The 2009 GigMasters Rising Star Award winners represent the top-booked entertainers and party vendors in the U.S. and Canada.
The awards are distributed annually to those members who have earned the most revenue from GigMasters bookings.
Acoustic Band | The Bernstein-Bard Trio | New Paltz | New York |
Beach Band | Tsunami Wave Riders | Charlotte | North Carolina |
Big Band | Yesterday Swing Orchestra | Winchester | Virginia |
Blues Band | The Blues Specialists | Austin | Texas |
Country Band | Jamie Pelfrey Band | Atlanta | Georgia |
Cover Band | THE TRIP - #1 GIGMASTERS BAND! | Laguna Beach | California |
Dance Band | Charisma | Newtown | Connecticut |
Dixieland Band | Wildcat Jazz Band | New York | New York |
Folk Band | Marc Silver & The Stonethrowers | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
Funk Band | Phat Hat | Baton Rouge | Louisiana |
Jazz Band | B.D. Lenz | Hackettstown | New Jersey |
Mariachi Band | Acapulco Mariachi Trio-- | San Jose | California |
Motown Band | The Moonlighters | Alexandria | Virginia |
Oldies Band | Nationwide Coverage | Huntsville | Alabama |
Original Band | Vince Lujan & the Vince Lujan Project | Dallas | Texas |
Pop Band | Undercover | Costa Mesa | California |
R&B Band | Good Foot | West Chester | Pennsylvania |
Rock Band | Mike Dangeroux | Chicago | Illinois |
Soul Band | Soul Purpose | Lilburn | Georgia |
Steel Drum Band | The Caribbean Crew | Longwood | Florida |
Swing Band | Mike Hudson and Invitation | Anaheim | California |
Variety Band | Escalade Show & Dance Band | New Orleans | Louisiana |
World Band | JAM X BAND/Coral Sea Entertainment Group | New York | New York |
Animals For Parties Company | Pretty Party Ponies And Pepperment The Clown | Apopka | Florida |
Balloon Twister | Bigred Balloon Art & Entertainment | Los Angeles | California |
Children's Music Band | The Blue Potatoes | Belleville | New Jersey |
Clown | Sunny The Clown | Yonkers | New York |
Costumed Character | Lil' Star Parties | Studio City | California |
Face Painting | Face Painting & Balloon Art By Jazzana & Co. | Oakland | New Jersey |
Juggler | Laura Ernst | Baltiomre | Maryland |
Puppeteer | Sparky's Puppets | Cranston | Rhode Island |
Santa Claus | Nationwide Santas | Diamond Bar | California |
Storyteller | Richard Stillman Musical Variety Shows | Montclair | New Jersey |
DJ | DoubleTake Productions | Dallas | Texas |
Emcee | Scotty Gunther Corporate emcee/entertainer | Bay City | Michigan |
A Cappella Group | Nu Millennium | Brooklyn | New York |
Acoustic Duo | Dustin And Adrienne: Acoustic Duet | Atlanta | Georgia |
Barbershop Quartet | The Four Leads (Barbershop Quartet) | Cincinnati | Ohio |
Brass Ensemble | DC Brass Quartet | Washington | DC |
Choral Group | The Late Show's Gospel Choir | New York | New York |
Classical Duo | Sweet Harmony ~ Live Music for Special Events | East Windsor | New Jersey |
Classical Quartet | Harmonia Strings | Brooklyn | New York |
Classical Trio | Amethyst Trio | San Francisco | California |
Folk Duo | Muzette | Harrisburg | Pennsylvania |
Folk Trio | Cuban Trio | Los Angeles | California |
Jazz Duo | Lori Spencer / Sultry Band / Lori & Friends Band | Matthews | North Carolina |
Jazz Ensemble | The Hot Sun Quartet | Tampa | Florida |
Jazz Trio | Lizz & Rex Jazz Duo, Trio or Quintet | Dayton | Ohio |
Oldies Duo | Whinin' Cheez | New York | New York |
Oldies Trio | Lisa Lindsley and Friends | San Francisco | California |
Pop Duo | Ross Costa & Stan Pomeroy Duo | Laguna Niguel | California |
Pop Duo | The Kevin Sax And Dave Read Duo | Washington | New Jersey |
Pop Duo | The Water Flow | New York | New York |
Pop Trio | 'Juliana Riccardi Music Group' Duos Trios | New York | New York |
Rock Duo | Not Even Brothers | Spartanburg | South Carolina |
String Quartet | St. Charles String Quartet | Washington | DC |
Variety Duo | Safe Harbor | Jefferson | Maryland |
Woodwind Ensemble | City Winds Trio | East Rutherford | New Jersey |
World Music Duo | Jim & Sylvia Guitar Duo | Medina | Ohio |
World Music Trio | Celtic Sands | San Francisco | California |
Comedian | Jeff Havens with Uncrapify Your Life! AWARD WINNER | Chicago | Illinois |
Comedy Group | Playback Improvisational Theater | Virginia Beach | Virginia |
Fortune Teller | Valentina, The Fortune-teller Of Dallas | Dallas | Texas |
Hypnotist | A Touch Of Magic Comedy and Hypnosis Entertainment | Saint Paul | Minnesota |
