Here is a peek at the finalists for Youngstown Music Awards

The inaugural Youngstown Music Awards are now just 17 days away, and the finalists are set.

Michael Kermec, who conceived of and is organizing the YMAs, gave me a sneak peek of the top five vote-getters in the top five categories.

The winner in each of these categories, and 18 other categories, will be revealed at the YMA ceremony and concert Nov. 30 at Rodeo Music Hall in Austintown. For ticket information, go to ytownmusicawards.com.

Voting for all categories was done online by the general public this summer.

Here are the top five vote-getters — in random order — in the most-notable categories:

Best Female Vocalist

Susie Prosser

Leanne Binder from Army of 2

Cindi Farina from the Old Goats Band

Bridget Yurcisin from the Fringe

Ashley Miller from Perfect Pair

Best Guitar Player

Thomas Michael Jacobs from Leddfoot

Jerry Centifanti from Dominic Tocco and The Brotherhood

Ken Walters from Green Beans & Huckin FillBillys

Michael Baranski from The Houseband

Joe Percic from Mettal Maffia

Best Male Vocalist

Daniel Butch from Haymaker

John Yuhas from Leddfoot

Jimmi Migliozzi from Huckin’ Fillbillys & Love Turns Hate

David Walker from Midlife Crisis & 3 Steps Back

Jeff Green from The Sensations

Best Original Band

Love Turns Hate

Token

Amnesty for Astronauts

Amanda Jones and the Family Band

Skull’Rz Bane

Best Original Band Song

Northern Whale, “Reckless”

Leanne Binder, “Goodbye Goodbye”

The Breezeway, “Yesterday Is Gone”

Ashley Marie Lewis, “It’s Your Lie”

Ryan Ross and the Youngs-town Syndicate, “Tell Me What You’re Waiting For”

The Nov. 30 ceremony will include a slew of local celebrities and musical greats from Youngstown’s past and present.

It also will see a reunion concert by Youngstown rock legends Left End, accompanied by some of the area’s top singers.

Left End will perform somewhere between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Thomas John, who introduced the band and hyped the crowd at many past Left End shows, will reprise his role as well.

Also scheduled to perform are JD Eicher and the Goodnights, and Paul Skowron (singer for Noisy Mama and White Noise) with Deep Cuts in a tribute to the late Allen Sillaman, who was the drummer for all three bands.

The list of presenters giving out the awards includes WNCD-93 “The Wolf” personalities Fast Freddie and “Viking Jim” Allgren; Mick Mahan, Youngstown native and bassist for Pat Benatar; 21 WFMJ-TV personalities Jennifer Brindisi and Jasmine Monroe; and Bill Bodine, a rock musician and songwriter who has worked with many top national acts.

The night will end with an All-Star Jam of some of the best musicians the area has produced. It will be a fitting way to cap such a historic event in Youngstown musical history.

Due to health issues, the Human Beinz — the Youngstown rock band that had a monster hit in 1967 with “Nobody But Me” — will bow out of the event.

The YMAs stemmed from an idea that Kermec had been toying with for a while before putting into play this spring. It immediately drew grass-roots support and has been rolling along and picking up steam.

LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS JOIN FORCES TO STAGE ‘RAGTIME’

Theater students at Canfield and Chaney Visual and Performing Arts high schools have been teaming up on a unique collaboration that will make its premiere tonight.

The two schools have teamed up to present “Ragtime,” the epic musical that gives a glimpse of early 1900s America through the eyes of people in differing levels of society. Performances will be at Chaney High auditorium at 6 p.m. tonight and at Canfield High auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and again on Nov. 21 and 22.

Tickets are $4 ($3 for students) for the Chaney performance and $12 ($10 for students) for the Canfield performances, and will be sold at the door. Tickets for the Canfield performances also can be purchased in advance by calling 330-702-7128.

The collaboration provided a rare opportunity for students from both schools, which don’t have a lot in common, to work together and get to know each other. Directed by Rebecca Heikkinen of Canfield and Tracey Schuler-Vivo of Chaney VPA, it boasts a cast of 70.