The Texas Rangers aren’t the only winning game in town. Here at the Weekly, it’s the beginning of Music Awards season!
During the voting phase for Best Of 2023 in August, we asked you to nominate businesses and people in various categories, including local music, and you did not disappoint. When Best Of 2023 hit the stands in late September, 110 winners across 22 categories won Readers’ Choice Top 5 awards. Along with being able to say that they won a Best Of 2023 award, these folks are advancing to the Music Awards 2023 ballot. Congrats!
But wait, there’s more. Last year, we left it all in the readers’ hands. This year, we decided to go bigger.
In late October, we assembled a committee that included a crack team of our own music writers, local podcasters, venue owners, and other local music authorities to expand the #FWWMA23 ballot beyond the readers’ choice from Best Of. It wasn’t an easy task. Our music-loving audience really got it right this year, so expanding was a real head-scratcher. (Thanks, readers!)
Fueled by chips, salsa, tamales, and several rounds of Margaritas in the back room of Muy Frio Margaritas (3613 W Vickery Blvd, Ste 109, Fort Worth, 817-238-3386), we upped the number of nominees in each category, added a few more categories, and managed to put together one of the best ballots to date.
MUSIC AWARDS 2023 NOMINEES
Album
The nominees are “Cusswords” by The Nancys, “Doppelgänger” by Broke String Burnett, “I Can Dream You” by Matt Tedder, “SEA/SONS” by Abraham Alexander, “Sing Along” by Denver Williams & The Gas Money, “Summer Suite” by Dave Cave, and “Watch Me Burn” by The Troumatics.
Americana / Roots Band
The nominees are Broke String Burnett, Cut Throat Finches, Denver Williams & The Gas Money, Grady Spencer & The Work, Keegan McInroe, Late to the Station, and September Moon.
Avante Garde / Experimental Band
The nominees are Genini, Goisagi, The Go-Go Rillas, BLKrKRT (Phil Ford), The Liquid Sound Company, and The Rage Out Arkestra.
Bassist
The nominees are Lee Allen (One-Eyed Monsters), Andy Boyd (Freeze Sucka), Marcus Gonzales (Royal Sons), Dylan Kain (Novakain), Kris Luther (Arenda Light), Jacob Martinez (Broke String Burnett), and Joe Tacke (Mean Motor Scooter).
Blues Band
The nominees are Aurora Bleu, Dr. Wu’s Texas Blues Project, Frenchie’s Blues Destroyers, Micheal Lee, Love Shack Band, Matt Tedder, and Texas Scratch.
Country Band
The nominees are Chasing Texas, Cory Cross Band, Holy Moly, Jesse Jennings Band, Squeezebox Bandits, Seth Ward & The Silence, and Summer Dean.
DJ Artist
The nominees are Alkemyst, CV Fields, DJ DataBass, DJ Dogstyle, DJ Soft Cherry, DJ Yo Jimbo, and Reckless 1.
Drummer
The nominees are John Bereuter (Novakain), Ian Brothers (Ayden Trammel & The Forty Stories), Chris Davis (The Grae), Eddie Dunlap (The Rage Out Arkestra), Matt Mabe (Arenda Light), Kyle Parker (Rewind the Sun), and John Paul Thomas (Broke String Burnett).
Folk Act
The nominees are Ah Pook the Destroyer, Jack Barksdale, Jacob Furr Band, Monks of Symbiosis, The Shameless Boohoos, Simon Flory, and Tipps & Obermiller.
Guitarist
The nominees are Chad Beck (Royal Sons), Rowdy Carter (Arenda Light), Kyle Kain (Novakain), Cooper Kern (Rewind the Sun), Dustin Massey, Henry Sepulveda III (Broke String Burnett), and Denver Williams (The Gas Money).
Hip-Hop Artist
The nominees are 88 Killa, ItsErnie, J/O/E, JaeBoy, Lou CharLe$, SageMode Wrex, and Todd Faroe.
Keyboardist
The nominees are Mandy Hand (Big Heaven), Sam Jones (Mike Ryan Band), Andrew O’Brian (Andrew, Dear), Justin Pate (Dirty Pool), Calan Rawl (Broke String Burnett), Katie Robertson, and Nolan Ryan Robertson (The Nancys).
Metal Band
The nominees are Iron Jaw, Life of Scars, One-Eyed Monsters, Ox Combine, Since My Beloved, Stone Machine Electric, and Within Chaos.
New Band
The nominees are The Flying Beets, Generational Wealth, Morningbuzz, One-Eyed Monsters, Paint Trails, Sarah Savage, and Sleepy Atlantis.
