The 2017 Dallas Observer Music Awards Winners

Here at the Dallas Observer, we show love to local music year round, but last night concluded our annual celebration of the Dallas music scene. At Saturday's Dallas Observer Music Awards showcase in Deep Ellum, our ears were overwhelmed by talent.

Some of our favorites from Saturday were Dome Dwellers, Garrett Owen, the Kwinton Gray Project and Francine Thirteen, and last night at Canton Hall, we handed out awards to many of those artists while snacking on cotton candy from the candy bar.

Texas Gentlemen, Sudie and Bobby Sessions were awarded the most bottles of of Gentlemen's Jack at the 29th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards ceremony. Our panel of judges concluded that the Gents are Dallas' Best Country Act and their September release, TX Jelly, is the Best Album. 

The Gents are on tour, so friend and collaborator Jason Burt of Best Funk/R&B Act Medicine Man Revival (who performed a killer cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Texas Flood" last night) accepted on their behalf. Sudie, however, was on hand to accept her three awards for Best Female Vocalist, Best Pop Act and Best EP/Mixtape for Prism, as was Bobby Sessions, who walked away with awards for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Act and Best Song ("Dollars & Sense").

This year, Best Live Act went to Francine Thirteen, and Cure for Paranoia won Best Group Act. It won Best New Act last year, and this time that honor went to M3CCA, who performed an artful mashup of the "Theme of Foxy Brown" with Dorrough's "Ice Cream Paint Job."

M3CCA and Medicine Man Revival were just two of eight nominated artists who performed covers of Dallas musicians' songs at the ceremony, which also included a tantalizing burlesque performance from the Ruby Red Revue to fit the event's circus theme. The other bands were Acid Carousel, Reinventing Jude, Starfruit, Garrett Owen, Summer Dean and 88 Killa.

Best Rap/Hip-Hop Act nominee 88 Killa closed out the night with a cover of The D.O.C.'s "It's Funky Enough" before launching into a premiere of a new song. Before he sent the crowd home, he also performed an impromptu stand-up set — visiting topics such as interracial dating, buying views on YouTube and why you shouldn't breakdance — that had the audience in hysterics. We're thinking of creating a new category next year: Most Charismatic.

Read on to see the full list of winners and the judges who voted in their categories.

Judges: Caroline North, Kylee Kimosh, Jeff Gage, Gini Mascorro, Chris Penn

Best Album
Winner: The Texas Gentlemen, TX Jelly
Bobby Sessions, Grateful
Pearl Earl, Pearl Earl
Midnight Opera, The Mesmerist
T.Y.E., 32

Best Bassist
Winner: Nigel Rivers
Aaron Gonzalez
Paul Alonzo
Robert Trusko
Scott Lee

Best Blues Act
Winner: Charley Crockett
EJ Matthews
Stevie James Trio
Jason Elmore
Lance Lopez

Best Country Act
Winner: The Texas Gentlemen
Vandoliers
Summer Dean
Ronnie Fauss
Chris Norwood

Best Cover Band
Winner: Different Strokes
The Gorehounds
The Rich Girls
Le Cure
Pearl Gem

Best DJ
Winner: DJ Sober
Blake Ward
DeeJay Mike B
Rick Simpson
Blue the Misfit

Best DJ Night
Winner: "Fresh 45’s"
"All/Everything" at RBC
"Glamorama" at Beauty Bar
"Serious Moonlight" at Ten Bells Tavern
"The Fix Fridays" at Drugstore Cowboy

Best Drummer
Winner: Matt Pence
Bobak Lotfipour
Bailey Chapman
Paul Grass
Stefan Gonzalez

Best Electronic Act
Winner: Medasin
Cygnus
Dark Rooms
Honor System
Jake Schrock

Best EP/Mixtape
Winner: Sudie, Prism
Native Fox, Floor Model
Acid Carousel, Higher Than the Beatles
jACQ, Cosmic Affair
FXXXXY, Flawed Up Shawty

Judges: Cody McPhail, Jeff Liles, Veronica Young, Kate Siamro, Sarah Badran

Best Experimental/Noise Act
Winner: Filth
Black Taffy
Asukubus
iill
Schmekelhead

Best Female Vocalist
Winner: Sudie
Sarah Jaffe
Jude Gonzalez
Sarah Ruth
Samantha Rat Rios

