The OUTMUSIC AWARD for OUTSTANDING SUPPORT recognizes exemplary involvement by non-musicians in supporting and furthering the work of LGBT musicians and the OUTMUSIC organization.
The recipient of the 2003 OMA for OUTSTANDING SUPPORT is Chicago-based journalist Gregg Shapiro. We honor Shapiro for his support of LGBT musicians through his widely distributed work in print and radio, for the high-quality of his music criticism and feature writing, and for his energetic championing of LGBT musicians and music organizations, including OUTMUSIC. For the past ten years Shapiro's keen intellect and boundless enthusiasm has served to dramatically increase the visibility and credibility of LGBT musicians nationwide. His work throughout 2002 - and to the present - continues to be fresh, cutting-edge, and supportive.
Shapiro is an on-air contributing co-host and the music director at Windy City Radio (Chicago), as well as contributor to the Life Outside syndicated radio program. He is the music editor at Next Magazine (NYC) and senior entertainment writer at Windy City Times (Chicago). He is also a contributing writer to more than a dozen queer publications from coast to coast and in Canada, including Gay & Lesbian Times (San Diego), OutSmart Magazine (Houston), Between The Lines (Detroit), Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco), OutFront Colorado (Denver), Outlook News (OH) and Philadelphia Gay News, among others. In 1999, Shapiro was inducted into Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. He lives in Chicago with his life-partner, writer and educator Rick Karlin, and their dog Dusty.
