Sufjan Stevens has taken home the first New Pantheon Award for his 2005 album, “Illinois.” Stevens beat out nine other finalists for the $5,000 prize, which aims to continue the mission of the now-defunct Shortlist Prize in recognizing noteworthy albums that have sold less than 500,000 copies in the United States.
In lieu of an actual ceremony, the winner was revealed on the New Pantheon Web site this morning (March 31). The honor was originally scheduled to be presented Feb. 6 in Los Angeles but was then bumped to a March date that never materialized due to unexplained “logistical reasons.”
Stevens was chosen by a panel of nominators that included Dave Matthews, Beck, Ric Ocasek, Elton John, Garbage’s Shirley Manson and Keith Urban.
Source billboard.com.
