Austin Music Awards Reveals 2019 Lineup

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Austin Music Awards have announced their 2019 lineup today for the Feb. 27 event happening at ACL Live.

Tickets are now available for the upcoming event, the 37th annual music awards. For more than 30 years, the Austin Music Awards has recognized the accomplishments of local bands and musicians by celebrating them at an annual event that is quintessentially Austin. The event reflects the city's outstanding live music achievements of the previous year as voted on by Austin Chronicle readers in the annual Music Poll, officials explained.

The awards ceremony will take place at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on Wednesday, Feb. 27, with proceeds benefiting the SIMS Foundation and HAAM. Tickets for the event are available now at acl-live.com and austinmusicawards.org.

Legendary performers, guests, and presenters such as Robert Plant, Fiona Apple, Chrissie Hynde, Fab 5 Freddy, Terry Allen, Blondie, Bruce Springsteen, and Pete Townshend have all taken the stage at the Austin Music Awards over the years. It's a tradition now reaching its 36th year, during which Austin musicianship for which the city is known the world over is celebrated.

This year’s roster is just as impressive, featuring genre-spanning talent that includes singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan, Bob Dylan’s son most known for his years as frontman for rock band The Wallflowers; John Doe, co-founder of LA punk band X, whose musical compositions span rock, punk, country, and folk; buzzworthy Austin-based psychedelic soul outfit Black Pumas; Tomar Williams from soul group Tomar & the FC’s; rockabilly and country music artist Rosie Flores; the foremost provocateur of tango in Austin, Glover Gill, of Glovertango; Jon Dee Graham, former member of the True Believers with Alejandro Escovedo and three-time Austin Music Hall of Fame inductee; Tosca, the tango orchestra comprised of various Austin-based musicians; Austin’s youthful soul, funk, blues, and jazz outfit The Peterson Brothers; India-born, Austin-based rapper Abhi the Nomad on the cusp of releasing his debut album, Marbled; and the renowned DJ Mel, recognized as “Obama’s DJ” after performing at the 57th Presidential Inauguration. Additionally, there will be a tribute to the late MC Overlord, known as Austin’s hip-hop pioneer. Donnell Robison, aka MC Overlord, was the recipient of nine Austin Music Awards throughout his career and passed away in 2018 at age 49. His legacy will be honored at this year’s event via a special tribute by Smackola and DJ Crash of Dirty Wormz, Tee Double, Traygod Tha MC, Bavu Blakes of Hip-Hop Hump Day, the MC Overlord Collective, and Grooveline Horns.

For good measure, the AMAs will announce a special guest performance during the event.

The full list of artists performing at the 2019 Austin Music Awards can also be found below.

FULL 2019 AUSTIN MUSIC AWARDS PERFORMANCE LINEUP:
Jakob Dylan
John Doe
Black Pumas
Tomar Williams
Rosie Flores
Glover Gill
Jon Dee Graham
Tosca
The Peterson Brothers
DJ Mel
Abhi the Nomad

There also will be a special tribute to MC Overlord with Smackola and DJ Crash of Dirty Wormz, Tee Double, Traygod Tha MC, Bavu Blakes of Hip-Hop Hump Day the MC Overlord Collective and Grooveline Horns. Ahead of the event, the City of Austin has proclaimed Feb. 27 as Austin Music Awards Day to honor the continued success and significance of the awards.

"What has always truly and uniquely defined the Austin music scene is the work those in it put in. More than critics, industry honchos, scene makers, or even music fans, so many musicians work so hard in this extraordinary community to impress the audience they regard as the most important — other musicians," said Louis Black, co-founder of The Austin Chronicle, SXSW, and the Austin Music Awards, in a prepared statement. "Once a year, the community comes together to honor our own at the Austin Music Awards and to honor the winners of The Austin Chronicle Music Poll. It is a great night, a true gathering of talent, a reunion and homecoming, and a celebration. And then, because of who we are and what we do, we get up the next morning and get back to work."