Illusionist | Joe Black | Kirkland | Washington |
Impressionist | Joey Vincent - Funny Man with a Horn | Westmont | New Jersey |
Magician | Close-up Magic Of Marco | Rockaway | New Jersey |
Mentalist | Sebastian Black Professional Mindreader & Psychic | New York | New York |
Psychic | Tarot Readings By Karen | Venice | California |
Tarot Card Reader | Gloria/Enchanted Tarot (New Orleans Tarot Reader) | Walnut Creek | California |
Ventriloquist | David Crone - I'm No Dummy Productions | Columbus | Ohio |
Game Show | Versus Live Quiz Show | Leesburg | Florida |
Murder Mystery Entertainment | Floriano Productions | Cleveland | Ohio |
Party Rental Company | Record-A-Hit Entertainment | Chicago | Illinois |
Princess Party | Magical Memories Entertainment | Los Angeles | California |
Big Band Singer | Matt Walch-Singing the Big Band Standards | Jackson | Michigan |
Broadway Singer | Sara's Songs & Strings | Plano | Texas |
Classical Singer | Nick Palance Classical, Romantic & More | Los Angeles | California |
Country Singer | Mark Hackley | Charlottesville | Virginia |
Folk Singer | Wayne Morrison | Newport | Rhode Island |
Gospel Singer | Tanya LaReese | Saint Petersburg | Florida |
Gospel Singer | The Minister John Butler | Springfield | Virginia |
Jazz Singer | Lisa Smith | Las Vegas | Nevada |
Motown Singer | The Sound Of Charles Lee | Harrisburg | Pennsylvania |
Oldies Singer | William Florian / 60s & Tribute To John Denver | San Francisco | California |
Opera Singer | Belle Voix - Available Nationwide | New York | New York |
Pop Singer | Adam Emil | Chicago | Illinois |
R&B Singer | Oya | Los Angeles | California |
Rock Singer | Mark Martin & 7 grams of Fat | Royal Oak | Michigan |
Singer | John Buccheri | Staten Island | New York |
Soul Singer | Janet McNeil - Aka - Te'Naj | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
Variety Singer | Susan Savia, Versatile Singer-Guitarist | Wilmington | North Carolina |
World Music Singer | micheal CASTALDO - Classical Crossover Pop | New York City | New York |
Accordionist | Steve Rice | Seattle | Washington |
Acoustic Guitar | Matthew Cutillo | Amityville | New York |
Bagpiper | Bagpipes For All Occasions | Flushing | New York |
Cellist | Jennifer Girone | New York | New York |
Fiddler | Faith Pyne | Brockton | Massachusetts |
Flutist | Kathryn Master | Baltimore | Maryland |
Guitarist | Rich Barry | Baltimore | Maryland |
Harpist | First Coast Wedding Studios -Deborah Pintaure | Jacksonville | Florida |
Keyboardist | Martin Gerschwitz (Martin Gerschwitz & friends) | Laguna Niguel | California |
Mandolinist | Jay Posipanko | Princeton | New Jersey |
One Man Band | Owen Poteat | Charlotte | North Carolina |
Pianist | J P Daine | Houston | Texas |
Saxophonist | Exceptional Music For All Occasions/Sax | Houston | Texas |
Steel Drummer | Splash | Melbourne | Florida |
Trumpeter | Frank Tamburro | Andover | Connecticut |
Violinist | Steve Gibons Solo/Duo/Trio/Quartet | Chicago | Illinois |
Acrobat | Silk Sisters | Los Angeles | California |
Auctioneer | Jim Ferrell's Fun Live Auctions | Orlando | Florida |
Body Painter | Cindy's Creative Celebrations | St. Paul | Minnesota |
Caricaturist | Caricatures & Comedy By Levi | Chicago | Illinois |
Circus Performer | Playing By Air Productions | Nashville | Tennessee |
Contortionist | Tara Quinn | San Francisco | California |
Dancer | Sala's Polynesian Revue | Orlando | Florida |
Exotic Dancer | Cleveland Strippers Exotic Entertainment Delivered | Cleveland | Ohio |
Fire Eater | Keith Leaf | East Hampton | New York |
Henna Artist | Holistic Henna (Artists, Entertainers & Events) | San Francisco | California |
Mime | Marti Cate | San Francisco | California |
Singing Telegram | Artistic Singing Telegrams | Diamond Bar | California |
Speaker | Motivational Inspirational Speaker - Jon Petz | Columbus | Ohio |
Stilt Walker | Noctunal Sunshine | Santa Cruz | California |
Sword Swallower | Pickled Brothers Sideshow | Florence | Kentucky |
Temporary Tattoo Artist | Tats R Us | West Babylon | New York |
Elvis Impersonator | Stingray | New York | New York |
Impersonator | All Star Showgrams | Foster City | California |
Marilyn Monroe Impersonator | Jodi Fleisher | Los Angeles | California |
Tribute Act | Peter Oprisko--Chicago's Singing Sensation! | Chicago | Illinois |
Tribute Band | The Bluz Brothers | Crete | Illinois |
Tribute Singer | Voices of Legends | Lehigh Valley | Pennsylvania |