By Tamara Loggins

What do you have when you throw indie music fans clad in skinny jeans, rap artists with gold chains and old blues lovers in black fedoras together in one room? You get the Observer Music Awards.

Hundreds of people from all different music genres and walks of life flocked to the Granada Theater to take part in the 22nd Annual Dallas Observer Music Awards. Bands went head to head, competing for titles like “best musical group,” “best experimental/avant garde act,” and “best record store.” Just from those titles, you can see this isn’t your conventional music awards. The Observer did a really good job of bringing together all the different types of music genres and awarding those who were voted the best by fans.

What makes this award ceremony different than many others is the fan involvement. Bands who are more active with their fans are more likely to win at these awards. It’s a lot like The People’s Choice Awards, but with strictly local Dallas musicians.

The woman who stole the award show by taking home five awards was Sarah Jaffe. She’s the only artist who for the past three years has won every award she has been nominated for.

The event showcased an eclectic array of musicians, either in on-stage “mash-ups” or in an arena in the center of the crown referred to as “the pit.” The highlight of the evening was watching semi-like sounding musicians’ pair up to create intriguing, off the wall music as they mashed their musical styles together.
Heavy hitters Somebody’s Darling paired up with the folksy duo, The Ohs to create a musical style jam packed with equal parts of country-rock guitar riffs and earthy-toned banjo and vocals. Another fan favorite, Spooky Kids, took the pit with their upbeat, catchy indie rock songs that got the crowd in an uproar.

The entire evening was just full of everything a music lover wants, music, success, and a tinge of alcohol. The Dallas Observer Awards was definitely a night to remember.

Posted by: Sam Moore

Tags: Dallas Observer, Texas music