presented by The Saint and Asbury Music Co, the best of  event doubles as a jam packed lineup of the talents we loved and learned about over the course of the past year. There will be over 40 award presentations, with new categories and special guest presenters, organizers said in a written statement.

Through the years, the Asbury Music Awards [AMA] have been among the first grand accolade given to burgeoning talents that have gone on to national recognition.

Organizers work throughout the year with a wide array of music industry professionals comprised of the artists, labels, writers, radio stations, print media, festivals, agents, promoters, and publishers in order craft a platform that recognizes all possible genres.

“A whole lot goes on behind the scenes on a year-round basis in planning and preparation for the Asbury Music Awards,” according to the written statement. “Working smarter, not just harder, means achievement of greater success for the greatest number of artists. The nominees and performers are selected by a panel of industry veterans.”

And while artists who have progressed on to a major label or those who have won or been nominated for a particular category for five consecutive years remain eligible for “Record of The Year” and the “Best Thing To Happen in Asbury Park” categories, they are removed from being nominated from most other categories in order to make room for new and emerging talents, organizers said.

This year, those artists include Arlan Feiles, Emily Grove, Karmic Juggernaut, Predator Dub Assassins, The Black Clouds, The Sunday Blues, Rick Barry, Sekond Skyn, ToothGrinder, The Obvious, Thomas Wesley Stern, Accidental Seabirds, Mad Feather Group, Chemtrail, Secret Sound, Colossal Street Jam, TV Tramps, Matt Wade Band, and Quincy Mumford and the Reason Why.

The closed ballot voting is done by a panel that represents area venues, musicians, music-related businesses, record stores, radio stations, newspapers and the fans themselves.

In the Top New Artist category Brother Andrew, Phoebe Nix, The Morgan Freemasons, American Trappist, Ernest, Good Luck Spaceman, Jackson Pines, Laketon, The Jolly Daggers, Foes of Fern, The Inversion Circus, Girl, Lyons, Littlebear, and Trapbang will vie for the 2016 best of accolade.

To view the full list of this year’s nominees, click here. Tickets are now on sale via The Saint and The Stone Pony box offices and websites.

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The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

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