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Steve Hussey, Jake Eddy heading to Independent Music Awards

‘The Miller Girl’ nominated for song of year

Photo Provided Jake Eddy, left, and Steve Hussey, right, will be attending the Independent Music Awards ceremony in New York City next month after their song “The Miller Girl” was nominated for “Bluegrass Song of the Year.”

PARKERSBURG — Steve Hussey and Jake Eddy’s “The Miller Girl” has been nominated for “Bluegrass Song of the Year” by the Independent Music Awards.

The musical duo from Wood County will be attending the awards ceremony at the Lincoln Center in New York City on March 31 to find out if they won among the five nominations in their category.

This is the biggest singer/songwriter award Hussey has received in terms of recognition, he said.

“It is a huge honor … a cool thing,” Hussey said. With the events, networking and awards show connected to the nomination, Hussey said he was “tickled to death” to be selected.

Hussey, 42, is not sure who submitted his name for this award. He said the nomination shows that someone is paying attention to his music.

Eddy, 18, a senior at Parkersburg South High School, said it is awesome to be nominated for the song. Because “The Miller Girl” has been out for a while, Eddy said, he thought the song might have run its course and stopped getting attention.

“I am very excited” the song was nominated, Eddy said.

The 16th annual Independent Music Awards recognizes self-released and indie label talent from across the globe in 96 categories of album, song, EP, music producer, music video and design.

Hussey and Eddy started working together in 2014 when Eddy recorded songs for Hussey’s wedding.

Based at Hussey’s Merf Records studio in Washington, W.Va., Hussey and Eddy recorded and then released the album “The Miller Girl” on Nov. 22, 2016. The album “explores themes of the transformational power of love and is dark, funny, and wistful by turns and features something that’s lost in a lot of modern music: innocence.”

“The Miller Girl” has been called “…one of the best Americana albums of the year” and “pure gold.”

“The Miller Girl” is a top 40 Roots Music song and a top 30 album on the same chart. The song landed on the Americana Charts, has had airplay in eight countries and reviews in nine languages.

Hussey wrote “The Miller Girl” and plays the guitar and sings in the song, while Eddy sings backing vocals and plays the banjo.

Eddy is a West Virginia state flat picking champion and multi-instrumental musician who has performed with bluegrass legend Melvin Goins’ band and shared the stage with Idletymes, Don Rigby and Remington Ryde.

Hussey is a regional songwriter and member of the Steve Hussey Band. A veteran performer, he has shared the stage with 38 Special, Eddie Money and the Davisson Brothers Band, while entertaining crowds at clubs and fairs and festivals across the region.

Hussey created Merf Records and Entertainment LLC, which features a record label, publishing company and a recording studio in Wood County.

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