2023 City Paper Music Awards – Charleston City Paper
Nominees and winners alike rocked the Music Farm stage this week during the 2023 City Paper Music Awards. This year, readers voted for their favorite artists in various genres including Americana/country, reggae, hip-hop, indie, metal and more.
Amongst the winners, you’ll find some familiar names like Jazz Artist of the Year Charlton Singleton and newcomers such as Up-and-Coming Act of the Year Magnolia.
Here, we’ve highlighted just a handful of this year’s winners alongside a list of all 17 bands and artists who took home a title. Congrats to the winners, and see y’all next year!
Grayson Little
Male singer-songwriter of the year
Singer finds a sweet spot in his old stomping grounds
Listen to even a few seconds of Grayson Little’s new single, “Delilah,” and you may suspect that the Charleston songwriter spent some time in Nashville. The layers of production, intriguing transitions and sharp quality of the musicianship sound like professional studio musicians led by a Music City producer.
But 100% of “Delilah” — along with Little’s other five songs released since late 2022 — was created here in Charleston.
“I got connected to Wolfgang Zimmerman, and he’s recorded all my stuff,” Little said. “And it’s only been Charleston cats playing.”
One song, “Take Me Down River,” received over 200,000 streams after landing a spot on a Spotify Hot Country playlist.
It’s a remarkable feat for a songwriter who spent his early 20s chasing musical success in Colorado and Hollywood before finding a sweet spot back at home.
The son of a Southern Baptist minister, Little grew up off Clements Ferry Road and attended Palmetto Christian Academy. Posting high-school-era videos of himself to YouTube, covering songs like “Walking in Memphis,” helped him build the confidence to audition for American Idol. In 2019, he made the cut to travel to Los Angeles for season 17, appearing in a single episode with an ensemble singing “California Dreaming” before being sent home.
At the time, he’d moved to Colorado for a job as a church worship leader. He also met and married there, a relationship that has since ended, fueling inspiration for songs like “Take Me Down River” and “Odd Letter.”
“I walked into the house, and there were pictures of our wedding, a bouquet and a letter on top of it,” Little recalls of the true story that prompted the latter song. “It was very melodramatic and all real.”
Little balances his songwriting career with cover gigs around Charleston and Sunday mornings leading music at Seacoast Church on Johns Island. His band of buddies includes several friends made through church. Although he remains rooted in faith, Little acknowledges that his wayward wandering helped him find his authentic voice.
“I never really fit in with the straightlaced Southern Baptists, or even with Charleston culture,” he said. “I’ve always been loud and boisterous and over the top, so I didn’t fit that polite Southern boy standard.”
His next single, an early 2024 release called “I’ve Tried,” encapsulates that feeling, honed by an illness this summer that caused him to lose his voice and almost have to cancel his biggest gig yet — Riverfront Revival.
“The ending line is, ‘I found my power through my pain,’ ” Little said. “I tried to chase pain away with booze and drugs and bad relationships. But I healed through real connections with people — and in this case, steroids and doctors.”
“I’ve Tried” will join newer releases like “Mountain Mama Queen” and “Delilah” — a track Little describes as “disco swamp country” — on his full-length debut album, slated for a mid-2024 release. If it garners the same attention as his top singles, he may look back on the success he’s experienced so far like a pre-season scrimmage.
“I’ve learned that sometimes nos are yeses for the future,” Little said in 2019 to the Moultrie News after his early exit from American Idol. Just a few years later, he’s got a tight band, a formidable online audience and accolades as the Male Singer-Songwriter of the Year in
his hometown.
“I’ve been so lucky to surround myself with the right people,” Little said. “I’ve honestly only just started believing it. I always knew there was something to my music, but it feels like lately, the stars are aligned.”
—Stratton Lawrence
Caryn Egan
Female Singer-Songwriter of the Year
Song of the Year for “Barefoot Child”
Caryn Egan was a classical viola player until she met Mike Martin at his bar, Folly Moon, in Muncie, Ind. Martin’s late-2000s move from Charleston back to his home state proved fortuitous. Egan made a seamless transition from orchestra pit to rowdy late-night stages with Martin’s band, the Beautiful Mess, and when he returned to the Lowcountry 10 years ago, Egan joined him.
