{"id":191760,"date":"2026-02-24T19:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191760\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:05:11","slug":"steve-poltz-the-frights-and-daring-greatly-san-diego-music-awards-announces-its-2026-nominees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191760\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Poltz, The Frights and Daring Greatly \u2014 San Diego Music Awards announces its 2026 nominees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>35th Annual San Diego Music Awards Graphic (Courtesy of SDMA)<\/p>\n

Going on 35 years strong, the San Diego Music Awards this year announced its nominees for the first time in front of a live audience at the Music Box hosted by Rick Lawrence, Tim Pyles, Lou Niles and Timothy \u201cTJ\u201d Joseph.<\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter Steve Poltz will receive this year\u2019s lifetime achievement award. After Pyles delivered the news, he laughed and said about Poltz, \u201cHe\u2019s still only 50 years old!\u201d<\/p>\n

Slightly Stoopid, Swami John Reis<\/a>, The Frights, Daring Greatly and Obed Padilla were among the artists who received multiple nominations.<\/p>\n

The event also unveiled the performers at this year\u2019s San Diego Music Awards show, on May 6 t Humphrey\u2019s Concerts by the Bay. The Frights, Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, Steve Poltz, sullvn, San Diego Blues Allstars, Agent 51 and Obed Padilla will all play at the show.<\/p>\n

The winners will be chosen partially through a public vote and partially through the academy\u2019s consideration. Online voting begin at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and continues until 5 p.m. March 31, at sdmusicawards.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To be considered for nomination performers must be based in San Diego and must have done one live show in San Diego in 2025. Recordings must have been released between Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2025, and be available for purchase either in a record store or online to be considered.<\/p>\n

Tickets go on sale at noon Wednesday on the award show\u2019s website<\/a> for the May 6 ceremony. Proceeds from the tickets will go to the San Diego Music Foundation, which aims to fill the gaps in music education in local schools through initiatives like providing guitars.<\/p>\n

There will also be pre-award show showcases, the first of which will be at the Center for Performing Arts in Escondido on April 10. More of those will be announced next Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, on to the nominees:<\/p>\n

Album of the Year<\/p>\n

Agent 51 \u2013 Age of Validation
Anthony Cullins \u2013 Inside Out & Backwards
\u2028Buck-O-Nine \u2013 Cut Out The Noise
Obed Padilla \u2013 Do You Still Love Me?
Swami John Reis \u2013 Time To Let You Down
The Frights \u2013 Ready When You Are
Wavves \u2013 Spun<\/p>\n

Song of the Year<\/p>\n

almost monday \u2013 lost
P.O.D. \u2013 I Won\u2019t Bow Down
Pierce The Veil \u2013 Kiss Me Now
Shane Hall & Ash Easton \u2013 Midnight Pine
Slightly Stoopid \u2013 Step Into The Sun
Switchfoot (with Buddy Guy) \u2013 Last Man Standing
Thee Sacred Souls \u2013 We Don\u2019t Have to Be Alone<\/p>\n

Artist of the Year<\/p>\n

Obed Padilla
Pierce the Veil
Rebecca Jade
Slightly Stoopid
Swami John Reis
The Frights
The Schizophonics<\/p>\n

Best New Artist<\/p>\n

Doylestown
Jettee
Payback & Associates
Saint Misty
Tigers in Cairo
Vurv
You Can Call Me Sugar<\/p>\n

Best Video<\/p>\n

Almost Monday \u2013 enjoy the ride
Cheyenne Benton \u2013 Lessons
Emilia Vaughn \u2013 Rock Music, Girl Secrets\u2028T
he Gravities \u2013 Stuck In The Desert
Eric Sage \u2013 Rise Up San Diego
\u2028KBong \u2013 Good News\u2028
Doah\u2019s Daydream \u2013 Girls Girl<\/p>\n

