With the awards for my 2018 in music all set and handed out, let’s clean off the old crystal ball and see what’s in store for 2019.
At the time of writing (January 2019) I’m slated to attend two concerts. The first is Rubblebucket in just a week’s time with the second being Muse’s show in April. I’ve seen both groups before and although I am excited for the shows I don’t expect either one to drastically change the way I assess these bands. My guess is I’ll end up at a couple more shows this year but I’m struggling at the moment to pick out any bands that might announce a tour date for the end of the year (except for Lake Street Dive, who are perpetually touring). I would automatically go to see Of Monsters and Men but there isn’t any indication that the band will exist in 2019. I suppose since I value live performances so much in my music that I should consider dropping in on a few more shows at semi-random but those by definition would be impossible to predict within the premise of this post.
My expectation of a relatively slow concert year creates an interesting situation for the band of the year award given how important a live show has been in the past couple years of the award. I’m guessing the 2019 winner will be a repeat of a prior champion and that the shortlist will include no surprises. The most improved award is always pointless to predict and speculation about the lifetime achievement award is logically inconsistent – if I know about it now, why not just award it immediately?
The most interesting award category is the rookie of the year. As I glide into my thirties – The Middle Ages – I find it increasingly unlikely that I will continue to find a new artist or band I really like every year. At some point in the future, I’m sure this award will remain vacant as I confirm the fossilization of my musical preferences. However, this may not be the case for 2019 because at the time of writing I already have a solid candidate for next year – Kurt Vile. It helps him that I’m already familiar with him thanks to his collaboration with Courtney Barnett, Lotta See Lice, and I’ve found so far in 2019 that his solo work contains a couple of songs I can’t stop replaying. It’s a long year ahead and a lot can happen but for now, the title is Kurt’s to lose.
