Although he didn't get to accept it at a scrapped ceremony, critical darling Sufjan Stevens garnered the New Pantheon Award today, besting a field of indie heavyweights for the $5,000 prize.

Sufjan Stevens' Illinois

Stevens received the award for his 2005 album Illinois, the second of his expansive concept pieces focused on a US state. He beat out a field of 10 finalists that included Fiona Apple, Death Cab for Cutie, M.I.A., Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, Bloc Party, The Decemberists, Kings of Leon, and Antony and the Johnsons.

The news was announced on the New Pantheon Web site instead of at a previously planned concert ceremony in Los Angeles. New Pantheon founder Tom Sarig said at the time that the ceremony would occur in March but said in a statement today that it didn't materialize due to unexplained "logistical reasons."

"It's our first year for the New Pantheon, and our intention has always been, and will continue to be, to foster a completely independent, totally organic environment where creative people can recognize the achievements of their peers, while helping further expose the musical leading lights of the past year to a wider audience," Sarig said.

The New Pantheon prize stepped into the void left by the acclaimed Shortlist Prize, which died due to the infighting between its creators, Sarig and Greg Spotts. Sarig put together the New Pantheon with an almost identical cast and structure as its predecessor.

The award recognizes noteworthy albums that have sold fewer than 500,000 copies in the US.

Ninety-one initial nominations for prize the were announced in December, and 10 finalists were announced in January, as selected by a panel that included Beck, John Legend, Ric Ocasek of the Cars, Elton John, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots, Elijah Wood, Margaret Cho, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, Suzanne Vega, Dave Matthews, Keith Urban, and Adam Brody and Josh Schwartz from The OC, the SoCal soap opera known for featuring the music of emerging indie bands in its show.

TV on the Radio's Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes landed the 2004 Shortlist Prize.

Stevens has only one performance scheduled this year. He is set to play at the Sasquatch Festival in George, Washington, in late May.