Best New Groups/Artists
BK-One
This gifted hip-hop producer (pictured left) is fond of pairing Brazilian music samples with fist-pumping beats (see his debut, Rádio Do Canibal).

Accordo
Made up of of St. Paul Chamber Orchestra principal players, this brave new ensemble is looking to expand the classical audience by playing in the indie-minded Southern Theater. Upcoming show: 4/19 at the Southern Theater.

The Twilight Hours
John Munson and Matt Wilson update the sublime pop-rock they perfected in their first band, the late, great Trip Shakespeare. 

Red Pens
An Uptown-based two-piece making the noise of an army—albeit a peaceful one weaned on Guided by Voices. Their debut, Reasons, was the best local rock record of 2009. Upcoming shows: 3/20 at Sauce; 3/27 at 7th Street Entry.

Lookbook
The leaders (along with pals Solid Gold) of the ’80s synth-pop renaissance currently sweeping the Cities.

Peter Wolf Crier
Minnesota’s answer to Arcade Fire. 

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Best Off-the-beaten-path Music Venue
318 Café
The upscale yet relaxed 318 Café in Excelsior is a requisite stop for the region’s singer-songwriters—and the best-kept dinner-and-a-show secret in town. 318 Water St., Excelsior; 952.401.7902

Best Unsigned Local Band
Phantom Tails
Because they sound like a looser, grittier Love and Rockets.

Upcoming show: 3/4 at the Kitty Cat Klub

Best Artist in Residence
The Parker Quartet
Wondering where that Legacy Amendment money is going? A chunk of it is funding MPR’s first-ever artist in residence program. Throughout 2010, the acclaimed classical ensemble The Parker Quartet will play local concerts, give interviews on MPR and run educational workshops. parkerquartet.com

Best Jazz Night
Jazz Implosion
No disrespect to the Dakota and Artists' Quarter—the area’s great, but relatively traditional jazz clubs—but if you really want to know what’s happening—and happenin’—in local jazz, this is the night for you. Held in the wood paneled confines of the Clown Lounge (a.k.a., the Turf’s basement), Jazz Implosion features weekly performances by the Twin Cities’ top experimental jazz groups, including hosts Fat Kid Wednesdays—a wickedly talented trio, which recently received a glowing review on The New Yorker’s “Goings On” blog. Mondays at the Turf Club

Album of the Year (So Far)
Sugar Head Pie by Patches + Gretchen
Don’t let her tipsy, tobacco-voiced delivery fool you: Local songsmith Gretchen Seichrist is clear-eyed and in control on her second album, a superb collection of broken down Americana bolstered by Seichrist’s evocative, goose bump-inducing lyrics. Sugar Head Pie CD release party: 3/11 at the Varsity Theater

Our Favorite Radio DJ
David Campbell
We used to listen to David Campbell every week on Drive 105’s all-local-music show “Homegrown,” so it’s been great to hear him get more and more mic time at the Current this year. Campbell, who took over hosting duties of “The Local Show” in addition to his regular Saturday gig running the all-request “Radio Free Current,” knows more about local music than any other jock in town (he’s worked at the Electric Fetus forever and plays guitar in E.L.nO, the popular Electric Light Orchestra cover band, among other projects). His greatest asset: an easy-breezy interview style that makes listening to bands talk about themselves in a radio studio actually enjoyable, which is no small feat.