Band of the Year: Black Pumas

(Sponsored by Dulce Vida Tequila)

How high up in the stratosphere can one Austin group ascend? Sky's the limit for the Black Pumas.

The local soul-rock septet, energized by the electric emotion of singer Eric Burton, became ubiquitous enough on 2020's national stage that when they were heard in a Super Bowl commercial collaborating with Lucius on a cover of the Kinks' classic "Strangers" it came as a shock to absolutely no one. Only getting booked to play the actual halftime show could up the ante at this juncture.

Pandemic hit the three-year-old band particularly hard, nixing international travel and a sold-out four night May run at Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater that totaled over 9,000 tickets, a historic and unparalleled local feat. Their momentum carried over into remote performances as guests on late night shows and a virtual appearance from ACL Live on the Biden/Harris inauguration telecast. Although they lost out on last year's Best New Artist Grammy to Billie Eilish, the deluxe reissue of their 2019 self-titled debut elicited three nominations for the forthcoming ceremony: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best American Roots Performance, the latter two relating to their anthem "Colors."

In other words, Black Pumas posted a third straight monumental year in a 12-months no one else would dare call "monumental."

Burton, Adrian Quesada, Stephen Bidwell, Brendan Bond, Lauren Cervantes, JaRon Marshall, and Angela Miller collected Austin Music Award honors along the way. 2018 saw them win Best New Band and perform at the show. Last year, they took home Band of the Year as well as Best Soul/R&B.

A rare feat: Austin's favorite band overlapping with one of America's favorite new bands. Enjoy it. – Kevin Curtin