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Also good to see a mix of strong voices and personalities represented in the female vocalist category, from the World’s Greatest Sinners’ brassy Jordan Valentine to the always intriguing Monique Ortiz — not a shrinking violet in the batch (and then, of course, there’s winner Amanda Palmer). Or consider the motley crew that placed as Best Male Vocalist, from flamboyant types Ad Frank and the Rudds’ John Powhida, to the old-school tough guy Mac McColgan (the former Dropkick Murphy now fronting the Street Dogs). Pure pop ultimately won the day with Bon Savants singer Thom Moran taking the prize, representing a band that has three singers and uses them all.

I have to object just a little to a pair of soul acts acing the best blues category: those are two very different genres, and please don’t tell us that all black music sounds alike. That said, the “Northern soul” trend has been big fun so far, giving us vinyl lovers a chance to hear buried ’60s treasures instead of electro-beats when we hear a DJ. Both the World’s Greatest Sinners and Eli “Paperboy” Reed’s True Loves, who finish close to each other with the Sinners leading, are fronted by record nuts who take the soul vinyl they love as a something to absorb into their own performing style.

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Finally, it’s good to see a very different pair of singers who seem poised for bigger things. Girls Guns & Glory frontman Ward Hayden doesn’t place in the male vocals category, but I’m betting his mighty voice is a large part of the reason his band won as Best Roots Act. It’s hard to recall the last local singer who’s done the high-lonesome Roy Orbison thing so well — maybe Dennis Brennan, who also places here. And the charismatic singer/bassist Esperanza Spalding came out of Berklee to make fast waves on the jazz circuit. Her win in the jazz category was perhaps the year’s most obvious shoo-in, which is fine with me.

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