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rising star awards

GigMasters members qualify for the highest recognition — the Rising Star Award. Winners have the most successful, client-rated gigs in their category. This award showcases GigMasters' finest — it's one more way we ensure that clients always book the best possible performers for their events.

Live Bands

Top 20's Band	The Shanghai Woolies	Portland	Oregon
Top 50's Band	Bobby and The Blackouts	Santa Monica	California
Top 60's Band	The Fugitives	Sacramento	California
Top 70's Band	8 Miles South	Chicago	Illinois
Top 80's Band	Airwave 80s	Austin	Texas
Top Alternative Band	Air 5	Nashville	Tennessee
Top Beach Band	Tsunami Wave Riders	Charlotte	North Carolina
Top Big Band	Red Rock Swing Band	Woodbury	Minnesota
Top Bluegrass Band	Drivetrain	Atlanta	Georgia
Top Blues Band	The Blues Specialists	Austin	Texas
Top Christian Rock Band	Bread of Stone	Sioux City	Iowa
Top Country Band	The Rupert Duncan Band	Rio Linda	California
Top Cover Band	THE TRIP - #1 GIGMASTERS BAND!	Laguna Beach	California
Top Dance Band	Love Jones	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania
Top Dixieland Band	Uptown Lowdown Jazz	Bellevue	Washington
Top Doo-wop Band	The Devotions	Stony Brook	New York
Top Folk Band	C Pez	North Cumberland	Rhode Island
Top Funk Band	Phat Hat	Baton Rouge	Louisiana
Top Jazz Band	B.D. Lenz	Hackettstown	New Jersey
Top Klezmer Band	The New York Klezmer Ensemble	New York	New York
Top Motown Band	The Moonlighters	Alexandria	Virginia
Top Oldies Band	Klassyc Tymes Band	Monticello	Kentucky
Top Pop Band	James Raymond	Orlando	Florida
Top R&B Band	The Barry Sea Paradox	Houston	Texas
Top Reggae Band	Therapyband/KaptainProductionsInc	New York	New York
Top Rock Band	Mike Dangeroux	Chicago	Illinois
Top Rockabilly Band	The Knuckle Dusters	Holtwood	Pennsylvania
Top Salsa Band	Hector Jr Y Su Orquesta C.A.N.I.	Bronx	New York
Top Soul Band	Austin Hot Trax	Austin	Texas
Top Steel Drum Band	The Caribbean Crew	Longwood	Florida
Top Swing Band	Swing On !	Asheboro	North Carolina
Top Top 40 Band	Uptown Band Feat. Erich Cawalla & Jenifer Kinder	Reading	Pennsylvania
Top Variety Band	Escalade Show & Dance Band	New Orleans	Louisiana
Top Zydeco Band	Nawlin's Po' Boy'z	Citra	Florida

Singers

Top 40's Singer	Brian Tennyson	Lakewood Ranch	Florida
Top 50's Singer	Johnny G	Fort Lauderdale	Florida
Top 70's Singer	A One Man Band	Mundelein	Illinois
Top Big Band Singer	Matt Walch-Singing the Big Band Standards	Jackson	Michigan
Top Blues Singer	Owen Poteat	Charlotte	North Carolina
Top Cabaret Singer	Jeanne Sullivan Evans	Providence	Rhode Island
Top Caribbean Singer	Stoney Savanna	Richfield	Minnesota
Top Celtic Singer	Joe Monahan	Crestwood	Illinois
Top Classical Singer	Nick Palance Romantic Music, Classical and more	Los Angeles	California
Top Country Singer	Mark Hackley	Charlottesville	Virginia
Top Disco Singer	Tricia Kelly	Los Angeles	California
Top Folk Singer	Wayne Morrison	Newport	Rhode Island
Top Gospel Singer	Lady Peachena	New York City	New York
Top Italian Singer	Maristella	Little Falls	New Jersey
Top Jazz Singer	Tim Patrick, Sinatra-style Singer	Minneapolis	Minnesota
Top Motown Singer	The Sound Of Charles Lee	Harrisburg	Pennsylvania
Top Oldies Singer	Jerry Armstrong	Chicago	Illinois
Top Opera Singer	Elizabeth Harmetz	Los Angeles	California
Top Pop Singer	Susan Savia, Versatile Singer-Guitarist	Glenville	Pennsylvania
Top R&B Singer	Athene Wilson	Boston	Massachusetts
Top Reggae Singer	Smokey Starr - Turnpike Reggae	Toms River	New Jersey
Top Rock Singer	7 grams of Fat	Royal Oak	Michigan
Top Soul Singer	Janet McNeil - Aka - Te'Naj	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania
Top Top 40 Singer	Thomas Edwards	Biloxi	Mississippi
Top Variety Singer	Eric Kearns	Lehigh Valley	Pennsylvania

