Here's some good news for the end of the week: Yesterday Sonic Guild announced the recipients of their 2023 grants and gave $10,000 to 10 local bands and musicians, no strings attached.
The winners are: All Star Opera, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Byland, LIVt, Maya Marie, Monsterwatch, Richar Simeonoff, Tekla Waterfield & Jeff Fielder, Terror/Cactus, and Teztalks.
I'm so happy to see Black Belt Eagle Scout on the list! Her album, The Land, the Water, the Sky (released in February) is in the running for one of my favorites of the year, and next year she'll no doubt get more of the national attention she deserves when she goes out on a 20-date US tour opening for Sleater-Kinney. (And you can see her December 16 at the newly reopened Black Lodge with Mount Eerie, btw.)
It's a much-deserved win for LIVt, too—in October she followed up her (very great) 2022 release Pink and Orange with another EP, I Just Want My Bitches to Fly. Like Missy Elliott? That '90s R&B vibe mixed with hip-hop, rap, funk, and basically any beats that'll get you to shake your ass? Great. You'll love Livt.
The 2023 awards ceremony will be February 17 at the Triple Door, and tickets go on sale Monday at 9 am. There will be performances from this year's winners as well as appearances from previous Sonic Guild grantees.Â
Now for something very sweet, please watch this video of Alie Renee of Byland learning that she just got ten grand. (I hope that kitten gets a new catnip toy.)
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