Big John and Little Joe

Best C&W Venue
Blanco's Bar & Grill
This charmingly low-key honky-tonk plays host to some shit-kickin', beer-drinkin' and little-filly-twirlin' good times. It's a gathering place for cowboys of all faiths -- Urban, Cosmic, Stiff Stetson and No Depression -- where grizzled retirees plop down next to frat rats. "I always try to support both new bands and the favorites. And it's important to have original country music," said manager Karin Barnes at the awards ceremony. "We've tried to do that for 15 years, ever since I've been there. And it's been really rewarding." Many of Blanco's regular performers (Roger Creager, Cory Morrow) have gone on to wider fame, while up-and-comers like John Evans also find a little piece of stage to call their own. -- B.R.

Critic's pick: Blanco's Bar & Grill

Best Latin
Norma Zenteno

Some things never change: The Astros' failure to win the pennant. The boom/bust cycle of the Houston economy. The recipe for the cheese enchiladas at Felix's. Norma Zenteno's success in the Houston Press Music Awards. She walked off with the Best Latin trophy yet again this year, despite the fact that we wrongly lumped her in the Tejano category as well. "I'm gonna kill somebody," she is said to have said about that. Meanwhile, the perennial winner is still gigging (catch her Friday, August 2, with Celia Cruz and Arturo Sandoval at the Houston International Jazz Festival), and she has replaced a certain musical ex-Astro as Casa Olé's spokeswoman. It's always Zenteno Time around here, so don't worry, Norma -- we won't trade you to Detroit for a salsera to be named later. -- J.N.L.

Critic's pick: Los Skarnales

Best Celtic

Flying Fish Sailors
First-time winners FFS were more than happy to hook this prize, even though Celtic music is only a part of the band's repertoire. The Sailors also play old English ballads, folk and hilarious "novelty" numbers that still pass musical muster. "We're thrilled and honored after all these years; it gives us a good feeling," vocalist/whistles/clarinet player Joseph Linbeck said at the awards ceremony. "We've had some great songwriting and a great fan base, plus support from clubs and KPFT this year, and that meant a lot to us." More frequent gigging has also helped. Linbeck said that the group plans to stay busy during the fall festival season with gigs at Garden in the Heights and the Texas Renaissance Festival. FFS is also rereleasing its self-titled debut record from 1989. -- B.R.

Critic's pick: Flying Fish Sailors

Best Folk Venue
McGonigel's Mucky Duck
This frequent category winner has one of the most loyal (and cyber-savvy) customer bases in town. "It's gratifying to know that the audience appreciates the club and the music," said co-manager Rusty Andrews. "I think it has to do with the consistency of the artists who have graced our stage year after year." Indeed, in addition to regularly scheduled open mikes and Irish sessions, performers of regional and national fame (Kelly Willis, Derailers, Rory Block, Robbie Fulks, Junior Brown) frequently play here. And the club is as open to country, blues and other ethnic musics as it is to folk. If you need further prodding, the kitchen serves shepherd's pie and the bar draws Guinness. -- B.R.

Critic's pick: McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Best Traditional Blues, Best Guitarist
Little Joe Washington
Over the past few years this eccentric, incorrigibly scruffy 63-year-old bluesman has ascended to folk-hero status on the local scene. He's done so mainly by connecting with new fans beyond his native Third Ward turf, a phenomenon facilitated by his upstairs residency and weekly gig at the Continental Club, where he's considered a genial mascot of sorts. Though he began his career on drums, and dabbles with any musical instrument he can grab, Washington is generally acknowledged as the most uninhibited, risk-taking and spontaneously inventive guitarist in town. Many of his admirers point to his wailing, weathered voice (and his often improvised lyrical tirades) as much as his nimble fretwork on gut-bucket electric guitar as the basis for his bizarre genius. Meanwhile, his detractors -- some of his more professionally polished peers -- mutter about his ragged persona, occasionally brazen panhandling and disconcerting tendency to shift gears abruptly, mid-song, whenever a new idea strikes his strange fancy. But everyone concurs that this wiry, dreadlocked character is absolutely unique. Whether he's bumming money, pedaling his patched-together 20-inch bicycle across town, impishly flirting with women or stunning another audience with his raw musicianship and onstage antics, there's nobody else like Little Joe. -- R.W.

Critic's picks:
Best Traditional Blues - Texas Johnny Brown
Best Guitarist - I.J. Gosey