October 30, 2008

CableFAX Program Awards: Best Show or Series, Music

Winner: The HDNet Concert Series, HDNet

Music fans — the kind who enjoy living vicariously while their guitar hero shreds the strings — are starting to realize they’re less interested in erstwhile rockers’ family jewels or dating exploits than they are with unadulterated concert footage. That’s why concert shows are grabbing our attention again, and why HDNet’s Sunday afternoon Concert Series runs away with our top programming nod. Sure, HDNet has sports, movies and documentaries in hi-def, but while viewers can see music on other channels, they’d be hard-pressed to find this intensity of uninterrupted HD concerts. With a lineup ranging from Coldplay to Vince Gill and Blue Man Group, the series offers front-row seats and fantastic angles. The expansion into live events, like the recent John Mellencamp appearance at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, is icing on a delicious cake.

Honorable Mentions:
Live from Abbey Road, Sundance Channel: How does Sundance follow a debut season featuring 30-plus acts as diverse as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snow Patrol and Wynton Marsalis? With more artists, performances and interviews to commemorate the famed London studio’s 75th anniversary. We can’t wait.

London Live, Mojo: Eclectic is the word that leaps to mind when describing this reason for music enthusiasts to spend Friday nights watching the tube. Filmed at London’s Koko Club, the series spotlights acts from just-surfacing U.K. bands to established international groups with an edge. Sad that Mojo plans to leave the business.

Return to 2008 CableFAX Program Awards table of contents.