THE 37th ANNUAL AUSTIN MUSIC AWARDS TO BE HELD FEBRUARY 27th AT ACL LIVE AT THE MOODY THEATER

ANMOUNCING THE TOWNES VAN ZANDT AND MARGARET MOSER AWARD WINNERS

AUSTIN, TX – October 17, 2018 – The Austin Chronicle, SXSW, and Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater are proud to present the 37th annual Austin Music Awards on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, with proceeds benefiting the SIMS Foundation and adding HAAM as a beneficiary. Tickets for the event will go on sale Friday, October 19, at 10 a.m. and will be available at acl-live.com and austinmusicawards.org.

With a date for 2019 that places the Austin Music Awards before SXSW festivities begin, the night will highlight must-see local talent for people coming to the fest. As always, the Austin Music Awards will continue to celebrate the winners from The Austin Chronicle Music Poll, which begins on November 15, 2018, and includes a finalist round of voting in January.

The Austin Music Industry Awards (AMIA), a special celebration honoring winners of the industry-specific categories from The Austin Chronicle Music Poll, will now take place on Sunday, February 17, 2019, at Emo’s Austin. Winners will be announced during the Industry Awards.

The Austin Music Awards announced today that the Townes Van Zandt Songwriting Award will be presented to singer-songwriter ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, and the Margaret Moser Women in Music Award will be presented to long-time music champion DIANNE SCOTT.

“The Austin Music Awards is one of the city’s most cherished and important music events. Unique in terms of longevity, history, ambition, and constituency, it is that time once a year when the entire music community comes together to honor their own, salute the past, and anticipate and support the future. All of Austin’s music fans, musicians, and leaders are invited to join us because, most of all, this is a hell of a party, great music, old friends, and new ones to be made,” said Louis Black.

CHARLIE SEXTON will serve as music director, joining the returning house band that includes Michael Ramos, John Michael Schoepf, and Conrad Choucroun. Rick McNulty and Laurie Gallardo of KUTX will return to host the awards ceremony, the proceeds of which benefit the SIMS Foundation and now HAAM.

Each year, legendary performers, guests, and presenters, like Robert Plant, Chrissie Hynde, Fab 5 Freddy, Terry Allen, Blondie, Bruce Springsteen, and Pete Townshend, have taken the stage at the Austin Music Awards to celebrate the Austin musicianship that this city is now known the world over.

The Margaret Moser Women in Music Award is named after the Chronicle’s own Margaret Moser, who produced the Austin Music Awards and was a trailblazer in the music industry. This award is presented to others in the music business who have deep roots and are living legends of our time. Previous winners include Susan Antone, Rose Reyes, and Liz Lambert.

The Townes Van Zandt Songwriting Award honors a talent whose work has had an extensive and ongoing impact in Texas, the U.S., and around the world. Townes Van Zandt gave us extraordinary songs, but he also changed the way songs were written. Previous winners include Terry Allen and Joe Ely. The Austin Music Awards is also excited to announce a brand new marketing and events partnership with Margin Walker, the largest independent live music booking, promotions, and creative marketing and events agency in the state. Margin Walker has built a loyal following of music fans and industry tastemakers over 13 years of producing events such as Fun Fun Fun Fest, Sound on Sound Fest, Levitation, hundreds of SXSW events, and over 1,000 venue shows a year across Texas.

Stay tuned to The Austin Chronicle for the full lineup, and expect surprises as we celebrate 37 years of the Austin Music Awards. Ticket sales for the event start October 19 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at acl-live.com and austinmusicawards.org.

The Austin Music Awards is presented by The Austin Chronicle, SXSW, and ACL Live at the Moody Theater and produced in partnership with Louis Black Productions and Margin Walker.

For more event updates, visit www.austinmusicawards.org.

For VIP floor table purchases or sponsorship information, contact Roger Gordon at sponsors@austinmusicawards.org or 512.636.2540.

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