After several months in limbo, San Diego Music Award promoter Kevin Hellman and the San Diego Music Foundation announced the nominees and performers for the 2017 San Diego Music Awards, which will take place at the House of Blues San Diego on March 21.
This year’s awards will feature performances by Hawaiian reggae-pop sensation Hirie (nominated for Best World Music Album and Song of the Year), the raucously acrobatic Schizophonics (nominated for Best Rock and Best Live Performer) and the glittery psych-rockers the Verigolds (nominated for Best Indie/Alternative Album). The Creepy Creeps (nominated for Best Live Performer), Gilbert Castellanos (nominated for Best Jazz and Artist of the Year) and Steph Johnson (nominated for Best Jazz Album and Artist of the Year) round out the lineup.
The San Diego Music Academy has carefully selected six nominees for each of the 28 different categories -- categories that have expanded from previous years to include (hallelujah) Indie/Alternative as a genre. Speaking of which, you can vote for nominees in each of the genre categories at www.SanDiegoMusicAwards.com starting Jan. 16. Voting will close on Feb. 26, so get your votes in early! Note: Album voting is reserved exclusively for members of the academy.
Now, if this weren't an award ceremony based on merit, I would offer various platitudes like "it's not a competition" or "everyone's a winner here," but it is a competition, which means -- like it or not -- there will be some losers. As such, I’m sure you’re dying to know: What artist received the most nominations? Turns out, it’s a seven-way, well-deserved tie between Blink-182, Pierce the Veil, Andra Day, the Schizophonics, Hirie, Gilbert Castellanos and Steph Johnson -- all of whom have had an incredibly successful year worthy of recognition.
The hard work that all of these San Diego bands -- and the artists who didn’t get nominated this time around -- make us at SoundDiego proud to be a participating sponsor in this year’s awards. So, without further ado, here they are -- your 2017 SDMA nominees:
Best Singer/Songwriter
- Nina Francis
- Lady Rogo
- Sierra West
- Raelee Nikole
- Savannah Philyaw
- Tolan Shaw
Best Country or Americana
- Berkley Hart
- Brawley
- Morgan Leigh Band
- Nancarrow
- Sara Petite
- The Moves Collective
Best Jazz
- Gilbert Castellanos
- Ian Tordella
- Joshua White
- Patrick Yandall
- Peter Sprague
- Allison Adams Tucker
Best Blues
- Chet & the Committee
- Mercedes Moore
- Michele Lundeen
- Robin Henkel
- Whitney Shay
- Tomcat Courtney
Best Hip-Hop/Rap
- Main Flow
- Parker Edison
- South Psycho Cide
- Odessa Kane
- Tall Can and Generik
- Lyrical Groove
Best Indie/Alternative
- Grizzly Business
- Prayers
- Big Bad Buffalo
- Rob Crow's Gloomy Place
- The Bassics
- Wild Wild Wets
Best Pop
- Birdy Bardot
- Dani Bell & the Tarantist
- Pony Death Ride
- Normandie Wilson
- Ki
- Sister Speak
Best Rock
- Amerikan Bear
- Black Market III
- Dead Feather Moon
- Roni Lee
- The Farmers
- Schizophonics
Best World Music
- B-Side Players
- Brogue Wave
- Mariachi Garabaldi
- Quel Bordel
- Todo Mundo
- Tribal Theory
Best New Artist
- Casey Hensley Band
- Elektric Voodoo
- Hexa
- Spitfire Torpedo
- Skyterra
- Spooky Cigarette
Artist of the Year
- Andra Day
- Gilbert Castellanos
- Little Hurricane
- Steph Johnson
- The Redwoods Collective
- Tribal Seeds
Best Live Performer
- Jason Hanna & the Bullfighters
- Joshua White
- Rebecca Jade & the Cold Fact
- Schizophonics
- The Creepy Creeps
- The Little Richards
Best Country or Americana Album
- Country Rockin' Rebels: "Ride Rebel Ride"
- Eve Selis: "See Me With Your Heart"
- Shadowdogs: "Tangerine"
- The Midnight Pine: s/t
- Trouble in the Wind: "Lefty"
- Ypsitucky: "New Old Lady"
Best Jazz Album
- "Danny Green Trio: "Altered Narratives”
- Lori Bell: "Brooklyn Dreaming"
- Sue Palmer: "The Thunderbird Sessions"
- Nathan Hubbard: "Furiously Dreaming"
- Natural Sounds Trio: s/t
- Steph Johnson: "Music Is Art"
Best Blues Album
- Give Me Back My Wig Band: "Big Wigs"
- John Meeks: "On a Sea Darkly"
- The Fremonts: "Alligator"
- Wayne Riker Brotherhood: "Blues Convocation"
- The Holla Pointe Down the Road a Piece"
- Chickenbone Slim: "Gone"
Best Hip Hop/Rap Album
- Bloodstone: "Street Ammunition”
- The Knee Highs: "We Put the Function in Dysfunction”
- Vokab Kompany: "In Good Company”
- Dre Cat: "Californ-IPA”
- Gonjasufi: "Callus”
- Def Shon: "Hypebomb University”
Best Indie/Alternative Album
- Imagery Machine: s/t
- Le Chateau: "Brutalism”
- Mrs Magician: "Bermuda”
- The Verigolds: "For Margaret”
- The Dabbers: "I Am Alien Now”
- Silent: "A Century of Abuse”
Best Pop or Rock Album
- Bit Maps: "You, Me and Dystopia”
- Daddy Issues: s/t
- Mittens: s/t
- The Donkeys: "Midnight Palms”
- The Phantoms: s/t
- The Routine: "Black Tropics”
Best World Music Album
- Doornob Collective: "Standing Tall”
- Dubest: "Live at the Belly Up Tavern”
- Fluid Foundation: s/t
- Hirie: "Wandering Soul”
- Jet West: "Wake Up”
- E.N. Young: "Call on Me”
Best Local Recording
- Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas: "Second Pint”
- Authentic Sellout: "Take Back the Streets”
- Euphoria Brass Band: "Live & Loud”
- Soft Lions: "XOXO”
- Sure Fire Soul Ensemble: "Out on the Coast”
- The Sleepwalkers: "Roots Rockin' With the Sleepwalkers”
Song of the Year
- Blink-182: "She's out of Her Mind"
- Hirie: "Renegade"
- Little Hurricane: "Bad Business"
- Switchfoot: "Float"
- Pierce the Veil: "Circles"
- Slightly Stoopid: "Hold It Down"
Album of the Year
- Andra Day: "Cheers to the Fall"
- Blink-182: "California"
- Cattle Decapitation: "The Anthropocene Extinction
- P.O.D.: "The Awakening"
- Pierce the Veil: "Misadventures"
- Switchfoot: "Where the Light Shines Through"
Rutger Rosenborg was almost a Stanford neuroscientist before he formed Ed Ghost Tucker. He now plays in the Lulls and makes music on his own when he's not writing. Follow his updates on Facebook or contact him directly.
