52 Pick-Up

Elaine Greer (5 p.m.)

Nominated in: Female Vocals

It seems almost criminal that Elaine Greer hasn't snagged Best Female Vocals yet. Her sultry pop swoon was born and reared on Houston's indie stages, and with this year's Making Plans and Going Places EP, Greer finally debuted her richly layered transformation on record. Jenny Lewis/Gillian Welch-inspired instrumentations sway along with a more pointed, though evidently still heart-searching, Greer. Here's (selfishly) hoping she never finds her Prince Charming. Dusti Rhodes
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Dixie Trahan (6 p.m.)

Nominated in: Country

Texas transplant Dixie Trahan merges the sound of classic country with the more immediate, radio-friendly slickness of contemporary Nashville. Just glance at her set list, which pairs classics like Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" and Rosanne Cash's "Seven Year Ache" with more modern fare like Keith Urban and the Dixie Chicks. Trahan's originals ply similar waters, featuring sweet and sultry singing that works as well in a jazzy vernacular as a straightforward country twang. Nicholas L. Hall
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Free Radicals (7 p.m.)

Nominated in: Drums (Nick Cooper), Misc. Instrument (Jason Jackson, saxophone), Jazz

Free Radicals is a band without a readily identifiable genre. There's jazz, yeah, but isn't "improvisational jazz" a sort of paradox? Social causes and "Food Not Bombs"-style injustice solving don't escape the Radicals' sound, one not easily forgotten or dismissed. It's as original as it is big, and with over 50 revolving players on various projects, Free Radicals is as big as they come. Watch yourself, jazzies. Brandon K. Hernsberger
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Caretta Bell (8 p.m.)

Nominated in: R&B/Funk/Soul

Caretta Bell is a neo-soul artist, which means earthy, sweaty, less syncopated jazz-funk. But more than that, she is a singer — a true-to-life, unquestionably talented, no-Autotune-necessary singer. Bell's debut, Love's Eye View, pranced all across the notion that Houston R&B singers were not to be taken seriously, and Keith Sweat, Mos Def and Bell Biv DeVoe have all called on her to open their shows. What more needs to be said when the guys who sang "Poison" ask you to open? Shea Serrano
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Plump (9 p.m.)

Nominated in: Drummer (Doug Payne), Misc. Instrument (Jason Jackson, saxophone)

Plump could be nominated in any number of categories — Best Funk, Best Jazz, Best Jam, etc. These hippie-chic wanderers traverse the South with a brand of fan-friendly foot-stompers that might just make your apathetic arms twirl like fleshy hula hoops, snatching for hydroponics in the confetti-flavored sky. The group's most recent album, I Like the Idea of Chance, was released early last year. Brandon K. Hernsberger
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Rocbar (Bayou Place, 530 Texas)

Benjamin Wesley (5 p.m.)

Nominated in: EP/7-inch (Geschichte), Song ("Have You Ever Died?"), Songwriter

He may play bass with hip-hop punks Tha Fucking Transmissions, but Ben Wesley's solo stuff sounds like he's AWOL from snowy indie darlings Fleet Foxes. This year's ­Geschichte EP has been haunting our music player since we got our hands on it in February. Live, Wesley somehow manages to make every single noise by himself, methodically killing it on every single instrument he jumps on. And there are legion. Craig Hlavaty
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Tha Fucking Transmissions (6 p.m.)

Nominated in: Male Vocals (Cornbreadd)

Tha Fucking Transmissions might best be described as a clusterfuck, but in the best possible way. It's one of those "let's throw this shit together and see what happens" affairs that actually works. With a chopped-and-screwed blend of Third Coast hip-hop, vaguely psychedelic hard rock and ball-of-fire front man Cornbreadd, on paper it sounds like a colossal train wreck. It works because it makes you listen on edge, just waiting for shit to start flying apart. Nicholas L. Hall
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Skeleton Dick (7 p.m.)

Nominated in: Punk

When Skeleton Dick jumps into a song of Descendents-inflected pop-punk, the uninitiated may think they're in for a girl-anxious romp. But the lyrics, about pooping and STD-ridden families visiting the clinic together like some sort of porno-riffic Brady Bunch, may give you a twinkle in your deviant eye. Or maybe you'll just leave the venue to go home, light a candle and cry in a closet. Don't look at us; you guys are the sick puppies who nominated them. Craig Hlavaty
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Fat Tony (8 p.m.)

Nominated in: Underground Hip-Hop

Dirty is to messy as crazy-cool style is to Fat Tony. Playing somewhere in Houston almost every night (or it sure seems like it), he's no newcomer. What makes Tony so great aren't his beats or his rhymes — though they are something to listen to — but his style and delivery. There's nothing sloppy about his flow; it's clear-cut and even, so not a single word can be missed. Also, he doesn't demand his audience give him respect, or even ask. Instead he proves why he deserves it, and it's surrendered to him. Kim Douglass
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Spain Colored Orange (9 p.m.)

Nominated in: Misc. Instrument (Eric Jackson, trumpet), Keyboards (Gilbert Alfaro), Indie Rock

Spain Colored Orange belongs to the new school of pop music, independent but still so damn happy. What makes this band stand out, however, is its penchant for the psychedelic music of yesterday. On songs like "Cheap Thrills" or "Who Am I," the sudden burst of a trumpet may be unexpected but definitely doesn't go unappreciated. Multiple HPMA winners in 2006, SCO finally released the long-gestating Sneaky Like a Villain earlier this year. Kim Douglass
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