No Joke! Here’s your 2024 All WNY Award Winners

After 15 days of nominations and another 15 days of voting, the 2024 All WNY Awards have been tabulated. There were 8,419 ballots cast in the 2024 awards, voting in 76 categories including music, business and community.

MUSIC – Best New Band

1. Pretty Good State University
2. The Spit Sisters
3. Zak Ward & the Million Dollar Question

MUSIC – Best Live Band

1. Grosh
2. VOYAGR
3. Zach Gerken Band

MUSIC — Best Rock Band

1. Grosh
2. Letter to Elise
3. Tokyo Monsters

MUSIC — Best Hardcore/Metal Band

1. Grizzly Run
2. An Easy Death
3. Hearts and Hand Grenades

MUSIC — Best Punk/Pop-Punk Band

1. Skyway
2. Letter to Elise
3. The Spit Sisters

MUSIC — Best Americana/Folk Band

1. VOYAGR
2. The Jerry Shea Band
3. Fuzzy & The Rustbelts

MUSIC — Best Country Artist/Band

1. VOYAGR
2. Zach Gerken
3. PA Line

MUSIC — Best Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Artist

1. Diyene
2. Jay Aquarious
3. Dom Brown

MUSIC — Best Acoustic Act / Singer/Songwriter

1. Michael DeLano
2. Zach Gerken
3. AJ Jabaji of VOYAGR

MUSIC — Best Blues Band / Act

1. Miller and the Other Sinners
2. Dave Viterna Group
3. Diyene

MUSIC — Best Jazz Band / Act

1. Alex McArthur
2. Damone Jackson Outcome
3. Ellen Pieroni and the Encyclopedia of Soul

MUSIC — Best DJ/Electronic Band

1. DJ Sike
2. Space Junk
3. Grub

MUSIC — Best Indie/Alternative/Jam Band

1. Tuesday Nite
2. PA Line
3. Karma Queen

MUSIC — Best Tribute Band

1. Unplugged (MTV era Tribute Band)
2. Fleetwood Mac Experience
3. Analog Kids (Rush Tribute)

MUSIC — Best Classic Rock Cover Band

1. Boomerang
2. Prestige Worldwide Band WNY
3. Uncovered

MUSIC — Best 90’s / Modern Cover Band

1. Crush Crush Crush
2. Nerds Gone Wild
3. Prestige Worldwide Band WNY

MUSIC — Best “Other” Band / Act

1. Guabaza
2. Farrow
3. The Slyboots Circus

MUSIC — Most Original Band/Artist

1. Guabaza
2. VOYAGR
3. PA Line

MUSIC — Best Local Song

1. Sunday Reign – “Falling”
2. An Easy Death – “9-8-8 (It’s Too Late)
3. VOYAGR – “Go On & Get Out”

MUSIC — Best Local Release (EP or Album)

1. Music is Art/Various – Good Neighbors (Vol. 4)
2. Fuzzy & The Rustbelts – “Out West”
3. When Legions Fall – ” Echoes of Human Existence”

MUSIC — Best Vocalist

1. Michael Delano
2. AJ Jabaji (VOYAGR)
3. Trever Stribing (PA Line)

MUSIC — Best Guitarist

1. Michael DeLano (Diyené)
2. Grace Lougen (Grosh)
3. Jerry Genova (Virus X)

MUSIC — Best Bassist

1. Dominic Missana (Damone Jackson Outcome)
2. Sean Gruenauer (Unplugged Tribute Band)
3. Matt Mackiewicz (Fuzzy & The Rustbelts)

MUSIC — Best Drummer

1. Jake Marek (Boomerang)
2. Damone Jackson (Damone Jackson Outcome)
3. Christopher Joel (Unplugged Tribute Band)

MUSIC — Best “Other” Instrumentalist

1. Sally Schaefer
2. Griffin Brady (Slyboots Circus, PA Line, Witty Tarbox, Critts Juke Joint)
3. Max Davis – Keyboards: Merangutang

