The 2026 Bass Magazine Awards took place on Thursday, January 22nd at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California, where the 1,000-person venue was packed by the 7:00pm curtain call. Anticipation was evident, given that the 2025 Awards featured a surprise performance from Tool, in support of Justin Chancellor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, along with stellar sets from Lifetime recipient John Patitucci, and Future of Bass recipients MonoNeon (featuring Les Claypool and guitarist Oz Noy) and Mohini Dey. 

The venue was decked out with a large display from Fender, who is celebrating the 75^thAnniversary of the Precision Bass. It featured signature models from the performing artists of the night. Sire Guitars also displayed their latest basses, which were found alongside visuals from additional sponsors Reverb, Sweetwater, Mono, Ashdown, Roland, Boss, Spector, Aguilar, Darkglass, The Bass Spot, Bass Central, and Big Johnson.

The evening kicked off with Bass Magazine founders Jon D’Auria, Chris Jisi, and Elton Bradman taking the stage to welcome the crowd. Bradman and Jisi then led a tribute to the late great Anthony Jackson, whom the night was dedicated to. A large printed portrait of Jackson adorned the stage as Victor Wooten and Fodera’s Joey Lauricella and Laura Fodera gave emotional accounts of the life of the great departed icon. The crowd was then treated to a medley boasting many of Jackson’s most beloved bass cuts, while a spotlight shone on his portrait.

The first award of the evening commenced as D’Auria introduced Blu DeTiger for her Future of Bass award. He brought out bass royalty Leland Sklar and Steve Bailey who spoke and welcomed Blu to the stage. To a rousing ovation, she gave an inspired speech about overcoming fears and disregarding negativity in following your path as a musician. Blu was then joined by her band who kicked off the musical performances with a set of not only her radio hits, but also new material that will be released later this year.

The crowd was then treated to a solo set by Brazilian bassist Pops Magellan, who gave a solo performance over backing tracks that was soulful and energetic. Jisi then remerged to introduce Marcus Miller, who was receiving the first Lifetime Achievement Award of the night. Outlining the highlights of his four-decade career, Jisi was joined by Miller’s business partner, Harold Goode, and by presenter Victor Wooten, who commended his longtime friend for his widespread impact on other bassists and his quality of character. Miller emerged to applause and delivered a speech full of gratitude before joining his band and kicking off what would be a masterclass of a set. The crowd grew energized as Miller ramped up his set, where his slap soloing took the spotlight.

The next performer was Scott Mulvahill, who brought out his “Data Bass” to wow the crowd with his masterful playing and beautiful vocals. D’Auria then took the podium to introduce Future of Bass recipient Laura Lee. With help from presenter Derrick Hodge, the respect and admiration of her work on bass was made apparent, which was echoed by the crowd as she took the podium to accept her award. She then joined her band Khruangbin to kick into the most vibe-filled set of the night, which featured fan favorites that put a spotlight on Laura’s laid-back grooves.

Throughout the night, both backstage and the balcony were abuzz with visiting bass luminaries, including Nathan East, with his son, keyboardist Noah East, Doug Wimbish, who brought along Corey Glover and Will Calhoun of Living Color, MonoNeon, Eva Gardner, Mohini Dey, Juan Alderete, Stefan Lessard, Jonathan Hischke, Kaveh Rastegar, Kevin Scott, Oskar Cartaya, Brandon Rose, Bryan Beller, Jonathan Herera, Zuri Appleby, Matt McJunkins, Bubby Lewis, Antonella Mazza, Derek Frank, Whynot Jansveld, Josh Paul, Vicky Warwick, and many others.

As the set concluded, Jisi brought out bass legend Stu Hamm, who worked the crowd with solo bass compositions of his own. D’Auria took the podium to introduce Les Claypool for his Lifetime Achievement Award, where he was joind by Tool’s Justin Chancellor and Metallica’s Robert Trujillo. The metal duo launched into a dialogue sketch where they outlined the many talents of Claypool while reminiscing about their early days of touring with him. Claypool then emerged to raucous applause before delivering a witty and personal speech. 

In the most cameo-fueled set of the night, Claypool and Primus kicked into their classics before welcoming out Chancellor and Mike Dirnt for a powerful rendition of “Too Many Puppies.” They then transitioned into “My Name is Mud” which brought forth Trujillo on a 5-string Warwick to double the frantic slapping lines of Claypool. Perhaps the most talked about moment of the evening came when Claypool welcomed out one of his heroes, Marcus Miller, to join him on “Tommy the Cat.” The duo traded slap solos as their rapid firing thumbs seemed to kick into higher gear. It was evident that Claypool was having the time of his life as he continually danced and yelled into the crowd that Marcus (expletive) Miller was playing with him! Later in the evening Claypool commented that the moment was one of the greatest of his entire music career.

As the stage cleared, Spanish bass phenom Vincen Garcia came to out to woo the crowd with his various techniques and speedy licks. D’Auria then brought out Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus and Mammoth’s Ronnie Fiacarro to help honor Mike Dirnt of Green Day with his Lifetime Achievement award. Ficarro reminisced about meeting Dirnt as a teenager and how he has been learning from him since, while Hoppus recalled the early days of Blink and Green Day touring, and how Dirnt constantly supported him through his battle with cancer. The emotional speech made Dirnt’s appearance more impactful as he took the podium to thank his bandmates and family and gave account of how music and bass was everything to him.

As Dirnt disappeared, the curtain rose to reveal Green Day, who tore into a set featuring their beloved catalogue, even including a rare live performance of “J.A.R.” that the crowd exploded for. A mix of nostalgia and current hits, Green Day brought down the house and capped off what was a special night, to say the least. Full Green Day setlist: Welcome to Paradise, Longview, J.A.R., Holiday, American Idiot, Basket Case, When I Come Around.

Photos by Alex Matthews