Awards season is well under way. As well as the Choice Music Prize nominations (announced Wednesday), the shortlists for the first Digital Socket Awards have also just been announced.

The event, which takes place at Dublin’s Grand Social on February 3rd, will see 14 awards handed over to Irish acts over the course of the evening. Meljoann and Groom will perform, with other special guests to be added. Nominees were initially chosen by the public and whittled down by a group of more than 20 journalists and bloggers (me included).

They include Villagers, Cathy Davey, Adebisi Shank, James Vincent McMorrow and The Cast of Cheers for best album; The Ambience Affair, Cathy Davey, BATS, Patrick Kelleher and Rubberbandits for best video; and Paul McLoone, Alison Curtis, I-Con, Right Click 2XM and Donal Dineen for best radio show.

Organisers say they were offered corporate sponsorship for the event, but have chosen to plough their own furrow for the inaugural year. “The response to the awards has been overwhelmingly positive, and we truly believe we’ve developed an interesting, interactive new take on a traditional formula of recognising good music,” said Naomi McArdle.

Tickets are €10 and are on sale via Tickets.ie, as well as on the door. All proceeds after expenses will be donated to Aware. digitalsocketawards.com.