photo: Betsy Annas

I am thrilled to announce that I have received seven nominations for the Los Angeles Press Club‘s 2026 Southern California Journalism Awards, including Entertainment Journalist of the Year! This nomination recognizes my work for Licorice Pizza Records, FLOOD, Gold Derby, Music Connection, and other outlets, as well as for Lyndsanity.

Three of my other nominations are for this very website, the completely independent Lyndsanity.com — including best Blog, Individual.

In the Audio Journalism category, my Lyndsanity interview with the Church’s Steve Kilbey is also up for best Personality Profile/interview, Entertainment Personalities (Over 10 Minutes) — we talked for well over 10 minutes, of course! — and in the Online category, my adorable and heart-warming interview with Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill is up for best Music Feature, Groups.

One of my favorite articles of my career, my Gorillaz cover story for FLOOD, is up for best Music Feature in the Magazines category, and I’ve also received two Online category nominations for my work with Gold Derby: best Music Feature, Solo Artists for my Sean Lennon interview, and best Entertainment Commentary, Arts for a piece breaking down my 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot, which was immense fun to write.

For the first time in a while, I am not competing against myself in any categories! But I am proud to be competing against so many colleagues I admire, and I would be happy to lose to any of them. As they say in the business, it’s an honor just to be nominated. And it really, truly is.

Congratulations to my worthy fellow nominees; I’m looking forward to celebrating with you all at the ceremony on June 28. Click here for the full list of categories, and scroll down for the list of my nominations.

ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Lyndsanity, Licorice Pizza Records, FLOOD, Gold Derby, Music Connection

ONLINE: BLOG, INDIVIDUAL
Lyndsanity

MAGAZINES: MUSIC FEATURE
FLOOD Magazine, “The House Gorillaz Built”

AUDIO JOURNALISM: PERSONALITY PROFILE/INTERVIEW, ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITIES (OVER 10 MINUTES)
Lyndsanity, “The unguarded moments: The Church’s Steve Kilbey opens up about 45-year career, loveless fascinations with Duran Duran and record label ‘f***ing idiots and philistines,’ and more”

ONLINE: MUSIC FEATURE, SOLO ARTISTS
Gold Derby, “Sean Ono Lennon on his ‘Mind Games’ Grammy nomination and stewarding his family’s legacy: ‘I’m trying to do good by my own father’”

ONLINE: MUSIC FEATURE, GROUPS
Lyndsanity, “How powerpop power couple Vicki Peterson & John Cowsill’s real-life romance was predicted by teenage fan-fiction: ‘You’re either going to find this adorable, or you’re going to run screaming into the night’”

ONLINE: ENTERTAINMENT COMMENTARY, ARTS
Gold Derby, “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2025: Our voter’s unfiltered official ballot”

As tours by high-profile pop artists like Post Malone, Meghan Trainor, and the Pussycat Dolls get scaled back or canceled altogether, some industry insiders are blaming “blue dot fever,” the trend of unsold seats showing up on ticket platforms (thus signaling weaker demand).

While some performers cite production logistics or personal/health issues for their canceled concerts, others, like the Pussycat Dolls, have admitted or at least implied that low ticket sales are indeed to blame.

I joined FOX 5 New York this week to discuss how rising touring costs, over-ambitious arena bookings, and the simple fact that fewer fans are willing or able to shell out big bucks in this economy as reasons for this ticket-sales decline… and what all this might mean for the music industry in general.

On the pre-show red carpet (photo: Alison Martino)

I am thrilled to announce that this here site, Lyndsanity.com, just took home third prize for Entertainment Blog by an Individual Not Tied to an Organization at the Los Angeles Press Club‘s 18th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards!

As a journalist who went totally independent exactly two years ago, in December 2023, and has been working hard to build the Lyndsanity brand ever since, just being nominated in this stacked category meant so much to me.

I also won second prize for Music Feature, Individual Artists for my Gold Derby Q&A with Sean Ono Lennon about his labor-of-love boxed set for his father’s once-misunderstood Mind Games album, and third prize for Best Arts or Entertainment Regular Podcast for a special Totally ‘80s episode about pop queen Madonna’s punk roots.