MUSIC — Best Venue

1. Jack Rabbit
2. Town Ballroom
3. Buffalo Iron Works

MUSIC — Best Open Mic

1. Gypsy Parlor
2. Jack Rabbit
3. Milkies

MUSIC — Best Sound Person

1. Neal Brodfuehrer
2. Dave Guilford (Ripe Audio, The Caz)
3. Camryn Porter (Buffalo Iron Works)

MUSIC — Best Concert Photographer

1. Tyler Ahearn
2. Meredith Snow
3. Julie LaCrout

MUSIC — Greg Rinker Memorial Service Award

1. Adam Drzyzga (Frostbelt Entertainment)
2. Matt Smith (1120 Press)
3. Sara Elizabeth (Music Is Art)

BUSINESS — Best Arcade

1. Misuta Chow’s
2. Pocketeer Billiards
3. Dave and Busters

BUSINESS — Best BBQ

1. Fat Bob’s
2. Southern Junction
3. Dinosaur BBQ

BUSINESS — Best Beef on Weck

1. Bar Bill Tavern
2. Charlie the Butcher
3. Schwabl’s

BUSINESS — Best Bookstore

1. Turn the Page Used Books
2. Talking Leaves
3. Burning Books

BUSINESS — Best Bowling Alley

1. Strikers Lanes
2. Transit Lanes
3. Kenmore Lanes

BUSINESS — Best Brewery

1. Hamburg Brewing Co.
2. Big Ditch Brewing Co.
3. Resurgence Brewing Company

BUSINESS — Best Burger

1. Grover’s Bar & Grill
2. Allen Burger Venture
3. Mr Sizzle’s

BUSINESS — Best Chicken Finger Sub

1. Jim’s Steak Out
2. Mayback’s Deli
3. Franco’s Pizza

BUSINESS — Best Chicken Wings

1. Bar Bill Tavern
2. Duff’s Famous Wings
3. Gabriel’s Gate

BUSINESS — Best Chili

1. Cole’s
2. Dinosaur BBQ
3. Taylor’s Tap & Grill

BUSINESS — Best Coffee Shop

1. Spot Coffee
2. Orange Cat Coffee Company
3. Undergrounds Coffee House and Roastery

BUSINESS — Best Comedy Club

1. Helium Comedy Club – Buffalo
2. Nietzsche’s
3. The Bear’s Den @ Seneca Niagara Casino

BUSINESS — Best Comic Book Shop

1. Queen City Bookstore
2. Gutter Pop Comics
3. Empire Comics

BUSINESS — Best Diner

1. Alton’s Restaurant
2. Sophia’s Restaurant
3. Swan Street Diner

BUSINESS — Best Dive Bar

1. The Old Pink
2. Mister Goodbar
3. Tudor Lounge

BUSINESS — Best Donuts

1. Paula’s Donuts
2. Donut Kraze
3. DiCamillo Bakery

BUSINESS — Best Fish Fry

1. Ghada Have It!
2. Wiechec’s Lounge
3. O’Brien’s West End Inn

BUSINESS — Best Food Truck

1. Lloyd Taco Truck
2. Dirty Bird
3. Fat Bob’s Smokehouse Truck

BUSINESS — Best French Onion Soup

1. JP Fitzgerald’s
2. Gabriel’s Gate
3. The Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub

BUSINESS — Best Golf Course

1. Diamond Hawk Golf Course
2. Niagara Frontier Country Club
3. Glen Oak Country Club

BUSINESS — Best Greek Restaurant

1. Kostas Family Restaurant
2. Olympia Restaurant
3. Alton’s Restaurant

BUSINESS — Best Ice Cream Shop

1. Lake Effect Ice Cream
2. Nick Charlap’s
3. De Dee’s Dairy

BUSINESS — Best Italian Restaurant

1. Mulberry’s Italian Restaurant
2. Chef’s
3. La Bella Sicilia

BUSINESS — Best Karaoke Spot

1. Rec Room
2. Gypsy Parlor
3. Milkies

BUSINESS — Best Mexican Restaurant

1. El Canelo
2. Taqueria Ranchos La Delicias
3. Aguacates

BUSINESS — Best Pizza

1. Bella Pizza
2. Bocce Club
3. Macy’s Place Pizza

BUSINESS — Best Polish Restaurant

1. Polish Villa
2. Sto Lat Bar
3. Polish Nook

BUSINESS — Best Record Store

1. Revolver Records
2. Black Dots
3. Hi Fi Hits

BUSINESS — Best Reuben

1. Gene McCarthy’s
2. Blackthorne Restaurant & Pub
3. Taylor’s Tap & Grill

BUSINESS — Best Seafood

1. Remington Tavern and Seafood Exchange
2. The Dockside Bar & Grill
3. 2 Forks Up

BUSINESS — Best Soup

1. Danny’s Chicken Wing Soup
2. Wegmans
3. Mooney’s Banana Pepper Soup

BUSINESS — Best Sports Bar

1. Sidelines Sports Bar and Grill
2. Mooney’s
3. Southern Tier Brewing Co. Buffalo

BUSINESS — Best Sub / Sandwich Shop

1. Wegmans
2. DiBella’s
3. Mayback’s Deli

BUSINESS

1. Mighty Taco
2. La Davina
3. Lloyd’s

BUSINESS — Best Winery

1. Pellicano Vineyard Hamburg Winery
2. Vizcarra Vineyards at Becker Farms
3. Niagara Landing

COMMUNITY — Best Art Space / Gallery

1. AKG
2. Burchfield Penney
3. Revolution Gallery

COMMUNITY — Best LGBTQ+ Space

1. 26 Allen
2. Lavender Room
3. The Underground

COMMUNITY — Best Local Podcast

1. Why Music Matters with Jeff Miers
2. WNY Brews
3. Buffalo Brews Podcast

COMMUNITY — Best Local Theatre

1. Shea’s Performing Arts Center
2. North Park Theatre
3. Irish Classical Theatre

COMMUNITY — Best Mural

1. Stonewall Nation: LGBT History Mural at 44 Allen St.
2. King Josh Mural
3. General Mills Mural

COMMUNITY — Best Music Festival

1. Music is Art
2. Kenny Jam @ LaSalle Waterfront Park
3. Borderland Music Festival

COMMUNITY — Best Park

1. Niagara Falls State Park
2. Delaware Park
3. Griffis Sculpture Park

COMMUNITY — Best Place to Watch a Sunset

1. Hamburg Beach
2. Erie Basin Marina
3. Fort Niagara

COMMUNITY — Best Social Media Account

1. Step Out Buffalo (StepOutBuffalo on Instagram)
2. West Seneca Police (wspolice on X)
3. Mickey Harmon (MickeyHarmonArt on Instgram)

COMMUNITY — Best Tourist Attraction

1. Niagara Falls
2. AKG
3. Cave of the Winds

COMMUNITY — Best Trivia Night

1. Magic Bear Beer Cellar
2. Central Park Grill
3. Misuta Chow’s