As we dodged an airborne couch cushion during Bad Sports' set at the Dallas Observer Music Awards ceremony Tuesday night, we experienced the inherent value of an annual, democratic roundup of the best music in DFW as a shot of good ol' fashioned adrenaline. The best thing about live local music is the actual real-time experience of it; critical dissection and discussion of its function in our quality of life is important, but not as important as singing along to a catchy punk chorus at the Granada and slamming down your drink right when the drums crux and high-fiving the guitarist for holding said couch cushion in his teeth.
We could write reams of copy to persuade you to see the amazing area bands we've discovered this year (Fort Worth's Telegraph Canyon is our latest find, culled from Tuesday's DOMA lineup). But we'll teach you to cast your own nets in the sea of popular opinion instead.
Below is a list of the DOMA award winners in the performance categories, along with when and where you can see them play with the soonest dates up top. Some acts are in the thick of touring season; you'll notice farther-flung fall dates listed for them, but check their sites for area shows as they're added.
Best New Act: The O's, tonight at House of Blues with David Allen Coe, 8PM [Canceled -- see first link for more shows]
Best Country/Roots Act: The King Bucks, tonight at Tolberts in Grapevine, 8:30PM
Best DJ: Yeahdef, Friday at Hailey's in Denton, 9PM
Best Funk/R&B Act: Backside Pick, Friday at Lola's Sixth in Fort Worth, 10PM
Best Metal Act: Jacknife, Saturday at Skillman St. Pub, 8PM
Best Cover/Tribute Act: Hard Night's Day, Saturday at Lone Star Cafe & Club, 9PM
Best Group, Best Male Vocalist, Best Blues Act: Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, July 30 at Hat Tricks in Lewisville, 10PM
Best Instumentalist: Chris Holt, July 31 at Opening Bell Coffee, 8PM
Best Latin/Tejano Act: The Tejas Brothers, August 12 at 8.0 Restaurant and Bar in Fort Worth, 9PM
Best Hip-Hop Act: Damaged Good$, August 27 at The Cavern, 8PM
Best Hard Rock Act: Toadies, August 28 at Neon Spur in Wichita Falls, 7PM
Best Jazz Act: Snarky Puppy, Sept. 25 at The Boiler Room in Denton, 9PM
Best Solo Act, Best Folk Act, Best Female Vocalist: Sarah Jaffe, October 3 at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, 11:20AM
Best Electronica/Dance Act: VEGA, November 7 in Austin for the Fun Fun Fun fest
Best Experimental/Avant Garde Act: Shiny Around the Edges, check the link for updated bookings
Best Punk Act: Spector 45, check the above link for updated bookings
Best Indie Act: The Paper Chase, check the above link for updated bookings