Best Folk or Acoustic Song<\/p>\n

Dylan Razwick x Tavia \u2013 Kaleidoscope
Highline Trail \u2013 When I Die
Jeff Berkley \u2013 Abracadabra
Mark Montijo \u2013 Apricot Moon
Patch & Maggi \u2013 Alive
The Beard and the Bird \u2013 My Dearest Eloise
Virginia James \u2013 730 Run<\/p>\n

Best Jazz Artist<\/p>\n

Ed Kornhauser
Euphoria Brass band
Gilbert Castellanos
Irving Flores
Leonard Patton
Nathan Hubbard
Sacha Boutros<\/p>\n

Best Jazz Album<\/p>\n

Archie Thompson \u2013 Makin The Scene
Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine \u2013 Unexpected Guests
Irving Flores \u2013 Armando Mi Conga
Patrick Yandall \u2013 Devocean
Rob Thorsen and Paul Gabrielson \u2013 Sonic Visions
Sure Fire Soul Ensemble \u2013 Gemini
Victor Baker Quartet \u2013 As the Crow Flies<\/p>\n

Best Blues Artist\u2028<\/p>\n

Ben Powell
Black Market III
Chickenbone Slim
Manzanita Blues
Mercedes Moore
Whitney Shay
Zavala Sol<\/p>\n

Best Blues Album\u2028<\/p>\n

CC Blues Factory \u2013 Look Me Over
Earl Thomas \u2013 Live in London
Good Gravy \u2013 Roux
Johnny Vernazza \u2013 Home By Christmas
Low Volts \u2013 Forbidden Frequency
The Juke$ \u2013 Salacious Stories
Tracy Lee Nelson & The Native Blues Band\u00a0 \u2013 Relocation<\/p>\n

Best Country or Americana Artist<\/p>\n

Alex Bergan
Ashley E. Norton\u2028
Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas
Cathryn Beeks
Jesse Ray Smith
Kimmi Bitter
Stucky Leigh<\/p>\n

Best Country or Americana Song<\/p>\n

Alex Bergan (with Ash Easton) \u2013 Hair of the Dog
Haisley \u2013 The Good In Me
Lissa Dee \u2013 Chasing Whiskey with Whiskey
Michael Dean Goodrich \u2013 Get Back Home
Miranda Ramos \u2013 The Only Men I Need
Sara Petite \u2013 Jealous Heart
ZB Savoy \u2013 Out to Forgetting<\/p>\n

Best Country or Americana Album<\/p>\n

Dave Preston \u2013 Fly On A Wall
Elizabeth Bowersox \u2013 California Queen
Jeff Berkley \u2013 A Buffalo Trace
MohaviSoul \u2013 Encore
Thea the Band \u2013 Whiskey Revival
Todd Higginson \u2013 Highlights
Whiskey & Burlap \u2013 Milkman<\/p>\n

Best Hip Hop\/Rap Artist<\/p>\n

Banish Habitual
Bozzzy
Brothers Burns
Daygo Smoove
Kahlee
Miki Vale\u2028RMthePoet<\/p>\n

Best Hip Hop\/Rap Song<\/p>\n

Bloodstone the Street Preacher \u2013 Know what I\u2019m saying
BounceCX \u2013 Bounce Back
Dazer Daze \u2013 Lighting Treez
DJ Who & Heat \u2013 Burn It All Down
Mike Holmes & Riston Diggs \u2013 Auntisistercousin
RMthePoet featuring Oside Lenz & Oldschool \u2013 Hit N Run
The Neighborhood Kids \u2013 The World is Worth Saving<\/p>\n

Best Pop Artist<\/p>\n

Audrey Callahan
Cassie B
Chloe Lou
Emilia Vaughn
Jessie Lark
Matthew Phillips
Trey Hill<\/p>\n

Best Pop Song<\/p>\n

Brianna Grace \u2013 Playing With Fire
David Spitzfaden \u2013 Lost Hope
Em Cable \u2013 Feeling Me
KaiLana Tomiko \u2013 Indigo
Sara Jade \u2013 Hippies Raised a Cowgirl
sullvn \u2013 The Fighter
Sweet Myths \u2013 Still The Same<\/p>\n