They’ve performed together ever since, including weekly gigs at Planet Follywood and Burns Alley. But it wasn’t until a few years before Covid that Egan increased her presence at the front of the stage, joining Martin for duets on songs like “Jackson.”
At home, she’d occasionally pencil lyrics into journals, sometimes backed by ukulele strumming. The verses never progressed to full songs until a failing relationship led her to reflect on her transition from a child into a whiskey-swilling woman out breaking hearts.
“I usually get little bits and pieces that don’t go anywhere, but with ‘Barefoot Child,’ I was able to sit down and write it out in full,” Egan said. “Still, it was never meant to be a song I’d release. I was just journaling and working through what was going on.”
The song’s three verses trace her progression from innocence to making foolish adult decisions, bringing it together with one of the Bible’s classic references: “When Delilah shaved Samson and cut him down to size/Do you think she meant to be his wife?/Did she want inside his bed or did she want inside his head, to linger there and ruin him for life?” A Lumineers-esque bridge follows, then a final viola-backed chorus.
The song soon appeared in Mike Martin & the Beautiful Mess live sets, and in 2022, they recorded it. It’s now the group’s most streamed song. Although Egan hasn’t brought other original songs to the band yet, “there’s definitely a lot sitting in notebooks,” she told the Charleston City Paper.
“Knowing that ‘Barefoot Child’ connects with people is a little kick in the butt to write more,” Egan said of winning two City Paper Music Awards this year. “When you’re trying to be an artist with something to say, but you’re also trying to entertain people, this kind of thing is an inspiration to get back to the creative process.”
—Stratton Lawrence
Mystic Vibrations
Reggae Band of the Year
Truth be told, Ric Williams, singer, guitarist and co-founder of Mystic Vibrations, the City Paper Music Awards 2023 Reggae Band of the Year, seemed caught a little off-guard when we informed him of his band’s win.
He initially responded with a somewhat surprised “thank you very much,” but as Williams talked about his history with reggae music and the good vibes Mystic Vibrations has been spreading since 1992, it became apparent that he was passionate about the genre. In fact, he almost had no choice but to love reggae.
“I grew up in Jamaica,” Williams said. “So I grew up with reggae music, you see what I’m saying? I found it before reggae was even a popular thing in Jamaica. Bob Marley was just breaking out. So when Bob Marley started to break out, it inspired us to do something too.”
But for Williams and the rest of the Mystic Vibrations quartet, playing reggae isn’t just about enjoying the music. There’s a deeper connection.
“It’s spiritual music, and I’m a spiritual person,” Williams said, “so that’s what I love about reggae music. It speaks to the soul, from my perspective.”
The band has released several original albums but truly earns its keep onstage with a carefully constructed show designed to take the audience gradually higher.
“What we do is we normally start out real gentle,” Williams said, “and build it up by the end of the show. You’ve got to read the audience; you’ve got to see what they’re into. They might want to talk to their friends because they’re just getting there, so you’ll have some mellow going on in the background. Then by the time the night is finished, you bring it up to feel upbeat. The audience gives, and we give back. That’s how it works, and it’s a beautiful thing.”
It’s an approach that’s kept Mystic Vibrations thriving for more than 30 years.
“We have a thing that they say in business,” Williams said, “because music is a business as well as entertainment and vibes and spiritual fulfillment. In business, you have a thing they call ‘repeat customers.’ So each year, the same people that we play for, they call us back to play because where we play, we carry good vibes, you know?” —Vincent Harris
Sxvxnt
Hip-Hop Act of the Year
Soul/R&B Act of the Year
The road to the City Paper Music Awards (CPMAs) has been long and winding for Sxvxnt (pronounced: Savant), though he’s been gaining a lot of traction locally. This time around, this playfully enigmatic figure won two categories: hip-hop and soul/R&B.
“I’m originally from Chicago, but I moved to Charleston two and a half years ago after a five-year stint in Los Angeles,” Sxvxnt told the Charleston City Paper.
Sxvxnt credits his unique upbringing with providing the sort of musical exposure that would set him up for the success he is enjoying now.
