Meet the winners of the 2023 Colorado Sound Music Awards

Colorado sound music awards winners 2023

Congratulations to the winners you chose for our 2nd annual Colorado Sound Music Awards – and thanks to all who voted and attended the in-person cermony!

The first-ever in-person Colorado Sound Music Awards ceremony took place Monday, Nov. 6 at the Boulder Theater, where we announced the winners of this year’s awards – as voted by you.

Pink Fuzz has won the On the Rise category, which highlights a band that is busting onto the Colorado music scene and gaining attention and traction. The Mishawaka earned the most of your votes to win the Colorado Spirit category, highlighting an artist, venue, or institution that truly embodies the spirit and soul of Colorado. Alysia Kraft won the category for Outstanding Stage Presence, for her tremendous live shows. Taylor Sims won for Outstanding ‘Secret Ingredient,’ based on his outstanding work with his wife Bonnie Sims and many other Colorado artists. And the fifth was a write-in category open to any active Colorado artist, and you chose to honor Volores as the Band You’d Drive 105.5 Miles to See.

In addition, this year we introduced the Colorado Sound Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring longtime Colorado radio personality Chris K.

See more photos from the celebration below – which also included performances by 2MX2, iZCALLi, and Gasoline Lollipops.

Thank you for supporting the Colorado music community!

Meet the 2023 Winners

Below is a list of the winners in each category, with links to an exclusive interview and write-up on each artist.

On The Rise – Pink Fuzz

Boulder-bred hard-rockers Pink Fuzz might only have one studio album under their belts, 2018’s Speed Demon, but the young, dedicated-to-rock trio actually has a long history from when its members were even younger. Siblings John and Lulu Demitro met phenom drummer Forrest Raup at Foothills Elementary in Boulder, and it seems they were destined to rock together not long after…. read more

Colorado Spirit – The Mishawaka

Mishawaka Amphitheatre owner Dani Grant says her iconic, idyllic old-time venue along the Poudre River attracts so many fans and artists every year because it embodies the Colorado experience. “I think people really crave that, and so that’s why it’s just a special spot.”

The Mish is over 100 years old, and the capacity is just 700, but bands that could play larger venues discover the venue because of its reputation and then keep coming back. “It’s always been a place for local musicians to grow up, and now artists that come across the country want to stop there because it’s a Colorado experience,” Grant says…. read more

Outstanding Stage Presence – Alysia Kraft

Photo courtesy Lisa Siciliano/Dog Daze Photo

At first, it didn’t register with alt-rock singer-songwriter Alysia Kraft that it was her, and only her, voted by Colorado Sound listeners as this year’s winner of the Outstanding Stage Presence award. “It really just has to do with having really good musicians in my court all the time,” she says humbly…. read more

Outstanding Secret Ingredient – Taylor Sims

“I’ve always tried to make the best out of any situation that I can,” says Longmont-based guitarist, singer, and songwriter Taylor Sims. “From a philosophical standpoint, I try to make everyone else around me when I’m playing music sound better and feel good, and try to be as supportive as possible. Musically, that’s when I feel like my purpose is being fulfilled. I really do love that supportive role. I love being in the spotlight, too, but I love being part of a team that has a larger goal in mind, and trying to serve the song as best we can”….. read more

Band You’d Drive 105.5 Miles to See – Volores

Rock trio Volores has only been together a few years, so winning our write-in category, the Band or Musician You Would Drive 105.5 Miles to See, is an exceptional coup. “I think it’s the love and the joy that you would witness on stage between the two of us as a partnership,” says frontwoman Shelby Maxwell, referring to her bandmate and husband, bassist Nathen Maxwell of the internationally successful Irish punk band Flogging Molly…. read more

Lifetime Achievement Award – Chris K.

““I’m incredibly honored,” says longtime Colorado Sound DJ Chris Kresge, who is stepping away from his many decades as a keystone of Northern Colorado music to move to Grand Junction and slow down. “For me, the greatest joy and the greatest accomplishment in my life has been telling the story of Colorado music on the radio. I’m tremendously grateful.”…. read more

Congrats to all our winners – and to all our 2023 nominees. And a huge shout-out to everyone who voted in this year’s Colorado Sound Music Awards – and who came to celebrate with us at our first-ever in-person award ceremony! This incredible music community would not be the same without each and every one of you.