Presenting with KTLA’s Melvin Robert (photo: Chris Willman)

But truly, the biggest win for me was being asked to present onstage alongside Emmy- and L.A. Press Club award-winning KTLA journalist Melvin Robert, in front of an audience in the Millennium Biltmore Hotel ballroom that included Paul Anka, Henry Winkler, Marlee Matlin, Richard Marx & Daisy Fuentes, Seth Rogen & Lauren Miller, Kasi Lemmons, Larry Mantle, and so many of my talented, respected peers.

Thank you, L.A. Press Club; I am beyond grateful and honored. And congratulations to my fellow nominees and honorees!

Lyndsey Parker at the NAEJ Awards in 2024.

I am delighted to announce that I have been nominated in five categories for the Los Angeles Press Club’s 18th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards!

Two of my nominations are for Entertainment Blog by an Individual Not Tied to an Organization for this very website, Lyndsanity, and for Online Journalist of the Year — Independent. As a journalist who went totally indie in December 2023 and has been toiling tirelessly to build the Lyndsanity brand ever since, I am at a rare loss for words to describe how much this recognition means to me. Thank you, L.A. Press Club. I feel so grateful and honored.

My other three nominations are for freelance projects about artists that are dear and near to my heart: a special Totally ‘80s podcast about my pop queen Madonna’s punk origins; an interview with post-punk legends Simple Minds about their resurgence and the 40th anniversary of their bittersweet Breakfast Club breakthrough; and a Q&A with Sean Ono Lennon about his Grammy-winning, labor-of-love boxed set for his father’s once-misunderstood Mind Games album.

Congratulations to my many esteemed colleagues who also received much-deserved nominations — I’m looking forward to celebrating with and rooting for all of you at the ceremony, which will take place on Sunday, Dec. 7 at Downtown L.A.’s historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

Click here for the full list of 2025 NAEJ categories, and scroll down for the list of my nominations!

ONLINE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Independent/Freelance

ENTERTAINMENT BLOG BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP NOT TIED TO AN ORGANIZATION
Lyndsanity.com

BEST ARTS OR ENTERTAINMENT REGULAR PODCAST
The Totally 80s Podcast, “Desperately Seeking: Madonna’s Punk Roots”

MUSIC FEATURE, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS
Gold Derby, “Sean Ono Lennon on his ‘Mind Games’ Grammy nomination and stewarding his family’s legacy: ‘I’m trying to do good by my own father’”

MUSIC FEATURE, GROUP/INDUSTRY ARTISTS
 Gold Derby, “40 years later, Simple Minds still don’t regret
turning down ‘Breakfast Club’ song publishing: ‘Just look what we got out of it’”

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A post shared by Lyndsey Parker (@lyndseyparker)

My wins span across work I did for FLOOD magazine, Totally ’80s, and this here site, Lyndsanity… but most excitingly, my big first-place win was for Independent/Freelance Online Journalist of the Year!

Many thanks to the L.A. Press Club for the recognition, and for the lovely event held at Downtown Los Angeles’s Millennium Biltmore Hotel during a tough weekend when we journalists all really needed to come together. Congratulations to all of my worthy colleagues who also received awards and nominations.

Scroll down for links to my winning entries!

ONLINE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – FIRST PLACE
Independent/Freelance
Judges’ comment: With her extensive interviews with pop music stars and absorbing pieces
about pop culture for her “Lyndsanity” website, Parker is a music culture aficionado who
deserves this award recognition.

ONLINE, MUSIC FEATURE - FIRST PLACE
FLOOD Magazine, “Standing in Front of Poseur: Redd Kross’s Guide to Lost Los Angeles”
Judges’ comment: Lyndsey Parker’s tour-de-force through the venues of California through the eyes of Redd Kross counterculture is the scum atop the ocean amid a Pacific Breeze. It rocks America.

ONLINE, THEATER/PERFORMING ARTS FEATURE – SECOND PLACE
Lyndsanity, “Andy Prieboy breaks 25-year silence on cult-classic Axl Rose musical: ‘If anything in my life was like Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile,’ it was ‘White Trash Wins Lotto’”

AUDIO JOURNALISM, REGULAR PODCAST – THIRD PLACE
The Totally 80s Podcast, “Desperately Seeking: Madonna’s Punk Roots”

Five of these nominations are for articles published on this very website, the completely independent Lyndsanity.com, which means a lot to me. Three nominations, including Best Anchor/Host, are for the special Totally ‘80s podcast episode “Desperately Seeking: Madonna’s Punk Roots,” featuring Laura Jane Grace and ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ director Susan Seidelman. And that one means a lot to me as a lifelong Madonna superfan.