Solo Instrumentalists

Top Accordion Player	Steve Rice	Seattle	Washington
Top Acoustic Guitarist	Pino De Fazio	Austin	Texas
Top Bagpiper	Bagpiper & Guitarist- Michael Lancaster	Denver	Colorado
Top Banjo Player	Richard Stillman2	Montclair	New Jersey
Top Cellist	Isabel Fairbanks	New York	New York
Top Classical Guitarist	Gaku Murata Solo Guitar/String Duo/String trio	Boston	Massachusetts
Top Fiddler	Faith Pyne	Brockton	Massachusetts
Top Flutist	Kathryn Master	Baltimore	Maryland
Top Guitarist	Will Robbins	Charlotte	North Carolina
Top Harpist	Melody: A Winning Combination of Harp & Voice	Daytona Beach	Florida
Top Keyboardist	Craig Satchell	Yeadon	Pennsylvania
Top Mandolin Player	Scott Bickford	Portland	Oregon
Top One Man Band	Thomas Langmaack	North Plainfield	New Jersey
Top Pianist	J P Daine	Houston	Texas
Top Saxophonist	JP Marquez, the Stranger with a Sax!	Irvine	California
Top Steel Drummer	Steel Drum Soloist	Atlantic City	New Jersey
Top Trumpet Player	Frank Tamburro	Andover	Connecticut
Top Violinist	Jennifer Argenti	Los Angeles	California

Ensembles

Top A Cappella Group	The Clarions	New York City	New York
Top Barbershop Quartet	Top-Notch Quartet	Los Angeles	California
Top Brass Ensemble	Transcendental Brass Band	Portland	Oregon
Top Celtic Duo	The Irish Minstrels	New Haven	Connecticut
Top Celtic Trio	Celtic Sands	San Francisco	California
Top Classical Duo	Ocean Sands Trio	San Francisco	California
Top Classical Trio	Chamber Music Unlimited	Houston	Texas
Top Folk Duo	Castlebay	St Augustine	Florida
Top Folk Trio	The Bernstein-Bard Trio	New Paltz	New York
Top Jazz Duo	Lori Spencer / Sultry Band / Lori & Friends Band	Matthews	North Carolina
Top Jazz Trio	The Tom Cabrera Trio	Orlando	Florida
Top Pop Duo	Jim & Sylvia Guitar Duo	Medina	Ohio
Top Rock Duo	Melonbelly Acoustic Guitar Duo	Raleigh	North Carolina
Top String Quartet	Amadeus String Ensembles	Denver	Colorado
Top Woodwind Ensemble	Quartette Barbette	Portland	Oregon

International Bands

Top African Band	Maya Soleil	Woodinville	Washington
Top Brazilian Band	Trio Buongiorno	San Francisco	California
Top Caribbean Band	Oasis Island Sounds	Washington	DC
Top Celtic Band	No Strings Attached	Blacksburg	Virginia
Top Cuban Band	Yamila. Cuban Rumbera	Burbank	California
Top Hawaiian Band	A L O H A Hawaiian Entertainment	Santa Barbara	California
Top Irish Band	Bell/Blake Duo	New York	New York
Top Italian Band	Emiliano Loconsolo	Providence	Rhode Island
Top Latin Band	Jose Conde Y Ola Fresca	Brooklyn	New York
Top Mariachi Band	Acapulco Mariachi Trio--	San Jose	California
Top World Band	Matt Stedman Band/Quartet/Trio/Duo/Solo	Chicago	Illinois

