And the SD Music Award Nominees Are ...

By Robert Sayler

| Monday, Aug 8, 2011 | Updated 2:04 PM PDT

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Humphreys Concerts by the Bay

As was the case last year, Humphreys' 1,400 seat outdoor theater, located right on the San Diego Bay, will be the site of the 2011 San Diego Music Awards.

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Officials announced the 21st San Diego Music Awards nominees in Jujne-- and there were some big names among the honorees, including Jason Mraz, Slightly Stoopid, Switchfoot, Augustana, Unwritten Law and the Penetrators.

The festivities take place on tonight at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay; tickets are still available. Fans votedon 23 of the 27 categories until July 25 at 5 p.m. The other categories -- Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year -- were reserved for the member of the San Diego Music Academy

In addition to the finding out who the winners are tonight, music fans can look forward to performances by the Silent Comedy (check out our interview with Joshua Zimmerman), Wavves, Little Hurricane, Cuckoo Chaos, Gilbert Castellanos, Dynamite Walls (check out our interview with Tom Pritchard), Candye Kane & Sue Palmer along with Life Time Achievement winners The Penetrators.

You might be asking, Who are the Penetrators? Well this year they will be the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award; the band is best known as one of the original punk bands in San Diego. Founded by frontman Gary Heffern, bassist Chris Sullivan, guitarist Scott Harrington and drummer Dan McLain, the band got their first big gig opening for the Ramones at SDSU. Ultimately they only released an EP, Walk the Beat, and one LP, A Sweet Kiss From Mommy. Despite having a limited catalogue, the Penetrators are considered one of the most influential bands in San Diego, especially considering that all of the band members stayed involved in the local music scene even after the band disbanded.

"It's our 21st year and I'm looking forward to being back at Humphreys," said Kevin Hellman, who is the president of the San Diego Music Foundation and also the publisher of San Diego CityBeat. "I'm looking forward to seeing our Lifetime nominees, the Penetrators, who are a band I kind of grew up with, a band that inspired me to get into this crazy business."

Some of the categories that will elicit the most interest are (click here for a full list of nominees):

Artist of the Year