“I’m from a family of musicians,” Sxvxnt said. “My dad is a singer and pianist by ear; I’m a classically trained trumpet player; and all nine of my siblings are classically trained on their instruments: guitar, percussion, oboe, piano, viola, bassoon, saxophone, violin and trombone. All of us began on piano between the ages of 4 to 7, and eight of us branched off onto different primary instruments after two to three years of piano lessons.”
From those impactful beginnings, the journey expanded in ways he could not have predicted. For example, Sxvxnt joined the U.S. Army as a bandsman; toured with that band’s Top 40 ensemble; and also toured internationally with a jazz combo. All the while, he kept rap and hip-hop at the top of his mind, too.
“I began writing raps at the age of 14 after hearing Mos Def’s album Black On Both Sides for the first time,” Sxvxnt said. “I’d probably describe what I do as classic hip-hop/rap: beats and bars, and a smattering of melody. My sound is rooted in the tenets of ’90s and early 2000s hip-hop and even when I venture into more modern soundscapes, like the song ‘Center Court’ with Tyrie, my writing/rapping approach still has a classic undercurrent to it.”
Although he’s thrilled to take home two CPMAs this week, Sxvxnt said there are other ways in which he currently measures success: “via the staying power of the music I release, the unique platforms wherein the music lands, and the impact the music is having on listeners.”
—Kevin Murphy Wilson
Magnolia
Up-and-Coming Music Act of the Year
With a name like Magnolia, it’s not surprising that the members of this year’s Up-and-Coming Music Act of The Year were all born and raised in South Carolina. It is, however, astounding to learn that William Bryant (guitar/vocals), Jonathan Baker (drums) and Brayden Hoxie (bass) are all still seniors in high school.
Baker and Bryant had known each other for quite a while before eventually adding Hoxie to the mix, although it apparently took a little time for everyone to get their roles sorted out.
“I’m originally a guitarist,” Baker said, “but William and I needed a drummer so bad that it was up to him or myself to take that on, and I was the one with the drum set.”
Bryant told the Charleston City Paper, “I actually wanted to be a drummer, but I had a guitar sitting in my closet. So my mom told me that if I learned to play it first, she would buy me a drum set. Everything ended up working out for the best, though, and I don’t need a drum set anymore.”
Stylistically, the band comes across, at times, as an updated amalgamation of its main influences: Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Black Sabbath and Queen. Yet, this decidedly original act is definitely one to watch on the local scene.
“We’re not big on genre,” Bryant said, “but if I had to categorize it, I’d say we’re an alternative rock band, reminiscent of grunge and stuff like that.”
As to whether or not living in the Lowcountry has impacted their collective sound, Baker said he suspects that it’s affected them more as individuals than directly influencing the inflection of Magnolia’s music. “The only thing that really came from us being from here is the band name because you can’t really go anywhere without seeing Magnolia on a sign somewhere.”
“Yeah, it’s like free advertising,” Hoxie added.
For Baker and the others, it’s all about moving onwards and upwards after winning a City Paper Music Award. He indicated they’re most interested in improving and growing and “really just not moving backwards.”
“What we really want to do next,” Baker said, “is get an album out and get on the road.”
—Kevin Murphy Wilson
2023 City Paper Music Awards Winners
City Paper readers’ ballot results:
Reggae Band of the Year
Mystic Vibrations
Up-and-Coming Music Act of the Year
Magnolia
Electronic/Experimental Act of the Year
One Spliff and Three Minorities
Country/Americana Band of the Year
Mike Martin and the Beautiful Mess
DJ of the Year
DJ FRE4K
Album of the Year
Something More and Kind of Less by Jay Van Raalte
Indie/Alternative/Rock Band of the Year
Jay Van Raalte & the Spectrum
Jazz Artist of the Year
Charlton Singleton
Hip-Hop Act of the Year
SXVXNT
Song of the Year
“Barefoot Child” by Caryn Egan
Music Video of the Year
“LO$tD” by Slim S.O.U.L
ft. Moonkat Daddi
Jam Band of the Year
¡LLA Z¡LLA
Soul/R&B Act of the Year
SXVXNT
Studio/Producer of the Year
Hirow
Male Singer/Songwriter of the Year
Grayson Little
Female Singer/Songwriter of the Year
Caryn Egan
Screamo/Metal Band of the Year
Kept In Ruins
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