DJ Mag’s Best of North America Awards 2022 Winners
DJ Mag has revealed the winners of its Best of North America Awards, which were presented at Avant Gardner in Brooklyn last Thursday. The magazine’s first-ever North America awards show honored some familiar artists and venues as well as names on the rise across 16 categories. About 50,000 dance music fans voted this year in the awards that cover the US and Canada.
The award for Best DJ went to Chicago-born producer Green Velvet. The Breakthrough DJ award was bestowed on another Chicago native, “former accountant turned tech-house party animal” John Summit. ZHU nabbed the Best Live Act award, and was billed as the headliner of the party but unfortunately didn’t make a flight from Los Angeles due to bad weather. Meanwhile, Anjunadeep artist Lane 8 won the Best Producer award, and like John Summit could not be there in person as they were both playing Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Nikki Nair scooped up the Breakthrough Producer award.
In other music categories, AceMoMa, who performed before the ceremony, took home Best Album for ‘A Future‘. The Best Track award was given to ‘All My Love‘ by Louie Vega featuring Robyn. J. Worra took Best Remix/Edit for her rework of ZHU and partywithray‘s ‘Zhudio45‘. Best Label went to Nervous Records and Breakthrough Label was given to New York City-based Kindergarten Records.
Duo AceMoMa won Best Album for ‘A Future’ (Credit: Bryan Kwon)
This year’s editorial choice award for Outstanding Contribution was delivered to New Yorker Danny Tenaglia, who also threw down a surprise set to close the night.
“I’ve been doing this 45 years, I started in Williamsburg where I’m born… I can’t believe how it’s come full circle to this wonderful place here that I play at, you know, a couple times a year,” said Tenaglia during his speech.
“I was born here, now I’m playing here still. I’m 61, I have no plans to stop. I’m telling you, really, to the people that want to do this, you cannot give up – you have to persevere.”
New York native Danny Tenaglia accepted the Outstanding Contribution award before playing a surprise set (Credit: Bryan Kwon)
Below is the full list of categories, nominees and winners:
Best DJ
Eris Drew
Green Velvet – WINNER
Jayda G
RL Grime
RP Boo
Breakthrough DJ
Ariel Zetina
John Summit – WINNER
Kush Jones
Layla Benitez
UNIIQU3
Best Live Act
E-Dancer
Jessy Lanza
Minimal Violence
Porter Robinson
ZHU – WINNER
Best Producer
Avalon Emerson
DJ SWISHA
Flying Lotus
Lane 8 – WINNER
WondaGurl
Breakthrough Producer
Bored Lord
LP Giobbi
Moore Kismet
Nikki Nair – WINNER
TYGAPAW
Best Label
Backwoodz Studioz
Brainfeeder
Incienso
Monstercat Silk
Nervous Records – WINNER
Breakthrough Label
EAT DIS
Kindergarten Records – WINNER
Odyzey Music
Rules Don’t Apply
Worst Behavior Recs
Best Album
AceMoMA ‘A Future’ [HAUS of ALTR] – WINNER
DJ Manny ‘Signals In My Head’ [Planet Mu]
Eris Drew ‘Quivering In Time’ [T4T LUV NRG]
Moor Mother ‘Black Encyclopedia of the Air’ [ANTI-]
