Local Musicians on Fire at SD Music Awards

It was a solid showing at the 24th Annual San Diego Music Awards. Hordes of people meandered into the gates as the sun cast an epic (and epically Instagrammable) sunset over the bay at Humphrey's By the Bay. 

 

SD Music Award veterans the Burning of Rome had a standout showing, taking back-to-back awards for best live band and best alternative album (for their release "Year of the Ox"). Rad enough, amiright?! For some, maybe. But San Diego's need for these musical mavens just can't be satiated. Those deviants of death pop came back for a third win when SoundDiego's own Dita Quinones presented them with the second-to-last award of the night, Song of the Year, for their "God of Small Things" composition. Play on, troubadors. Play on.

 

Jason Mraz was the evening's runner-up, winning both Best Music Video and Artist of the Year. Since he's on tour, he had to come in via the big screen to say a big ol' gracias to us all. No, no. Thank you, Jason.

 

Also, do we know how to pick 'em, or what?! The headliners for our SoundDiego LIVE Halloween Party at the Office on Oct. 31 nabbed the Best Alternative award -- huzzah, Dead Feather Moon! (Get on the guest list HERE for the free party)

 

Boy wonder Cody Lovaas scored Best New Artist, beating out Prayers and Triumph of the Wild, among others. In his words, "This is sick!" We agree. Triumph of the Wild weren't left out to freeze, however. The coo-voiced crew bagged Best Local Recording for their self-titled release.

 

As the night waned on, and the booze flowed in, the crowd shifted from active listening to active involvement, shouting out their preferred nominees. They couldn't stay in their seats as band after band took the stage -- a tribute to the SD music scene itself. The man, the myth, the 2014 SD Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award winner Tomcat Courtney, who first brought his bluesy tunes to SD back in '72, purred the breakfast-in-bed blues. Other performers took home the metal as well, including the Donkeys (Best Rock Album), Robin Henkel (Best Blues) and the Midnight Pine (Best Americana Album, "Buried"). The night's final winners were Little Hurricane, whose "Gold Fever" nabbed the Album of the Year award, handed out by SoundDiego host Daye Salani.

 

We laughed, we drank, we mispronounced a few names ("Tundo Mundo," anyone?), and we left Humphrey's by the Bay fat and happy with musical love. 

 

 

Tribal Seeds, "Representing"

 

Cody Lovaas

 

The Paragraphs

 

Schitzophonics

 

Trouble in the Wind

 

Cash'd Out

 

Robin Henkel

 

Nathan Hubbard, "Encinitas and Everything After"

 

Gayle Skidmore, "Sleeping Bear"

 

Triumph of the Wild, "Triumph of the Wild"

 

Gilbert Casellanos

 

Rebecca Jade & the Cold Fact, "Rebecca Jade & the Cold Fact"

 

Nicky Venus

 

Dead Feather Moon

 

Sierra West

 

DJ Artistic

 

The Donkeys, "Ride the Black Wave"

 

Eukaryst, "Dreams in the Witch House"

 

Odessa Kane

 

The Burning of Rome

 

The Burning of Rome, "Year of the Ox"

 

Lyrical Groove, "Spoken Soul"

 

The Midnight Pine, "Buried"

 

Jason Mraz, "Love Someone"

 

Todo Mundo

 

Jason Mraz

 

The Burning of Rome, "God of Small Things"

 

Little Hurricane, "Gold Fever"