What’s Up Awards ceremony set for Jan. 23
The 2016 What’s Up! Awards show will be at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at Wild Buffalo, 208 W. Holly St., and will feature Wild Throne, Rabbit Wilde, Mostafa, Dryland, STFU Robot, plus a lip sync battle.
Brent Cole, the founder, editor and co-publisher of What’s Up! Magazine, says he stopped doing the awards show in 2014 because the magazine was hosting its huge 16th birthday party a month or so later and it could take away from the celebratory nature of the awards show.
Being in a band means a lot of practice, a lot of hard work for sometimes little recognition; or, at least, not what they deserve.
Brent Cole
What’s Up! Magazine“Then I realized the scene needed to breathe and flush out a bit before we started up again,” Cole says. “After missing last year’s show, I had enough people ask me to do it again, including Make.Shift, that I knew it was time.”
After talking with the folks at Make.Shift, 306 Flora St., Cole realized they could work together, so Make.Shift will host an arts awards event at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, with music by The Exquisites, Dogs on Acid, Couch and Croak, as well as the winners of their six categories in visual arts — best graphic designer, best painter, best 3d artist, best photographer, best fiber artist and best illustrator.
Cole says the Saturday awards show is a great way to start the year off right for the music scene — to get folks excited about what’s going on in Bellingham and inspire them as they hear some of the bands in town.
“It’s also nice recognizing bands who have done particularly well recently,” he says. “Being in a band means a lot of practice, a lot of hard work for sometimes little recognition; or, at least, not what they deserve.”
Margaret Bikman: 360-715-2273, @bhamentertainme
This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 4:01 PM with the headline "What’s Up Awards ceremony set for Jan. 23."