Live music preview: Austin Music Awards lineup set for Mohawk on February 26

The 41st Austin Music Awards presented by the Austin Chronicle are set to take place February 26 at Mohawk honoring the best in Austin music over the past year. The lineup has been set with performances by Jackie Venson, Como Las Movies with Sabrina Ellis, Die Spitz and more.

Tickets are on sale now and proceeds benefit music mental health organization, SIMS Foundation. Check out past AMA winners here.

After the event’s brief stint at Emo’s the last couple years, the AMAs move to the Red River Cultural District icon, Mohawk this year with a new emcee, Brigitte Bandit, an Austin-based drag queen, show producer, and performance artist. They’ve been voted Best Drag Showcase in The Austin Chronicle Best of Austin Readers Poll. As a born-and-raised Austin queen, Brigitte is no stranger to the Austin Music Awards. Not only has she been involved behind the scenes in past years, but her father, Dino Lee, is an award recipient as well.

Jackie Venson hits the stage for the awards show after an unprecedented, sold-out residency at Antone’s last month. The red-hot blues guitartist will present an intimate duo performance with her drummer, Rodney Hyder. Venson’s latest record, Evolution of Joy dropped January 26 and might be her best recording yet. The Cosmic Clash were already big fans of the original.  This re-imagining of Venson’s album Joy (2019) is a fantastic listen.

Como Las Movies had a big year in 2021, playing Format Fest, Austin City Limits Festival while bandleader Nelson Valente Aguilar introduced new members and took the reins as vocalist. The results speak for themselves as the group continues to gain traction into this year with a great new single.

Aguilar told The Cosmic Clash after he’d agreed to play the event, he suggested that he invite Sabrina Ellis to guest on the Spanish language song. He got the idea from hearing Ellis sing in Spanish on the track “Llorando” off Sweet Spirit’s 2020 album Trinidad. Ellis readily agreed to join the show in what promises to be a special moment in the evening.

Perhaps the most exciting guest is an upstart garage punk band that sounds more like Courtney Love’s Hole should have sounded, Die Spitz. The all -girl group of college students have played a successful residency at Hotel Vegas and to a capacity crowd inside Stubb’s BBQ during Free Week all inside of about a year of playing live shows. Why? Because they straight up rawk like the best Grunge bands of the 90s but with an entertaining and raw stage show that saw the band tackle each other at the end of their sold-out show with Amyl and the Sniffers in L.A. earlier this week. It’s hard not to like this band.

Poster art by Ami Plasse

Complete list of performers: 

JACKIE VENSON

COMO LAS MOVIES with SABRINA ELLIS

KELLY WILLIS, BRENNEN LEIGH, & MELISSA CARPER

KEELED SCALES FAMILY BAND with members of GOOD LOOKS, THE DEER, & SUN JUNE

BLAKCHYL

DIE SPITZ

And a special pre-show set with EVE MONSEES & MIKE BUCK (private event)

Emceed by BRIGITTE BANDIT