The bands Chickenbone Slim & The Biscuits, Cattle Decapitation and Daring Greatly have virtually nothing in common, at least when it comes to the styles of music they perform. But the three veteran groups now share two key distinctions.
Each has earned a field-leading three nominations apiece for the 2024 San Diego Music Awards. And, by doing so, each has one nomination more this year than Grammy Award-winners Jason Mraz and Nickel Creek, who both have two nominations on this year’s SDMA ballot, including for Album of the Year.
The death-metal/grindcore band Cattle Decapitation was launched in 1996. The blues-championing Chickenbone Slim & The Biscuits — led by guitarist-singer Larry Teves — followed in 2012. The Canadian-bred harmony vocal band Daring Greatly has been together since 2013 and based in San Diego since 2015.
That these three groups are now tied as the top 2024 SDMA nominees underscores anew the diversity of the music scene here, which has been celebrated at this homegrown awards show each year since its inception in 1991.
So do the other artists with multiple nominations on the 2024 ballot, including — with two nods each — country singer-songwriters Kimmi Bitter and Sara Petite, jazz vocal mainstay Allison Adams Tucker, Americana dynamos Berkley Hart, rock power-trio Band of Gringos and the vintage soul-inspired Thee Sacred Souls.
Some of this year’s other double-nominees include the the bluegrass group MohaviSoul, one-man pop band Jonny Tarr, the country-rocking Sammy Listoe, the acoustic-music trio Whiskey & Burlap, pop songstress Cassie B., the genre-hopping Chloe Lou & The Liddels, singer-songwriter and audio engineer Cheyenne Benton, the Heath Farmer-led indie-rock band Coastal Wolves the garage-rocking Mistress 77, and rootsy country troubadour Jesse Ray Smith.
Nominees in all 25 SDMA categories were announced during a Monday evening live-stream by the nonprofit San Diego Music Foundation, under whose auspices the awards are presented.
Winners will be announced at the 33rd annual edition of the awards show, which will be held April 30 at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay on Shelter Island. Votes can be cast online from noon Tuesday until 5 p.m. March 27 at sandiegomusicawards.com.
This year’s SDMA Country Dick Montana Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is ace guitarist Stevie Salas, whose past employers range from Rod Stewart and Mick Jagger to Public Enemy, jazz drum great Ronald Shannon Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Salas, who toured in 2022 as a member of the final iteration of pioneering Detroit rock band MC5, will perform at this year’s awards show.
Other confirmed performers include Kimmi Bitter, Joshua Taylor, Ash Easton and the bands miniaturized and the three-brothers band We The Commas.
Tickets will go on sale Friday at noon at sandiegomusicawards.com. They are priced at $45 per person for general admission and $125 per seat at the VIP tables in front of the stage, plus service charges.
Last year’s SDMA drew a sell-out crowd of 1,350 people and raised $50,045 for Taylor Guitars for the Schools. Since its inception, this homegrown awards show has raised $896,247 for the Taylor program, which has provided free instruments and lessons to nearly 60,000 students across San Diego County.
San Diego Music Awards 2024 nominees
Artist of the Year
Band of Gringos
Cattle Decapitation
Daring Greatly
Earl Thomas & The Gospel Ambassadors, featuring Sister Leola
Sandollar
Earthless
Thee Sacred Souls
Album of the Year
Cattle Decapitation, “Terrasite”
Chickenbone Slim & The Biscuits, “Damn Good & Ready”
Jason Mraz, “Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride”
Jonny Tarr, “The Rules”
Pierce the Veil, “The Jaws of Life”
Sara Petite, “The Empress”
Song of the Year
Daring Greatly, “Blame It On the Whiskey”
Jason Mraz, “I Feel Like Dancing”
Kimmi Bitter, “Aquamarine”
Nickel Creek, “Where the Long Line Leads”
P.O.D., “Afraid to Die”
Slightly Stoopid, featuring Stick Figure and Pepper, “Got Me On The Run”
Thee Sacred Souls, “Running Away”
Best Folk or Acoustic Song
Aja Lee, featuring Jamie Shadowlight, “Misty Mountains”
Alex Bergan, “Unpromised Land”
Ashley E. Norton & Thea The Band, “Hitchhike to Heaven”
Astra Kelly, “Soul Fires”
Cathryn Beeks, “I Love Ramona”
Jason Winters, featuring Heather Winters,”Walk Alone”