Tribute Bands & Acts

Top Beatles Tribute Band	Magical Mystery Tour	Los Angeles	California
Top Billy Joel Tribute Act	Billy Joel Tribute featuring Jeff Brewer	Toronto	Ontario
Top Blues Brothers Tribute Band	The Bluz Brothers	Crete	Illinois
Top Bob Marley Tribute Band	One Drop Redemption Bob Marley Tribute Band	Claremont	California
Top Frank Sinatra Tribute Act	Mike Hudson and Invitation	Anaheim	California
Top Grateful Dead Tribute Band	Reflections	Oakland	New Jersey
Top Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band	Capt. Josh	Orlando	Florida
Top Johnny Cash Tribute Act	Cash Tribute Featuring James Garner	Lodi	California
Top Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Band	Street Survivor	Wichita	Kansas
Top Neil Diamond Tribute Act	Diamond Eyes	Sacramento	California
Top Pink Floyd Tribute Band	The Division Bell aka Muffy and the Divers	Beloit	Ohio

Specialty Acts

Top Acrobat	Chinatown Acrobatic Group	Los Angeles	California
Top Body Painter	Glam Rock Art- Airbrush Tattoos & Body Art	Washington	DC
Top Caricaturist	Rafael Diez-CartoonYou!	Orlando	Florida
Top Fortune Teller	Valentina, The Fortune-teller Of Dallas	Dallas	Texas
Top Mime	Chris Yerlig, Mime and Clown	Amherst	Massachusetts
Top Motivational Speaker	Motivational Inspirational Speaker - Jon Petz	Columbus	Ohio
Top Psychic	L'Oracle	Charlottesville	Virginia
Top Singing Telegram	The International Singing Telegram Company	Akron	Ohio

Kids Entertainers

Top Balloon Twister	Bigred Balloon Art & Entertainment	Los Angeles	California
Top Children's Band	The Blue Potatoes	Belleville	New Jersey
Top Clown	Sunny The Clown	Yonkers	New York
Top Costumed Characters	Lil' Star Parties	Studio City	California
Top Face Painter	Face Painting By Jazzana	Oakland	New Jersey
Top Juggler	Matt Jergens - Comedy Juggler	Westerville	Ohio
Top Puppeteer	Scott Land Marionettes	Los Angeles	California
Top Santa Claus	Santa Don	Medina	Ohio

Impersonators

Top Barbra Streisand Impersonator	Carla DelVillaggio - Barbra Streisand Impersonator	Lake Mary	Florida
Top Bill Clinton Impersonator	Scott Rogers as Bill Clinton	Hartford	Connecticut
Top Elvis Impersonator	Rick Torres Bay Area's #1 Elvis Impersonator	Santa Clara	California
Top Hillary Clinton Impersonator	Hillary & MARILYN By Sharon Lee/ Mae Co Prod	Cherry Hill	New Jersey
Top Impersonator	All Star Showgrams	Foster City	California
Top Marilyn Monroe Impersonator	Janet as Marilyn Monroe	Las Vegas	Nevada
Top Rod Stewart Impersonator	Steve Crews as (nearly) ROD STEWART	Jasper	Indiana
Top Rodney Dangerfield Impersonator	New England's Own Rodney Dangerfield	Hingham	Massachusetts

DJs

Top Club DJ	Pro Karaoke & DJ Service	Washington	DC
Top DJ	IN THE MIX USA	Cartersville	Georgia
Top Emcee	Scotty Gunther (Scotty Says..)	Bay City	Michigan
Top Karaoke DJ	Karaoke&DJw/Donna&Friends/CircleCityEntertainment	Indianapolis	Indiana
Top Mobile DJ	Tampa DJ: # 1 Rated Best Value!	Tampa	Florida
Top Party DJ	Greg Lissauer (dj Greg)	Bethlehem	Pennsylvania

Magic & Comedy

Top Comedian	Chris Linn: Clean Comedy Entertainment	Los Angeles	California
Top Hypnotist	A Touch Of Magic Comedy and Hypnosis Entertainment	Saint Paul	Minnesota
Top Impressionist	Houston MacPherson	Toronto	Ontario
Top Magician	Keir Royale	Denver	Colorado
Top Mentalist	Lance Campbell - An ESP Experience	Seattle	Washington
Top Ventriloquist	Tom Crowl	Westminster	Maryland

Dancers

Top Belly Dancer	Marta	Brooklyn	New York
Top Exotic Dancer	Dancing Beauty	Miami	Florida
Top Hawaiian Dancer	Aloha Islander Dancers	Miami	Florida
Top Hula Dancer	Sala's Polynesian Revue	Orlando	Florida
Top Latin Dancer	Brazilian samba Dancers in Los Angeles	Los Angeles	California

Click here to view the 2008 Rising Star Awards press release.

Click here to view the 2007 Rising Star Award winners.