My various nominations are also for articles about subjects near and dear to my heart, like Redd Kross, the Runaways’ Jackie Fuchs, Andy Prieboy’s ‘White Trash Wins Lotto’ musical, the long-lost 1979 music video that Micky Dolenz directed for Sparks’s disco protégé Noel, and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, a fellow Valley Girl and Los Angeles’s alt-rock ambassador.

I can’t win all 11 awards, because in one of the categories, Online Music Feature, I’m actually nominated three times, competing against myself! But as they say in the business, it’s an honor just to be nominated. And it really, truly is. Congratulations to my worthy colleagues who also received nominations; I’m looking forward to celebrating with you all at the ceremony at Downtown L.A.’s Millennium Biltmore Hotel on June 22! Click here for the full list of categories, and scroll down for the list of my nominations.

ONLINE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Independent/Freelance

MAGAZINES, MUSIC FEATURE
ONLINE, MUSIC FEATURE
FLOOD Magazine, “Standing in Front of Poseur: Redd Kross’s Guide to Lost Los Angeles”

AUDIO JOURNALISM, ANCHOR/HOST
AUDIO JOURNALISM, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTING 
AUDIO JOURNALISM, REGULAR PODCAST
The Totally 80s Podcast, “Desperately Seeking: Madonna’s Punk Roots”

ONLINE, NEWS FEATURE, MUSIC/CULTURE/PERFORMING ARTS RELATED
 Lyndsanity, “Jackie Fuchs is a winner at the game of life: How the former Runaway-turned-board game creator rewrote the rules”

ONLINE, MUSIC FEATURE
ONLINE, THEATER/PERFORMING ARTS FEATURE
Lyndsanity, “Andy Prieboy breaks 25-year silence on cult-classic Axl Rose musical: ‘If anything in my life was like Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile,’ it was ‘White Trash Wins Lotto’”

ONLINE, MUSIC FEATURE
Lyndsanity, ”Micky Dolenz on directing long-lost ‘Dancing Is Dangerous’ video for Sparks protégé Noël: ‘It’s pretty weird, huh?’”

ONLINE, PERSONALITY PROFILE, BUSINESS/GOVERNMENT/SOCIETY PERSONALITIES
 Lyndsanity, “Music for the masses: How Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez became L.A.’s alt-rock ambassador”

A short passage from the interview is excerpted below. Read my entire Music Book Club Q&A HERE!

My wins span across work I did in 2023 and 2024 for Totally ’80s, Yahoo Entertainment, and most excitingly, this here site, Lyndsanity. Scroll down for all of my winning entries.

Many thanks to the L.A. Press Club for the recognition, and congratulations to all of my worthy colleagues who also received awards and nominations.

FIRST PLACE: Anchor/Host
Totally ‘80s Podcast
Judges’ comment: Lyndsey’s passion for this decade is clear in her energy and charisma she establishes for herself as the host and the rapport she establishes with her guests.

FIRST PLACE: Theater Feature
Lyndsanity, Andy Prieboy breaks 25-year silence on cult-classic Axl Rose musical: “If anything in my life was like Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile,’ it was ‘White Trash Wins Lotto’”
Judges’ comment: This insightful, passionate interview/feature is a revelation about a brilliant yet doomed work of musical theater — one that should have been a Broadway Mega-Hit.

FIRST PLACE: Entertainment Feature
Yahoo Entertainment, How ‘The Lost Boys’ sexy saxophonist Tim Cappello ended up in that ‘greased-up, hip-popping, jumping-around, ultra sort of balls-out’ concert scene’
Judges’ comment: A deep-dive into a niche pop culture moment that gives new insight into a cult classic; the epitome of engaging entertainment journalism.

SECOND PLACE: One-on-One Interview, Other Arts Personalities
Totally ’80s, ‘The Legacy of George Michael with Simon Napier-Bell’

SECOND PLACE: Personality Profile, Music Personalities:
Yahoo Entertainment, ‘PiL’s John Lydon on caring for late wife in final stages of Alzheimer’s: ‘She really never forgot me. Not ever. Not once.’

SECOND PLACE: Personality Profile, Performing & Other Arts
Yahoo Entertainment, Trailblazing ‘groupie feminist’ Pamela Des Barres at 75: ‘I still get called a slut’