2019 San Diego Music Awards Nominees Announced

The SDMAs are back on March 11 -- check out this year's nominees and performers below

It's that time of the year again, local music aficionados -- the San Diego Music Awards are back Monday, March 11, at 7 p.m. at the House of Blues San Diego (1055 5th Ave.) in downtown.

Last year, P.O.D. brought the boom to the awards ceremony, and this year's performances promise to be just as exciting. The 28th annual SDMAs will feature special performances by Java Joe's All-Stars (Jason Mraz; Gregory Page; Billy Galewood, aka Bushwalla; and others), the Redwoods Revue, Vokab Kompany, Veronica May, Ariel Levine, Casey Hensley band and Shane Hall.

Since 1991, the local music awards ceremony has not only recognized the exceptional and diverse talent within the San Diego music community, but it's also generated proceeds to fund the San Diego Music Foundation's Guitars for Schools program.

Get tickets to the show here.

To vote for your favorites, visit this link -- get on it though because voting closes on Feb. 17. Without further delay, here are your 2019 SDMA nominees:

Best Singer-Songwriter

  • Evan Diamond
  • Jessica Lerner
  • Missy Alcazar
  • Jimmy Ruelas
  • Nina Francis
  • Sarah Rogo
  • Shane Hall

Best Jazz

  • Ed Kornhauser
  • Erika Davies
  • Euphoria Brass Band
  • Sue Palmer & Her Motel Swing Orchestra
  • Gilbert Castellanos
  • Joshua White
  • Nathan Hubbard

Best Jazz Album

  • Christopher Hollyday - "Telepathy"
  • Danny Green Trio Plus Strings - "One Day It Will"
  • Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine - "Tasty Tunes"
  • Joe Garrison - "The Broken Jar"
  • Mattson 2 - "A Love Supreme"
  • Montalban Quintet - "Under the River"
  • Peter Sprague String Trio - "Samba Andaluza"

Best Blues

  • Bill Magee Blues Band
  • Casey Hensley
  • Box Car Chief
  • Low Volts
  • Mercedes Moore
  • Robin Henkel
  • Stephanie Brown & the Surrealistics

Best Blues Album

  • Black Market III - "Dashboard Jesus"
  • Blue Largo - "Before the Devil Steals Your Soul"
  • Low Volts - "Roam With You"
  • S. Mathias - "Boxcar Road"
  • Sue Palmer - "Gems Vol. 1"
  • The Wayne Riker Trio - "Blues Breakout"
  • Whitney Shay - "A Woman Rules the World"

Best Country or Americana

  • Blind Mountain Holler
  • Enter the Blue Sky
  • Nancarrow
  • Nathan Raney
  • Sara Petite
  • Stephen El Rey
  • Trouble in the Wind

Best Country or Americana Album

  • Barbwire - "Long Hard Ride"
  • Berkley Hart - "While the Night Is Still Young"
  • Jonny Wagon & the Tennessee Sons - "Feels Good to Be Alive"
  • Nitro Express - "Country Style"
  • Shakedown String Band - "In the Key of OB"
  • The Color Forty Nine - s/t
  • Trouble in the Wind - "Hammer On"

Best Hip Hop/Rap

  • Bloodstone
  • Direkt Message
  • DJ PNutz
  • DND & Rick B
  • Parker Meridien
  • The Microphone Doctors
  • Vokab Company

Best Hip Hop/Rap Album

  • Def Shon - "Preppin' My Time Machine"
  • DreCat - "Made in Daygo"
  • Ill Nicky - "Alto"
  • Parker Meridien - "Twentyfist Street Sessions"
  • Riston Diggs - "Supreme Confidence"
  • Rob $tone - "Young Rob $tone"
  • Tulengua - "Baja Funk"

Best Indie/Alternative

  • Ariel Levine
  • Aviator Stash
  • Coral Bells
  • Dead Feather Moon
  • Imagery Machine
  • The Bassics
  • Wild Wild Wets

