Hoyt to be inducted into SAMMYS Hall of Fame

When he was growing up in Pitcher Hill, Larry Hoyt first heard Gioachino Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” and the kid was duly impressed by the power of music. Soon his attention turned to rock’n’roll.
Over the years, Hoyt’s love of music has manifested itself in many ways – as a  fan; as a performer; as a presenter; as a band manager; as a music writer and reviewer; as an open mic host; as a music video producer; and as a radio disc jockey.
He recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as host of WAER-FM’s Sunday-afternoon show, “Common Threads,” which features a marvelous mix of folk and acoustic recordings.
On “Common Threads,” Hoyt spins tunes by accomplished artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Johnny Cash, but he also programs local performers such as Martin Sexton, Karen Savoca, Loren Barrigar and Ryan Burdick.
Because of Hoyt’s lifelong devotion to the CNY music scene, he’s being inducted into the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame, at a 7 p.m. dinner Upstairs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, 246 S. Franklin St., in downtown Syracuse. Admission costs $30 per person.
Hoyt’s fellow 2023 inductees also include blues singer Carolyn Kelly and Doug Thaler, a member of Ronnie Dio & The Prophets who went on to become a booking agent for artists such as Judas Priest, Bon Jovi, Bruce Hornsby and Rusted Root. Jazz bassist and composer Kevin Dorsey will be recognized as music educator of the year. He has taught for 25 years at Seymour Dual Language Academy in Syracuse.
The longtime vaudeville performer Irving Kaufman, who died in 1976, will be recognized with a Lifetime Achievement award. Kaufman was a versatile vocalist who recorded for eight different labels from 1914 to 1949. In 1925 he waxed a verion of “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” for Columbia.
The SAMMYS Awards show, set for 7 p.m. Friday, March 3 at the Palace Theater in Eastwood, will feature performances by Brownskin Band, the Carolyn Kelly Blues Band, Chuck Schiele’s Quatro, Not Robots and Trauma Cat. Awards for best recordings will be bestowed in 14 categories and there will be several People’s Choice Awards announced. Admission costs $25; syracuseareamusic.com.
At Le Moyne College in the late 1960s, Hoyt chaired the Le Moyne Student Union, presenting concerts on campus.
In the early 1980s, he became associate producer for the cable TV show “Musicuse.” He later produced the Cable Ace Award-winning program, “Variety Tonight” and “JazzBeat” with Frank Malfitano.
In the 1980s, Hoyt managed the local rock-blues band, Eve’s Faces and he wrote concert reviews for the Post-Standard and later went on to write for the Syracuse New Times. He started hosting “Common Threads” at WAER in 1997.
A part-time guitarist and songwriter, Hoyt began playing out at area open mics before forming a series of country-rock duos and groups.
To help promote the 2023 SAMMYS, Hoyt will perform live on the morning TV talk show, “Bridge Street,” at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 2, on WSYR-TV Channel 9.