The City Weekly Music Awards have gone through many name changes-Showdown to South by Southwest became the SLAMMYs, which became the CWMAs-but the core mission has stayed the same: shining a light on the talented bands and musicians who call Utah home.

This year, we were excited to introduce a robust variety of genres and more new bands to the awards showcases than we have had in previous years. These 22 bands played across Salt Lake City and Provo at seven showcases from April 17 through April 27.

Our goal with the CWMAs is to expose City Weekly readers to a number of new bands and venues where they can revel in the live-concert experience. Many of these shows featured seemingly strange pairings, but, in the end, made for eclectic, memorable and engaging concerts filled with surprises during each set. The overall turnout for the 2013 showcases was excellent, so, thank you, fans and music lovers.

While the CWMAs are not a battle-of-the-bands competition, there is a winning band at the end of the two-week jamboree, chosen by a combination of online voting and in-person votes, the latter weighted significantly more. We're excited to announce that L'anarchiste is this year's Band of the Year, joining the ranks of previous winners Neon Trees, King Niko, Spell Talk and Max Pain & the Groovies and earning bragging rights for life and a cash prize to boot.

These ambient indie-rockers and the other 21 bands and 10 DJs we showcased should give you plenty of reasons to go see live local music throughout the year. Read in these pages what we liked about each performing artist or group.

Austen Diamond
Music Editor

Contributors: Benjamin Bombard, Niki Chan, Dom Darling, Austen Diamond, Andrew Fillmore, Nick Morgan, Meredith Newsome, Gavin Sheehan, Jordan Wallis, Colin Wolf

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