Ah, spring

There are certain markers that act as seasonal wake-up calls. We’re not ones to notice the popping up of flower bulbs planted by the neighbors. But around our offices we can’t help noticing that with spring comes the Sacramento Area Music Awards (SAMMIES), which will take place next Wednesday, March 27.

These award shows take months of preparation and it’s no easy feat. Our Promotions Department (which is actually one person, Annette Seeber) has to book the Crest Theater, work with promoters and sponsors, line up presenters, and get the local bands to perform.

Since we no longer trust the big accounting firms, we have one lonely person totaling up the over 3000 votes in 12 readers’ choice categories. We already gathered a group of knowledgeable music critics to pick the winners in 11 other categories.

There is a wide range of presenters from the community. You could hardly range further from the veteran broadcast news duo of Dave Walker and Lois Hart to members of the metal band Tesla.

And the music itself goes from pop and rock to country and jazz, and beyond. We are trying to help musicians reach broader audiences by showcasing their music and patting the winners on the back.

But at the tail end of all this prize-giving, glamour and music, is the award that goes to the WIND Youth Center for homeless teens. A portion of the money from ticket sales ($2,000) will benefit the organization.

And there’s one more marker—the anniversary of this publication. We’ve just completed our 13th year of survival and that deserves some sort of award. Our acceptance speech would go like this: We wish to thank our advertisers, our employees, our sources, and our readers—without them we wouldn’t be here.