The Audience Award One of the main awards has now been decided by you the audience. The winner will be announced at the Poll Winners concert in March. A huge thanks to all those who contributed. It was wonderful to see such a wide-ranging list of nominations (left) and the way so many of the musicians have touched your lives.
Here are the bands who were voted onto the final shortlist. Click on each name to read more about them and click on the 'listen' icon to hear a selected track from each band. A large selection of your comments can be found by clicking on the list to the left.
Quintin Tudor-Evans, Horncastle:
'A band at the height of their powers. Superb live act who's performance at Womad I will remember for years. Their album seldom is absent from my stereo for long.'
S.Napthine, Cambridge:
'I love the South American flavour.'
Adolfo Preciado, Mexico:
'They represent perfectly the struggles of young Mexicans to see the future of our music without looking away from their past.'
Eugenia Martinez, San Francisco:
'This group continues to show to the world that latin music is here to stay. Not only is their music fun but also intelligent and enlightening on what is happening in Latin America and its global effects.'
Jose Carrillo, London:
'Excellent second album and one of the best live acts in the world.'
Gabriela Anguiano, Mexico:
'The best show alive and great sound on cd, this music is the future.'
Alex Hatfield, London:
'Quite simply the best live band I have seen. Fantastic energy and a wonderful blend of musical styles from punk to polka.'