Best Festival
Winner: Homegrown
Local Education Fest
JMBLYA
Fortress Festival
Lights All Night

Best Folk Act
Winner: Straw Hat Society
Garrett Owen
Jacob Metcalf
Jake Paleshic
Levi Cobb & the Big Smoke

Best Funk/R&B Act
Winner: Medicine Man Revival
Cure for Paranoia
M3CCA
Quentin Moore
Ronnie Heart

Best Group Act
Winner: Cure for Paranoia
Texas Gentlemen
Vandoliers
Henry the Archer
Acid Carousel

Best Guitarist
Winner: Michael J. Slack
Nik Lee
Olan Mijana
Brett Michael
Stephen Ketner

Best Hardcore Act
Winner: Akkolyte
Heavy Baby Sea Slugs
Power Trip
Leech
Obstruction

Best Jazz Act
Winner: Yells at Eels
Thaddeus Ford
Ashleigh Smith
Ataraxia Trio
Skinny Cooks

Judges: Dezman Lehman, Mike Brooks, Gavin Mulloy, Diamond Victoria, Alicia EV Borman

Best Live Act
Winner: Francine Thirteen
Midnight Opera
Jesus Chris + the Beetles
RC & the Gritz
Seres

Best Male Vocalist
Winner: Richard Hennessy
Daniel Hart
Tyler Curtis
IMAJ
Joshua Fleming

Best Metal Act
Winner: Mothership
Warbeast
Morgue Meat
Tyrannosorceress
Tricounty Terror

Best Music Video
Winner: Sam Lao, “Grenade"
Bobby Sessions, “Grateful"
Dark Rooms, “Polaroid"
Nite, “Dreamer"
Sudie, “FAQ"

Best New Act
Winner: M3CCA
Starfruit
SRSQ
Garrett Owen
Silas Nello

Best Pianist/Keyboardist
Winner: Kwinton Gray
Paul Slavens
Poppy Xander
Matt Westmoreland
Chad Stockslager

Best Pop Act
Winner: Sudie
Def Rain
Midnight Opera
Nite
Starfruit

Best Producer
Winner: Sikwitit
Beau Bedford
Alex Bhore
Carlos Savetman
TX Connect

Best Punk Act
Winner: Sealion
Thyroids
Teenage Sexx
Loafers
From Parts Unknown

Judges: Callie Dee, Art Peña, Jessica Martinez, McKenzie Smith, Wanz Dover

Best Radio Show/Podcast
Winner: The Paul Slavens Show, KKXT 91.7
The Local Ticket, KCTK 96.7
Don’t Take It Personal
Mansion of Madness, KNON 89.3
Sonic Assembly, KUZU

Best Rap Hip/Hop Act
Winner: Bobby Sessions
88 Killa
Sam Lao
T.Y.E.
Blue, the Misfit

Best Record Label
Winner: Hand Drawn Records
Dreamy Life Records
Field Day Records
High Standardz
Idol

Best Record Store
Winner: Josey Records
Spinster Records
Good Records
Mad World Records
Retroplex Records

Best Rock Act
Winner: Dead Mockingbirds
Daniel Markham
Dome Dwellers
Silas Nello
Supersonic Lips

Best Song
Winner: Bobby Sessions, “Dollars & Sense"
Dark Rooms, “I Get Overwhelmed"
Henry the Archer, “WiFi Pets"
Garrett Owen, “Sad Eyed Son"
Pearl Earl, “Meet Your Maker"

Best Songwriter
Winner: Daniel Hart
Jordan Richardson
Teddy Georgia Waggy
Garrett Owen
Salim Nourallah

Best Talent Buyer
Winner: Margin Walker
Jeffrey Brown
Moody Fuqua
13th Floor Music
Jeffrey Liles

Best Venue (Under 500 Capacity)
Winner: Club Dada
Three Links
The Kessler
RBC
Texas Theatre

Best Venue (Over 500 Capacity)
Winner: Bomb Factory
Granada Theater
Trees
The Majestic
Gas Monkey Live