Best Indie/Alternative Album

  • Nights Like Thieves - "Sophomore Slump"
  • The Frights - "Hypochondriac"
  • The Gift Machine - "New Tangles"
  • The Gloomies - "Romance"
  • The Silent Comedy - "Enemies Multiply"
  • The Verigolds - "Sea of Zebras"
  • Warsaw - "Wires"

Best Pop

  • Birdy Bardot
  • Creature Canyon
  • Dani Bell & the Tarantist
  • Jara
  • The Mittens
  • Tori Roze & the Hot Mess
  • Well Well Well

Best Pop Album

  • Becca Jay - "Queen of Hearts" EP
  • Corina Rose - "Our Love Is Freedom"
  • Daytrip - s/t
  • Lee Coulter - "Earthlee"
  • Pocket Hole - "Marine Layer" EP
  • Tori Roze & the Hot Mess - "Baggage Claim
"
  • Veronica May - "Teaser"

Best Rock

  • Great Electric Quest
  • The Routine
  • Schizophonics
  • Taken by Canadians
  • The Oxen
  • The Slashes
  • The Strawberry Moons

Best Rock Album

  • Bad Kids - "Pensive"
  • Creature Canyon - "Did You Want That"
  • Electric Mud - "Highway Refugees"
  • Stone Horse - "Gotta Get Back"
  • The Donkeys - "Sun Damaged Youth"
  • The Farmers - "Farmers SD"
  • The Frets - "The Frets" EP

Best World Music

  • B-Side Players
  • Bi-National Mambo Orchestra
  • Hirie
  • Psydecar
  • Tribal Seeds
  • Split Finger
  • Tribal Theory

Best World Music Album

  • Boostive - "Fried Neck Bones"
  • Crucial Blend - "Enough Already"
  • Fluid Foundation - "Sloo Ryde"
  • Marujah - "Bad Hombres Live at Brandos Paradise"
  • Yale Strom's Broken Consort - "Shimmering Lights, Hanukkah Music"
  • The Camarada Tango Quintet - "Tango San Diego"
  • The Amalgamated - "Premium Quality"

Best Local Recording

  • Forest Grove - s/t
  • MC Flow - "Her Highness"
  • Spice Pistols - "Life's A Drag"
  • Finnegan Blue - s/t
  • Dirty Pennies - s/t
  • The Havnauts - "Go for It!"
  • The Tighten Ups - "Tighten It Up"

Best Live Performer

  • Schizophonics
  • Sully & the Souljahs
  • The Creepy Creeps
  • The Redwoods Collective
  • Sure Fire Soul Ensemble
  • The Sleepwalkers
  • Whitney Shay

Best New Artist

  • Babydoll Warriors
  • Julia Sage & the Bad Hombres
  • Miss New Buddah
  • Pocket Hole
  • The Color Forty Nine
  • The Havnauts
  • Tularosa

Artist of the Year

  • Hot Snakes
  • Jason Mraz
  • P.O.D.
  • Redwoods Revue
  • Slightly Stoopid
  • The Frights
  • Whitney Shay

Song of the Year

  • Earthless – "Gifted by the Wind"
  • Hot Snakes – "Six Wave Hold Down"
  • Jason Mraz - "Have It All"
  • P.O.D. - "Listening for the Silence"
  • Slightly Stoopid - "Too Late (Stick Figure Remix)"
  • The Frights - "Over It"
  • The Petty Saints – "Troublemaker"

Album of the Year

  • Earthless - "Black Heaven"
  • Hot Snakes - "Jericho Sirens"
  • Jason Mraz - "Know"
  • Peter Sprague & Randy Phillips - "Sparks and Seeds"
  • P.O.D. - "Circles"
  • Planet B - s/t
  • Slightly Stoopid - "Everyday Life Everyday People"

Rutger Ansley Rosenborg has been an Associate Editor at NBC SoundDiego since 2016. Find out more here, or contact him here.

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