Have you resolved to make an honest effort to find new music this year? Well you’re in luck because it’s OC Music Awards time, including its annual Best Live Band and Best Live Acoustic showcases. Each Tuesday for several weeks, bands and musicians are showcased at different Orange County venues as they compete for the title of Best Live Band 2011 and Best Live Acoustic 2011. The Best Live Band Finals will be held February 24, 2011 at the Fullerton Museum while the Best Live Band Finals will take place at The Galaxy on February 25, the very place the first OC Music Awards took place in 2001. Winners will also have the opportunity to perform at the OC Music Awards at the Grove of Anaheim on March 3. The showcases are always free, so check out the schedule to find one near you.
(If you can’t make it out to one of the showcases, stop by the Fullerton Museum anytime between February 24 and May 8 for the Listening Wall exhibit in the Leo Fender Gallery, featuring 12 iPod listening stations representing 25 awards categories, including the newly added Best Music Video and Best Youth, with a song from each nominated artist.)
So come give a listen and make this one new year resolution you can keep.
OC Music Awards 2011 Best Live Band/Live Acoustic Showcase Schedule
Tuesday, January 11, 7 p.m.
District Tustin Legacy, Tustin
Admission is free, all ages
Best Live Acoustic:
Skee (Sunset Beach)
Honeypie (Huntington Beach)
Headshine (Huntington Beach)
Canvas (Santa Ana)
Stacy Clark (Costa Mesa)
Tuesday, January 18, 7:30 p.m.
The Gypsy Lounge, Lake Forest
Admission is free, 21+
Best Live Band:
The Gromble (Laguna Niguel)
Strange Birds (Costa Mesa)
May McDonough (Orange)
Kiev (Orange)
California Condors (Orange)
Tuesday, January 25, 7 p.m.
The LAB, Costa Mesa
Admission is free, all ages
Best Live Acoustic:
The Orange Effect (Anaheim)
Brothers of the Castle (Santa Ana)
I Hate You Just Kidding (Costa Mesa)
Case Brothers (Newport Beach)
Fast Forward Romance (Orange)
Tuesday, February 1, 7:30 p.m.
Tiki Bar, Costa Mesa
Admission is free, 21+
Best Live Band:
She Screams Remedy (Anaheim)
Entice (Orange County)
Railroad to Alaska (Orange County)
Pistolero (Costa Mesa)
Seedless (Orange)
Tuesday, February 8, 7 p.m.
The Gypsy Den, Santa Ana
Admission is free, 21+
Best Live Acoustic:
Justin Soileau (Orange County)
Micah Brown (Dana Point)
Parker Macy Blues (Costa Mesa)
Danny Maika (Huntington Beach)
The Foxx & Da Hound (Tustin)
Tuesday, February 15, 7:30 p.m.
The Slidebar, Fullerton
Admission is free, 21+
Best Live Band:
Echo Echo (Santa Ana)
Stereofix (Costa Mesa)
Fiction Reform (Orange County)
We Are the Arsenal (Costa Mesa)
BLOK (Costa Mesa)
Thursday, February 24, 6 p.m.
Fullerton Museum, Fullerton
Listening Wall Exhibit Opening
Admission is free, all ages
Thursday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
Fullerton Museum, Fullerton
Best Live Acoustic Finals
Admission is free, all ages
Friday, February 25, 7:30 p.m.
The Galaxy, Costa Mesa
Best Live Band Finals
Admission is free, all ages
Saturday, March 5, 7 p.m.
Grove of Anaheim
OC Music Awards
Admission is $25, all ages
