New England will receive the Legend Award at this year’s seventh annual Limelight Magazine Music Awards ceremony that will take place at the Spire Center for Performing Arts in Plymouth, Mass, on Saturday, March 21, 2015.

Hailing from Boston, Mass., New England is a four-piece rock band that features John Fannon (guitar and vocals), Hirsh Gardner (drums and vocals), Gary Shea (bass), and Jimmy Waldo (keyboards and vocals). The band broke out of the local music scene in 1979 with the release of their self-titled debut album, New England, on Infinity/MCA Records. It was produced by Mike Stone and Paul Stanley of KISS and contained the Top 40 single “Don’t Ever Wanna Lose Ya.”

After touring extensively throughout most of 1979, they released their second album Explorer Suite in 1980 and their third album Waking Wild in 1981. The band also spent a lot of time on the road, touring with bands such as AC/DC, Journey, Kiss, Rush, among others. They eventually broke up due to a lack of support from their record label.

While New England reunited for a few short sets since then, they performed their first full length concert since 1983 at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass., on August 15, 2014. They are now gearing up for the release of their first new album in over 30 years and are ready to start a new chapter in their career.

“We’re really excited to present this special award to New England this year,” said Jay Kenney, who co-founded Limelight Magazine in October 2006. “I had the opportunity to see New England perform live at their reunion concert last summer. People came from all over the United States and the rest of the world to see them. They are a talented band who will finally be recognized for their stellar musicianship and great songwriting skills.”

The Legend Award is presented annually to a band or musician from New England who has been around for at least 25 years and is still going strong today. Past recipients of this award include Extreme (2014), BOSTON (2013), The Fools (2012) and MASS (2011).

The Limelight Magazine Music Awards honors bands and musicians from New England who were selected by readers of the magazine in an online poll. This year’s event will be hosted by singer-songwriter Ashley Jordan, of Harvard, Mass. Performers scheduled to appear include Blue Cat Groove, Cardboard Ox, Cold Engines, Christa Gniadek, Jenna Lotti, Most Dangerous Men Alive, Seth Newton and Ilene Springer.

The Spire Center for Performing Arts is located at 25 ½ Court Street in Plymouth. The venue has a full bar and homemade goodies will be available for sale.

Tickets for the awards show are $10.50 in advance and $13 day of show. They can be purchased online HERE.