REVIEW: The Eddies 2026 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
03/23 @ UPH, Saratoga Springs
Photos by Joe Putrock
“Whether the inductees' impacts were strictly felt at the local level or internationally, they all represented the Capital Region in a way that only a small number of those in and around its world of music can claim.”
With its eighth hall of fame ceremony, the Thomas Edison Music Awards cemented the class of 2026’s legacies from local lore to officially recognized local all-time greats. Whether the inductees' impacts were strictly felt at the local level or internationally, they all represented the Capital Region in a way that only a small number of those in and around its world of music can claim.
This year’s seven inductees were Eddie Angel, Lee Shaw, Ernie Williams, Dominick Campana, Heavenly Echoes Gospel Band, The Visionaries of The Van Dyck, and Jim Furlong. Demonstrating a wide range of impact and roles, they all achieved greatness in their own ways. Held at the absolutely gorgeous Universal Preservation Hall, a part of the Proctors Collective, the atmosphere was appropriately glamorous — it really felt like the big deal that it is supposed to be. With a pre-ceremony social hour and photo-ops, all that was missing was the red carpet.
Each inductee had a video package played prior to them or their chosen musical act taking the stage. They were only a few minutes long, but did a really nice job demonstrating why these groups and individuals deserved the honor being bestowed upon them. Not everyone is a household name, even in our local setting, but even in a few minutes the intrigue was built around them and they really served the moment well.
The first inductees of the night were Heavenly Echoes, a gospel band that has been performing in the area for over fifty years after its formation by Deacon James Edmonds of the Sweet Pilgrim Missionary Church in Albany. Although it has gone through several lineup changes, the idea is that the band is bigger than the sum of its parts, with a hope that the legacy lives on through younger generations. As bass player Joe Abbey said in the acceptance speech on behalf of the rest of the band, “While we can’t call ourselves an organization, with this plaque we can now call ourselves an institution.”
The next inductee was local musician and sound engineer, Dominick Campana. Campana was the lead guitar player for The Fan Club, which would later be known as Names for Numbers, as well as forming Dirty Face. He would go on to co-found Paint Chip Records, through which he helped dozens of local bands make records. He also worked as a sound engineer for such revered venues as Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and The Egg, but also Valentine’s, a longtime rock staple of the area. For the occasion, one of his Paint Chip Records bands, Dryer, reunited for a performance as part of the induction. It's always cool to see legacy bands that you wouldn’t get the chance to see otherwise if you grew up in a different generation and this performance really fit the bill.
Then came time for two inductions that were very personal for me. The first was someone who helped put the blues on the map for the Capital Region, Ernie Williams. As a kid, encounters with Williams always provided motivation and inspiration. My late step-father would always bring me over and tell him how I played. Williams would always say something to the effect of, “I played till my fingers bled and slept with my instruments. Never stop playing.” While Williams passed over a decade ago now, his impact is still being felt. His former bandmates, The Wildcats, played in his honor and then accepted the induction on his behalf, as his wife had also passed somewhat recently. The impact he made on his bandmates shone through and really demonstrated the force he was in the area.
The same can be said about the next inductee, Lee Shaw. I got to know her in what would be one of her final years on this earth through my job at the time. I got to show her my music and even though she was a jazz musician, she respected whatever music you were passionate about. She was even kind enough to listen to a couple of my shitty home recordings on her computer, songs created with skills that were nowhere close to the ones she possessed. She was fierce, but extremely kind. Locally known as The First Lady of Jazz, Shaw was a world class jazz pianist and composer. Originally from Oklahoma, she became a fixture in the local jazz scene. Her former bandmates of The Lee Shaw Trio accepted the honor on her behalf, also performing with her standout former student. They performed one of Shaw’s original compositions before jumping into a really high energy improv.
Following that was the induction of the Visionaries of Schenectady’s Van Dyck Club. At one time, it was a world class jazz club that has since had to recalibrate in order to evolve with the times, but it remains a staple in the area. Accepting the honors were Donna Wexler — on behalf of her father and uncle, the original founders of the club — Pete Olsen, who ran the club for over a decade, bringing in world class players during perhaps its most vibrant time in the jazz world, and finally the current owner, Chris Sule, who has owned the business for a short time now, but is looking ahead at the future of the club, recently bringing back regular jazz programming as of 2024.
Then came Jim Furlong, the longtime proprietor of The Last Vestige record store located in Albany. On the surface, Furlong’s inclusion might seem strange, but his role in the local music scene can’t be understated. In the times before the internet and streaming, record stores were one of the places you went to get your finger on the pulse of what was happening in the music industry. While you could read about it in a magazine, there is nothing like holding a record in your hands and popping it onto a turntable, or another analog system. Furlong has provided that for nearly four decades.
The final inductee was someone I didn’t even know was local prior to the inductee announcements, Eddie Angel. Angel grew up in Rensselaer before moving to Nashville, and is the guitarist for Los Straitjackets, a surf-rock group that has had global success and still tours at a high level today, mostly as the backing band for Nick Lowe. He had Johnny Rabb & The Sound Minds (which Chris Sprague, also of Los Straitjackets, plays drums for) perform for his induction. They performed one song as a foursome, before Rabb left the stage and The Sound Minds performed one of Angel’s songs. Angel then gave his acceptance speech; it was special to hear him speak about our area where he spent his formative years and the love he still has for it, even after traveling the world.
Next up are the Capital Region Thomas Edison Awards at Proctor’s Theatre on Sunday, April 26 and you can get tickets here. Come celebrate local music with us!