Pop Act
The nominees are Amanda Victoria, Averi Burk, Big Heaven, Hayden Miller, Phantomelo, Simone Nicole, and Yokyo.
Producer
The nominees are Blake Barker, Clint Niosi, Rodney Parker, Jordan Richardson, Joe Tacke, Taylor Tatsch, and Nick Tittle.
Punk Band
The nominees are A Dangerous Affair, The Dangits, Hotcake Hand Grenade, The Me-Thinks, Mean Motor Scooter, Phorids, and Take Away Monday.
R&B / Soul Group
The nominees are 4 Ya Soul, Abraham Alexander, Andrew.Dear, BenCJones, Cotinga, Kompany, and Retrophonics.
Regional Act
The nominees are Brave Little Howl, Flickerstick, Fugitive, Lorelei K, Raised Right Men, Texas Flood, and The Wee-Beasties.
Rock Band
The nominees are Arenda Light, Celestial L’Amour, Freeze Sucka, Novakain, Rewind the Sun, Royal Sons, and The Unlikely Candidates.
Song
The nominated songs are “Fever Pitch” by Itchy Richie & The Burnin’ Sensations, “Have to Ask My Lawyer” by Jace!, “I Don’t Want You” by LaTasha Lee, “Key Lime Pie” by Denver Williams & The Gas Money, “Moonshine” by Jesse Jennings Band, “Poison Summer” by Cameron Smith, and “The Wolf King” by Iron Jaw.
Sound Engineer
The nominees are Clay Anderson, Blake Barker, Andre Edmondson, Brian Garcia, Joshua Jones, Mark Randall, and Peter Weirenga.
Tejano Act
The nominees are Carolina Imperial, Latin Express, Monica Saldivar, Squeezebox Bandits, Tejano Outlaw Band, and Tejas Brothers.
Tribute Band
The nominees are Chasing Rent, The Dick Beldings, Far Beyond Drunk, Hazard County, Legacy 4, Poo Live Crew, and Velvet Love Box.
Video
The nominated videos are “Divine” by Simone Nicole, “Key Lime Pie” by Denver Williams & The Gas Money, “Lost in a Memory” by Joe Savage, “New Skies” by Morningbuzz, “Old Road” by Keegan McInroe, “Pyromancer” by Iron Jaw, and “What You Though” by 88 Killa ft Lina Mami.
Female Vocalist
The nominees are Averi Burk, Gabrielle Douglas (The Cush), Celestial L’Amour, Njia Martin (Continga), Gabby Minton, Simone Nicole, and Amanda Victoria.
Male Vocalist
The nominees are Brandon Burnett (Broke String Burnett), Jacob Furr, Dylan Kain (Novakain), Max Kusin (The Grae), Todd Pack (Iron Jaw), Blake Parish (Royal Sons), and Rob Redwine (The Roses).
Open-Mic Night
The nominees are The Cicada (Open-Mic with Tommy Luke), Dirty Water Saloon (Pickin’ Round the Campfire), Finn MacCool’s (Happ Day Humpy Hour with Joe Gosh), McFly’s Pub (Open-Mic Night), Panther Island Brewing (Pickers Night), The Post at River East (Open-Mic with Cameron Smith), and Scat Jazz Lounge (Black Dog Jam).
Music Club
The nominees are Caves Lounge, The Cicada, Growl, Magnolia Motor Lounge, The Post at River East, Tulips FTW, and Twilite Lounge.
Music Venue
The nominees are Arlington Music Hall, Billy Bob’s Texas, Haltom Theater, Lola’s Fort Worth, Ridglea Theater, Tannehill’s Tavern & Music Hall, and The Warehouse.
In Memoriam
At our 2023 Music Awards Ceremony, which will be sometime in December, we will honor all the nominees and winners in the categories above. We would also like to honor those that we’ve lost in 2023. To that end, we’ve included a write-in field at the end of the ballot. Please use it to inform us of anyone in the local music scene who has passed away since December 2022. Be sure to include some details about the person.
Readers, are you ready to vote?
Go to FWWeekly.com/Music-Awards-Ballot-2023 and complete a ballot by midnight Thu, Nov 30. You must vote in at least ten categories for your ballot to count, and it’s limited to one ballot per person.
Nominees, this part is for you!
To campaign for votes, simply use the art above and below on social media and invite your family, fans, followers, and friends to vote for you at FWWeekly.com/music-awards-ballot-2023 by Thu, Nov 30. (If you need help writing your post, please email Jennifer@fwweekly.com.)
As for information on official showcase events in November and the awards ceremony in December, you’ll just have to stay tuned!