The Austin Music Awards will celebrate the winners from The Austin Chronicle Music Poll, managed by the locally owned and operated alternative newsweekly that reflects the heart and soul of Austin, Texas. The awards will reveal the winners for 52 different categories, including winners of “Best of the Year” categories for Austin band, musician, song, album, and best new band. Other winners include “Best Performing Band” in a variety of genres and “Best Austin Musician” selections, including the categories of female and male vocalist, guitar player, bass player, keyboards, strings, horns, other instrument, and the “Songwriter of the Year” award.

The Townes Van Zandt Songwriting Award, which honors a talent whose work has had an extensive and ongoing impact in Texas, the U.S., and around the world, will be presented to singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo at this year’s awards by Austin’s own Britt Daniel. The Margaret Moser Women in Music Award, awarded to women in the industry with deep roots who are living legends of our time, will be presented to long-time music champion Dianne Scott by Texas legend Steve Wertheimer.

Charlie Sexton will serve as music director for the 2019 awards, joining the Mayor’s House Band that includes Michael Ramos, John Michael Schoepf, Ricky Ray Jackson, and Ramy Antoun. Rick McNulty and Laurie Gallardo of KUTX will also return to host the awards ceremony.
In addition to the Austin Music Awards, the Austin Music Industry Awards (AMIA), a special celebration honoring winners of the industry-specific categories from The Austin Chronicle Music Poll, will take place on Sunday, February 17, 2019, at Emo’s Austin.

Additionally, two nonprofit partners to be recognized are the SIMS Foundation and the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM), two organizations offering services and support to Austin’s live music industry. Together, they work to “Heal the Music” and maintain a vibrant and healthy industry for all.

More news and surprises related to this year's event will be released in the coming days, officials said. The Austin Music Awards are presented by The Austin Chronicle, SXSW, and are produced in partnership with Louis Black Productions, ACL Live at the Moody Theater, and Margin Walker.

As part of the Music Awards’ year-round programming, the AMAs announced a partnership with the Circuit of The Americas — sponsor of the Margaret Moser Women in Music Award — which will invite winners and nominees to perform at events hosted by the world-class sports and entertainment venue. The awards are also excited to highlight their partnership with the Hotel Van Zandt, sponsor of the Townes Van Zandt Songwriter Award, who will be teaming with The Recording Academy in 2019 to recognize the essential roles held by women across multiple segments of Austin’s live music industry.

Additional patrons of the Austin Music Awards include the Austin Music Movement, Creative Action, Prosperity Bank, C3, Skull Island Studios, YETI, Tito’s Vodka, Lyft, the Clifford Antone Foundation, Treaty Oak Distilling, Hotel San Jose, Arts+Labor, and Yep Roc Records. The AMAs would like to thank all of our incredible community partners who help make this event possible. Contributions to the Austin Music Awards can be made through the 501(C)(3) the Society for the Preservation of Texas Music and are tax deductible.

For more event updates, visit www.austinmusicawards.org. For VIP purchases or sponsorship information, contact Roger Gordon at roger@austinmusicawards.org or (512) 636.2540.

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Facebook: @AustinMusicAwards
Twitter: @ATXmusicAwards
Instagram: @austinmusicawards

ABOUT THE AUSTIN MUSIC AWARDS:

The Austin Music Awards recognizes the accomplishments of local bands and musicians by honoring them just prior to South by Southwest at an annual event unique to the city of Austin. The event reflects Austin’s outstanding live music achievements of the previous year as voted on by Austin Chronicle readers in the publication’s annual Music Poll. From its earliest years, the Austin Music Awards has presented numerous genres of music emanating from Texas, including rock, country, blues, Latin, folk, punk, pop, jazz, hip hop, world, and classical.

Musicians who first attracted critical attention by winning Austin Music Awards and later went on to win Grammys include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Asleep at the Wheel, Grupo Fantasma, Lucinda Williams, Spoon, and Joe Ely.

Contributions to Austin Music Awards can be made through the 501(C)(3) Society for the Preservation of Texas Music and are fully tax deductible.

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>>> Photo by David Brendan of Celesta Quesada and Charlie Sexton at Jan. 22 press conference at Austin City Hall.