Lee Coulter, “The Gift”
Best Jazz Artist
Ed Kornhauser
Gilbert Castellanos
Mercedes Moore
Montalban Quintet
Rob Thorsen
Sue Palmer & Her Motel Swing Orchestra
Zach Gutierrez
Best Jazz or Blues Album
Allison Adams Tucker, “RETRO Trilogy”
Chickenbone Slim, “Damn Good and Ready”
Ghost Jazz Trio, “Groovin Smooth”David Whitman, “Ode to Joe”
Patrick Yandall, “Dance In The Rain”
Peter Sprague, “Side Streets”
Shane Hall, “Howl & Sway”
Best Blues Artist
Anthony Cullins
Black Market III
Chickenbone Slim
Johnny Vernazza
Taryn Donath
Whitney Shay
Zavala Sol
Best Country or Americana Artist
Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas
Jonathan Lee Band
Kimmi Bitter
Mohavisoul
Sara Petite
Sutton James
The Sleepwalkers
Best Country or Americana Song
Berkley Hart, “Faded Tattoo”
Cody Carter, “Play Me One More”
Joe Marson & The Satisfied Mind, “Honey”
MohaviSoul, “Hurry Up & Wait”
Red CrownTourists, “The Renegade”
Sammy Listoe, “Whiskey Disguise”
Whiskey & Burlap, “Travelin’ This Road”
Best Country or Americana Album
Dave Preston, “Sniffin’ n’ Scratchin”
Jesse Ray Smith, “Back To Yesterday”
Midway, “Silver Linings”
Sammy Listoe, “The Healing”
Sara Petite, “The Empress”
Shhhh, “Seriously Shhhh”
Whiskey & Burlap, “Questioning Why”
Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist
2DNKAdonis Da Hottest
B, “Rell
Brothers Burns
KT Foreign
Looselyric
Ray Riley
Best Hip Hop/Rap Song
Bloodstone The Preacher, “Hard On The Internet”
DantBake, “No Sleep”
Dezzy Hollow, “The O”
Lonesome Bones, “Sardines”
Mitchy Slick & SIr Veterano, “In My El Co”
Riston Diggs, “Life of a Dreamer”
RM the Poet, “Wheels Turning”
Best Indie/Alternative Artist
Glass Spells
miniaturized
Pleasure Pill
Scary Pierre
Ten Bulls
The Schizophonics
Wild Wild Wets
Best Indie/Alternative Album
Coastal Wolves, “Hurts Like Hell”
Josh Urich, “I Wonder If They Like Me”
miniaturized, “miniaturized”
Signal For Pilot, “Next Level”
Swive,” Stereophonic Stylings, Vol. One”
The Petty Saints, “Who Started The War”
Wookie Garcia, “4 Days in the Valley”
Best Pop Artist
Audrey Callahan
Cassie B
Chloe Lou
Joshua Taylor
Lauren Leigh
Matthew Phillips
Sara Jade
Best Pop Song
Cassie B, “Checkmate
David Spitzfaden, “Death of Me”
Durell Anthony, “One More Night”
Hawk Foxman, “Happiest With You”
Lissa Dee, “Empty Bottle”
The Microblades, “Cowboy”
We The Commas, “Keep Going”
Best Pop Album
Ben Parks, “Ecotone Part 1”
Cheyenne Benton, “Beautiful Chaos”
Chloe Lou & the Liddells, “XVII”
Gregory Page, “Modern Man”
Jonny Tarr, “The Rules”
Stark Shay, “Treasures”
Tamar Berk, “Tiny Injuries”
Best Rock Artist
Ash EastonBand of Gringos
Daring Greatly
Half Hour Late
Sands
The Farmers
The Tourmaliners
Best Rock Album
Blame Betty, “Big Betty’s Alright!”
Cattle Decapitation, “Terrasite”
Crasher, “Speaking Terms”
Future Crooks, “Lighteater”
Manual Scan, “Shooting Stars”
Mistress 77, “Can’t Stop”
The Frights, “Gallows Humour”
Best Rock or Indie/Alternative Song
Coastal Wolves, “Sucks To Be You”
Mistress 77, “Can’t Stop”
Paradise Drive, “Presence”
Sun Room, “Cadillac”
Taking on Water, “Heaven or Hell”
The Petty Saints, “Shambles”
The Reckless, “Away”
Best World Music Song
Beech City, “Call It What It Is”
Boostive, “Wickedness”
Crucial Blend, “By My Side”
Kahlil Nash,”Get to Know Yah”
Brendan Clemente & KBong, “Good Good Morning”
Quel Bordel!, “One Minute Ticket”
Slack Key Ohana, “Nahenahe Ka Leo O Ka Wahine Uʻi”
Best R&B, Funk or Soul Album
Archie Thompson, “Raw Soul: Vol. 3”
Chauncey Maynor, “Life is Good”
Garrison Bailey, “Call My Name”
Mitchum Yacoub, “Living High In The Brass Empire”
Starsign, “Ichiban”
Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, “Live at Panama 66”
VIRR, “Formless”
Best Local Recording
Grampadrew, “Grampadrew’s Greatest Hits”
Josh Weinstein, “Mind The Gap”
Nathan Hubbard Trio, “Seeds of Rivers”
Safety Orange, “Positive Flow”
Sweet Imperfections, “Soul Riders”
The Gravities, “Live in Studio (Beachbreak Sessions)”
The Wayne Riker Gathering, “Alphabetical Blues Bash, Vol. 2”
Best Video
Allison Adams Tucker, “Tropicalia”
Berkley Hart, “Faded Tattoo”
Blair Gun, “Man of the Hour”
Cheyenne Benton, “Batting Cages”
Jesse Ray Smith, “Born of Fire
Rebecca Jade, “My Reason”
The Locust, “Perils Of Believing In Round Squares”
Best New Artist
Blair Gun
Door 13
Lowdown and The Tradition
Owl Be Damned
Please Ask for PaulThe Psychlops
The Suede Grenades