Best of the Beat 2023
OffBeat’s 2023 Best of The Beat Music Awards™ took place on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at Tipitina’s. The Best of The Beat Awards™ is a program of the OffBeat Music & Cultural Arts Foundation and was presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, with support from OffBeat Magazine and WWL-TV.
Forty-eight awards were given out to local musicians for their performances and albums for the year 2023. The awards were designed and created by Ginger Kelly Glass, with food provided by Jacques-Imos, Shaggy’s LLC, Cochon King BBQ and New Orleans Crepes a la Cart.
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to David R. Batiste, Sr. (Music); Don Marshall (Music Business); Ricky Sebastian (Music Education); and Fred Johnson, Jr. (HeartBeat) for their accomplishments. The Music Awards winners—who were selected by nearly 9,000 voters from New Orleans, Louisiana, the US and around the world—are as follows:
Artist of the Year
Jon Batiste
Album of the Year
Jon Batiste: World Music Radio
Best Emerging Artist
Victor Campbell
Song of the Year
“Butterfly” by Jon Batiste
Best Blues Artist
Samantha Fish
Best Blues Album
Smanatha Fish & Jesse Dayton: Death Wish Blues
Best R&B / Funk Artist
Jon Batiste
Best R&B / Funk Album
Jon Batiste: World Music Radio
Jonathan Batiste’s parents Katharine and Michael Batiste with all six awards. Photo by OffBeat/Keith Hill
Best Rock Artist
The Revivalists
Best Rock Album
The Revivalists: Pour it out into the Night
Zach Feinberg, Andrew Campanelli and Michael Girardot from the Revivalists. Photo by OffBeat/Keith Hill.
Best Roots Rock / Americana Artist
Lucinda Williams
Best Roots Rock / American Album
Lucinda Williams: Stores from a Rock N Roll Heart
Michael Cerveris, Lucinda Williams, Kimberly Kaye. Photo: Travis Stephens
Best Country / Folk / Singer-Songwriter Artist
Alex McMurray
Alex McMurray. Photo: OffBeat/Demian Roberts
Best Country / Folk / Singer-Songwriter Album
Paul Sanchez: Between Friends… And Me
Paul Sanchez. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Best Rap / Hip-Hop / Bounce Artist
Flagboy Giz
Best Rap / Hip-Hop / Bounce Album
Flagboy Giz: I Got Indian in my Family
Best Traditional Jazz Artist
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Photo: OffBeat/Demian Roberts
Best Traditional Jazz Album
Tuba Skinny: Hot Town
Best Contemporary Jazz Artist
Terence Blanchard
Best Contemporary Jazz Album
Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra: Uptown on Mardi Gras Day
Best Brass Band
The Soul Rebels
Best Brass Band Album
The New Orleans Nightcrawlers: Too Much To Hold
Best Cajun Artist
Lost Bayou Ramblers
Louis Michot and Eric Heigle of Lost Bayou Ramblers. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Best Cajun Album
Lost Bayou Ramblers and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra: Lost Bayou Ramblers and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (Live)
Anwar Nasir, LPO Executive Director and Louis Michot. Photo: OffBeat/Demian Roberts
Best Zydeco Artist
Buckwheat Zydeco, Jr. & the Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
Best Zydeco Album
Buckwheat Zydeco, Jr. & the Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band: New Beginnings…
Reggie Dural (Buckwheat Zydeco, Jr.). Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Best Cover Band
Bag of Donuts
Bag of Donuts. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Allen Toussaint Award Songwriter of the Year
Jon Batiste
Best Female Vocalist
Erica Falls
Erica Falls. Photo by OffBeat/Keith Hill
Best Male Vocalist
John Boutté
Best Bass Player
George Porter, Jr.
Best Guitarist
Samantha Fish
Best Drummer
Russell Batiste, Jr.
David and son Damon Batiste accepting the award for Russell Batiste (posthumously). Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill.
Best Clarinetist
Doreen Ketchens
Best Saxophonist
Donald Harrison, Jr.
Donald Harrison. Photo: OffBeat/Noe Cugny.
Best Trombonist
Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews
Best Trumpeter
Terence Blanchard
Best Tuba / Sousaphonist
Kirk Joseph
Best Piano / Keyboards
Ivan Neville
Loyola’s Jonathan McHugh with Ivan Neville. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Best Accordionist
Dwayne Dopsie
Best Violin / Fiddle Player
Louis Michot
Best DJ
Mannie Fresh
Best Other Instrument
Jason Marsalis (vibes)
Best Music Video
Deathwish by Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton
Lifetime Achievement in Music
David R. Batiste, Sr.
David Batiste with OffBeat Publisher Jan Ramsey. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Lifetime Achievement in Music Education
Ricky Sebastian
Ricky Sebastian. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Lifetime Achievement in Music Business
Don Marshall
Heatbeat Award
Fred Johnson, Jr.
Fred Johnson, Jr., recpient of the 2023 HeartBeat Award. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Louis Michot (left) and Loose Cattle. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Joel Savoy, Jourdan Thibodeaux, Kelli Jones, Effie Savoy, and Tif Lamson. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
The Batiste Family poses for a photo with Jan Ramsey of OffBeat. Photo: OffBeat/Keith Hill
Best of the Beat
