The San Diego Music Awards are returning next week.

The awards show and concert, hosted by the San Diego Music Foundation,  are scheduled for April 19 at Humphrey’s By the Bay. 

The awards, now in their 31st year, highlight the achievements of San Diego’s diverse local music landscape.

Some of the year’s top nominees are pop country crooner Sara Petite, roots-rock band Mrs. Henry and folk pop group The Verigolds. Rebecca Jade has a record five nominations that include Best Video, Song of the Year, and Best R&B, Soul or Funk Song. 

Other notable nominees include guitarist Patrick Yandall, sweet soul aficionados Thee Sacred Souls, hip-hop artist Crhymes, and the bands Aviator Stash and Mohavi-Soul. 

Jazz and standards vocalist Jesse Davis is slated to be awarded the Country Dick Montana Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished career engulfing multiple decades.

The award was created to honor local legend and lead vocalist of The Beat Farmers, Country Dick Montana.

Proceeds from ticket sales will support the Guitars for Schools program, which provides instruments to local schools. 

Tickets for the event can be purchased here. 

This story was featured on this week’s edition of Newscene, the award-winning student-produced TV news show. Newscene is broadcast on ITV Channel 16 on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

The audio version, Newscene Radio, plays at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on KSDS 88.3 HD-2.

In other news:

• You can now check out a pass for California’s state parks at a local library. The new pass permits free day-use entry at up to 200 participating state parks. San Diego’s  33 library locations are also expanding their hours. The county’s six largest libraries will now be open seven days a week. The new hours can be found at each library, as well as, online.

• According to the California Department of Education, enrollment has dropped nearly 2% from last year. This equates to a decrease of more than 110,000 students in a single given year. San Diego Unified School District saw a decrease of nearly 3%.

• The Padres home opener on April 14 marks the return of baseball to Petco Park. They face off against the World Series Champion Atlanta Braves. The first pitch is expected at 6:40 pm. 

• The Fern Street Circus is back and will perform throughout the city. The nonprofit arts organization has been serving families for over 31 years, and even offers of an after-school Circus Arts Program. The circus will run in City Heights’ Outdoor Circus Community Center through May 15. More information on showtimes and programs can be found here.