Trading beer and bars for wine and awards

With the Winery Music Awards just a month away, musicians throughout the county are tuning up for a summer of fun.
The Winery Music Awards, which run June 6 through Oct. 7, showcase local independent bands in the midst of the Paso Robles wine country. Musicians are graded on their originality, skill and marketability to the ever-expanding demographic of wine drinkers.
As producer Kathy Kelly told The Tribune in April, “It’s music with wine as a very big backdrop.”
The top bands will take home prizes including cash, studio time and a record contract with RNB Entertainment Group of Los Angeles.
You can catch last year’s grand prize winner, Arroyo Grande acoustic rock trioThrees and Nines, this week.
The band plays a free set at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Mongo’s Saloon & Coffee Bar, 359 W. Grand Ave., in Grover Beach.
Threes and Nines plans to release its self-titled debut album later this year. The band’s members are lead singer and guitarist Jake Brebes, drummer Max Triplett and stand-up bass player Tasha Brittain.