How Rebecca Autumn Sansom and M the Myth engineered the most inclusive stage in music, the 6th Annual Wavy Awards put the blueprint on the floor at Love’s Club.
In July, West Ward Beans reported that Rebecca Autumn Sansom built The Wavys around a feeling, a room where artists the industry overlooks could walk in and exhale. On Sept. 5, that room opened at Love’s Club in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and the artists inside it did the talking.
The 6th Annual Wavy Awards ran exactly the way it was designed: love, glitter and a little magic. Sansom and co-founder M the Myth opened the night. Shira Gans of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment gave remarks. Goldilocks and Divinity Roxx hosted. Trophies moved from Vocalist of the Year to Album of the Year in front of a crowd that came to watch each other win.
Two years ago, a Wavy was the first industry nod KNoWTe got. The Jersey City rap-rock artist came back in 2026 to perform. “The performance and the night was a dream come true without a doubt,” he said. “The Wavys was the first platform to accept and push my art back when I won for best music video in 2024. So to have the opportunity to come back 2 years later and not just be an attendee, but be part of the night to make it special for others was an honor.” He plans to stay in the community: “I’ll always remember it and will continue to push all things Wavy as I believe in Rebecca’s and M’s vision.”
Music Video of the Year went to Keron Kyle for “Black Crow / Raven,” and the room disarmed him. “The energy is great. The people are great. They are very kind. They’re very considerate,” Kyle said. “It gave genuine support. It gave genuine love. Genuine community camaraderie.” He came in late and felt none of the usual edge. “Super comfortable environment. Not a nerve-wracking, nervous atmosphere at all,” he said. “There were no weird vibes. I never felt ridiculed or judged. It was just an amazing space.”
-Jesediah
At the door, Choy read the same temperature. “The Love’s Club in Bushwick was the place to be this past weekend,” he said. “It was a magical moment, almost something out of fairy land. As I walked in, I was greeted with such warmth and passion as we strut down the red carpet.” He watched people bring their whole selves. “The Wavy Awards creates spaces for independent artists to be who they fully are and don’t have to hide parts of themselves,” Choy said, “and that night we saw all parts of everyone from the fashion to the music to the love that we all had for each other.”
From the stage, Eri Blossom felt a similar appreciation and permission. “What really stood out to me about the Wavys was how open and supportive the community felt,” she said. “There were so many artists with completely different backgrounds, identities, abilities, and creative styles, and I loved seeing how much individuality was genuinely celebrated. Everyone was on their own wavelength, but somehow the whole room still felt connected.” That freed her to show up whole: “That energy made me feel free to bring my own wave to the stage, my Japanese roots, my NYC sound, and all of who I am.”
Performer and Music Video of the Year presenter, Impress, put the city at the center. “To me the Wavys are exactly what New York art is about,” he said. “The diversity and abundance of talent, beauty, culture, fashion, and above all else love is a testament to the fact that the best artists in the world still come from our beautiful city, and from spaces where more people are welcomed than are excluded.”
Support past the trophy
The city co-signed the feeling. Gans framed the difference between naming inclusion and living it. “It comes from this ethos of inclusivity, and so that can be just a philosophy or a value, but to really live it, I think is something different,” she said. She named the machinery behind it. “You have the open mic, you have their ambassador program, and it really isn’t just hey once you arrive we’re gonna recognize you, it’s we’re gonna support you along the way, and I think that’s meaningful.”
Support at the Wavys came with hardware and more. This year the show secured radio play for its winners through media sponsor Pride 365 Radio, a goal Sansom had chased for years. It also gave away its first raffle prize, a package worth more than $700, to nominee Stephanie Mae: four hours of studio time at Carriage City Studios, consulting from Beformer’s Sam Friend and a gift certificate from Brooklyn Vintage.
Back for her second Wavys, Ladibree measured the growth. “The energy that I felt for my first time being at the Wavys to my second time being at the Wavys has just been truly consistent but elevated,” she said. “It feels like a community. It feels like a celebration of authenticity and creativity, and I think we need more of that in a world and in an industry where commoditizing our art and our image is very much the norm.”
She credited the founders directly. “Rebecca and M the Myth did an amazing job again curating such an experience and creating access for artists that truly can be overlooked and misunderstood,” Ladibree said, a platform that “allows artists to be who they are before everybody gets it.” The lyricist concluded with a reminder that everyone in the room should hold near to heart: “It is a big deal. We are a big deal.”
Some fly across the country for it. Michaela Jordan has watched the Wavys from the start. “I’ve been involved with the Wavys since they started, and I gotta say this was the best one,” Jordan said. “This was everything that Rebecca has been trying to build over the years, and it was just so incredible to see everybody there and to see all of this kind of come into fruition. I fly out from LA every year and it’s just a highlight of my year.”
The night pulled in newcomers, too. Michelle Barrera came for the first time and left completely won over. “It was truly a privilege to be at the Wavy Awards this year. I was inspired by the talent, the fashion, the overall vibe of the night,” Barrera said. “It felt really nice to be in a room that was about being true to who you are, in acceptance not only of ourselves, but a thriving community that has been built through the Wavys. I hope that I am invited back next year.”
Chapter 2 for The Wavys
Sansom read the sixth year as a starting line. “Surpassing the 5 year mark of any passion project feels like a new beginning. I kept telling people this is the start of chapter 2 for The Wavys,” she said. “For me and M that means supporting artists through development and creating more opportunities with established partners while building out our own infrastructure. We’ll open up a call for new Wavy Ambassadors and a call for 2027 Wavy Award submissions before the end of the year, so stay close. More Wavy Music news is coming soon. I couldn’t be more proud of this community.”
“Six years of The Wavys is six years of betting on artists before the rest of the world catches up, and we’re just getting started.”
— M the Myth, co-founder
That infrastructure runs on a crew. Sansom credited a core team of Medusa and Torin Rozzelle who were the tech team overseeing the live stream. Jon Harper assembled QLab materials and coordinated the lighting. Advisory board members Jenny Ward and Andrea Jennings played pivotal roles in the production and counseled Sansom through the past year.
In July, Sansom laid out the sequence she wants every winner to climb: the Wavy first, then the Emmy, then the Grammy, Oscar and lastly a Tony. Put a Wavy in front of the EGOT and you get WEGOT. Say it out loud and you hear the promise underneath.
So congratulations to the 2026 class walking out of Love’s Club with an award in hand:
- Yoshi The Talent — Live Performance, “Memories”
- Carly Glenn — Vocalist of the Year
- Dr. Cyn and The Graduates Rise (feat. DJ Pastor Rock) — Song for a Cause, “Be the Teeth”
- Dimitris Nezis — Audience Choice
- Keron Kyle — Music Video of the Year, “Black Crow / Raven”
- Jesediah — New Artist of the Year
- Outer Shapes — Songwriter of the Year
- Matt Thompson — Production of the Year, “Whiplash”
- Kira Metcalf — EP of the Year, “Lessons in Majestic Humiliation”
- Jesediah and Ryan Cassata — Song of the Year, “Blood Is On Your Hands”
- Celeste Krishna — Album of the Year, “The New Room”
The industry tends to catch on late. The Wavys caught on first. WEGOT you. Because we all we got!
Every winner on this list started as an artist somebody bet on early. The Wavys’ Glitter membership, $250 a year, keeps that bet going, funding artist development and the infrastructure behind the stage. Become a sustaining member.
Editor’s note: West Ward Beans Editor-in-Chief James Rashad serves on the board of The Wavys and presented the Audience Choice award at the 2026 ceremony. He conducted the interviews in this report.
