Best Local Electronic Artist
Aaron Zimmer sings and plays guitar and harmonica, Cory Chambers sings and plays mandolin, Anthony Textiera sings and plays upright bass, and Jay Rudd sings and plays banjo. Guest fiddler Colleen Heine adds the icing to an already delightful acoustic cake. Runner-up: Whiskey Dick
Sunglow is Daniel Lynch, whose ninetrack wonderland of experimental electronica Jalopy is available now on bandcamp.com. Most recently, Sunglow shared a mesmerizing Dollhouse Productions bill with Gravies and the Main Dish Sauce. Runner-up: Electric Grandma
Best Local Metal Band
Best Local Hip Hop/Rap Artist
City Hotel
Sunglow
Tend No Wounds, a new EP produced by Kylesa’s Philip Cope (another Savannah metal musician), drops any day. Athon, Andrew and James have deservedly won in this category for the last four years. Keep on slamming, boys. Runner-up: Kylesa
KidSyc@Brandywine
ANNE SOSBE
Black Tusk
Best Local Funk/R&B/Soul Group/Artist
A Nickel Bag of Funk
The combination of Brandywine, a crackling jazz, funk and hop quartet, with Lloyd “KidSyc” Harold is nothing less than combustible. With Syc’s polysyllabic spew, and the bubbling hot brew created by Lane GardAbove: Leslie Adele, Jermaine Baker and Anthony Jones, A Nickel Bag of Funk, Best Local Funk/R&B/Sould Group or Artist. Below: The band Cusses ner, Dan Butler, Derrick Larry and Charles Hodge, this band puts on a frenzied show that (Bryan Harder, Angel Bond and Brian Lackey) won in four categories. will leave you gasping for breath. Runner-up: Basik Lee
Best Local Spoken Word Artist/Group
After storming this category for almost half a dozen years, vocalist Leslie Adele and her sweet ‘n’ funky cohorts — Jermaine Baker and Anthony Jones — have finally made their debut recording. Redux: Melodic Schizophrenic comes out in late summer. Runner-up: Voodoo Soup
Spitfire Poetry Group
Best Local Jazz Band/Artist
Ben Tucker
Best Local Club DJ
Basik Lee
BILL DEYOUNG
You youngsters can call him B-TUCK, if you dare, but if you wish to give him the respect he deserves, make it Mr. Tucker, Sir. A legendary bassist who played with Herbie Mann, Billy Taylor, Buddy Rich, Peggy Lee, Cy Coleman, Red Norvel, Tommy Flanagan, Quincy Jones, Gerry Mulligan and Ellis Marsalis, Ben Tucker wrote “Comin’ Home Baby,” “Right Here Right Now” and around 300 others that have enriched the pantheon of jazz. Tucker has been a Savannahian for 40 years, co-founded the Coastal Jazz Association, and performs with musicians his age (82), half his age, and even with bearded young hipsters — as long as they got the chops. “I don’t care who I play to,” he told us with a smile a few months ago, “as long as you can sit there and listen, and appreciate, understand what I’m playing.” Runner-up: Velvet Caravan
Steve Baumgardner has the coolest stage name in Savannah. This multi-talented young man from New Jersey is a poet and rapper (and a charter member of Dope Sandwich), an awe-inspiring break dancer, and a guitarstrumming singer/songwriter. He’s a versatile DJ too, as you might have guessed, and an in-demand club jock at that. Runner-up: DJ Skypager
Marquice Williams and Joshua Davis are the co-directors of Savannah’s spitting centroverse, founded more than a dozen years ago by “RenaZance” and the late Clinton D. Powell. Spitfire is active in all disciplines of art in the city, and encourages young people to discover and work the catharsis that is spoken word performance. Runner-up: AWOL
Best Live Music Club
The Jinx
And the venue formerly known as Velvet Elvis continues to pack ‘em in for rock, metal and hip hop shows. Susanne and the tattooed gang have created a fun and funky home for all things musical, six nights of the week. Runner-up: Wormhole
Best Local Recording Studio
Elevated Basement
Let’s cut right to the chase: Nearly every local artist records at Kevin Rose’s place, and Gregg Allman (technically, he’s a “local artist” as well) has cut a few sides there. “Some of the best performances happen by just staying out of the way,” Rose (who happens to be an accomplished musician, an architect and a fishing boat captain) told us in 2012. “The technical stuff will take care of itself. That’s all Creampuff 101. To me, the inspiration is everything.”
Runner-up: 3180 Media Group CS
BEST OF SAVANNAH
Best Local Acoustic Band/Artist
29 MAY 22-28, 2013 | WWW.CONNECTSAVANNAH.COM
bEST OF sAVANNAH | continued from previous page