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Photo by Juan R. Govea.

More than 200 rowdy souls piled into the Ridglea Theater Sunday night for our 22nd (or 23rd) Annual Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards, and in addition to the performances and partying, we, as always, handed out some Panthies — lots of them.

Royal Sons won for best rock band while our readers also chose 88 Killa for best hip-hop and Squeezebox Bandits for both Country and Tejano. Matt Tedder’s I Can Dream was voted album of the year, and Denver Williams & The Gas Money’s “Key Lime Pie” took home top song. Check out all the winners below.

Also receiving tiny panther heads were our Hall of Famers. For his decades opening and operating venues and managing artists (and making a lot of music in different bands on his own), Ryan Higgs was inducted, and Andre “Dre” Edmondson joined him as part of the 2023 class for his decades running sound all over town, including at Friday on the Green and Lola’s. We also presented Amplify 817 with an honorary award for the work they do promoting Fort Worth artists every day

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The performances kept the party going all night. Denver Williams & The Gas Money, The Grae, and Averi Burke melted faces along with house band the Cowtown Dugouts (James Hinkle, Matt Tedder, Andrew Skates, Sean Russell, Nick Tittle, J/O/E, Abel Castillo, Jeremy Hull, Steve Hammond, Max Kusin, and Jason Davis).

And our MCs Greg Spicoli (KNON’s Reckless Rock Radio) and Ian Mac (The Great Unwashed podcast) did a stellar job moving things along with a smile. Thanks to Juan R. Govea for these photos and additional reporting. Until next year …

Photo by Wyatt Newquist
Photo by Wyatt Newquist
Photo by Wyatt Newquist
Photo by Wyatt Newquist
Photo by Wyatt Newquist
Photo by Wyatt Newquist
Photo by Wyatt Newquist

Album

I Can Dream by Matt Tedder

Americana/Roots Band

Cut Throat Finches

Avant Garde/Experimental Band

The Go-Go Rillas

Bassist

Kris Luther, Arenda Light

Blues Band

Matt Tedder

Country Band

Squeezebox Bandits

DJ Artist

DJ Soft Cherry

Drummer

John Paul Thomas, Broke String Burnett

Folk Act

Jacob Furr Band

Guitarist

Denver Williams, The Gas Money

Hip-Hop Artist

88 Killa

Keyboardist

Katie Robertson

Metal Band

One-Eyed Monsters

New Band

One-Eyed Monsters

Pop Act

Simone Nicole

Producer

Nick Tittle

Punk Band

Mean Motor Scooter

R&B/Soul Group

4 Ya Soul

Regional Act

Texas Flood

Rock Band

Royal Sons

Song

“Key Lime Pie” by Denver Williams & The Gas Money

Sound Engineer (tie)

Clay Anderson, Mark Randall

Tejano Band

Squeezebox Bandits

Tribute Band

Poo Live Crew

Video

“Key Lime Pie” by Denver Williams & The Gas Money

Female Vocalist

Simone Nicole

Male Vocalist

Blake Parish, Royal Sons

Open-Mic Night

The Cicada, Open-Mic Night with Tommy Luke

Music Club

Magnolia Motor Lounge

Music Venue

Billy Bob’s Texas

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