Best Pop Album<\/p>\n

Cheyenne Benton \u2013 Corrupted
Gregory Page \u2013 100 Years Ago\u2028
Hillandale Drive \u2013 Love, Fear & Everything In Between
Matthew Phillips \u2013 Till It\u2019s Over
Pip Lewis \u2013 Growing Pains
Sophie London \u2013 Mindreader
Tamar Berk \u2013 ocd<\/p>\n

Best Indie\/Alternative Artist<\/p>\n

Dusk Drama
Lioneer
miniaturized
Slacker
Sunbendr
The Film Company
Weatherbox<\/p>\n

Best Indie\/Alternative Album<\/p>\n

Agent 51 \u2013 Age of Validation
Buck O Nine \u2013 Cut Out The Noise
Paradise Drive \u2013 The Phenomenon
Pleasure Pill \u2013 Hang a Star
The Film Company \u2013 Starving Artist and the Holy Ghost
Thee Allyrgic Reaction- s\/t
The Reckless \u2013 Who Are You<\/p>\n

Best Rock Artist<\/p>\n

Band of Gringos
Daring Greatly\u2028Door 13
Misfire
Mistress 77
The Farmers
The Tourmaliners<\/p>\n

Best Rock Album<\/p>\n

Blame Betty \u2013 Who\u2019s to Blame
Daring Greatly \u2013 Let It Ride
Rhinoceros III \u2013 Listen With Two Hearts
Sun Room \u2013 Ritual of Chaos
Taz Taylor Band \u2013 The Other Side of Midnight
The Suede Grenades \u2013 Flashbulb Memories
Year of the Kid \u2013 s\/t<\/p>\n

Best Rock or Indie\/Alternative Song<\/p>\n

Beta7 \u2013 So Long Ago
Daring Greatly \u2013 Let It Ride
\u2028Go Scarlet \u2013 La Motorcyclette
Half Hour Late \u2013 Slow Motion\u2028
Manganista \u2013 Talking to Myself
Mistress 77 \u2013 It Ain\u2019t Christmas Without The Mistress
Three Legged Dog \u2013 Left for Dead<\/p>\n

Best World Music Artist<\/p>\n

Boostive
Israel Maldonado
Kekoa the Artist
Monette Marino
Quel Bordel
Sandollar
Slack Key Ohana<\/p>\n

Best World Music Song<\/p>\n

B-Side Players \u2013 En Paz Dub
Mitchum Yacoub, Lourdes Iri \u2013 M\u00e9tele M\u00e1s
Mix Mob \u2013 Rock Star
Safety Orange \u2013 Castaway
Sierra Marin \u2013 Earth Child
Skyler Lutes \u2013 In My City
Smoke & Mirrors Sound System \u2013 Ain\u2019t That Lovin\u2019 You<\/p>\n

Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song<\/p>\n

Anthony Cullins \u2013 Lynmar
Durell Anthony \u2013 Meet Me in the Middle
Hummingbird Hotel \u2013 Close to You
Kat Hall \u2013 Frequency
Monica Larrea \u2013 Mental
Rebecca Jade \u2013 Not Me No Way
We The Commas \u2013 in japan<\/p>\n

Best Local Recording<\/p>\n

Clinton Davis \u2013 Ever Returning
Grampadrew \u2013 It\u2019s Getting Darker
Salinas Road \u2013 \u201825
Seawall Prophet \u2013 Hallowed Ground
Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra \u2013 Eight to the Bar!
The Bastards \u2013 Fall Risk
No\u00ebl Tsoukalas \u2013 I Still Hear You<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"35th Annual San Diego Music Awards Graphic (Courtesy of SDMA) Going on 35 years strong, the San Diego…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[10675,7363,9864,89937,330,660,74,76,89938,75,54573,89939],"class_list":["post-191760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-91x","tag-country","tag-hip-hop","tag-local-bands","tag-music","tag-rock","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-music-awards","tag-san-diego-news","tag-ska","tag-steve-poltz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}