Board members, venues, announced for National Live Music Awards

Representatives from national music bodies, BigSound, The West Australian newspaper and Face The Music’s programmer Contrary complete the Board for the inaugural National Live Music Awards(NLMAs).

The six women and five men who make up the Board are:

Damian Cunningham(Director, Live Music Office)
Maggie Collins(Programmer at BIGSOUND)
Emma Coyle( Industry Development Manager, Music SA)
Mike Harris(CEO, WAM)
Paris Martine(Contrary Music)
Joel Edmondson(Executive Officer, Q Music)
Katie Noonan(Musician)
Dean Ormston(Head of Member Services, APRA AMCOS)
Simon Collins(Music Writer, The West Australian)
Emily Collins(Executive Officer, MusicNSW)
Laura Harper(Chief Executive Officer, Music Tasmania)

The 11 Board members, who cover every corner of Australia, willelect the judging panel and approve all major decisions behind the Awards. The judging panel will vote on both national and state-focused categories, along with select public voted categories.

TheNational Live Music Awardsare being run under the vision ofLarry Heathof Heath Media.

Speaking to TMN, Heath saidit was important to have every state repreesented on the Board:

“We were looking for a diverse mix of respected music industry people, to represent as much of the country as possible, and as many industries as possible,” he said. “You’ll see we have musicians, managers, venue bookers, festival programmers, media, and more – as well as representation from every State.

The NLMAs, which celebrates and recognises Australia’s best live music talents, as well as the top venues, tours, festivals and industry professionals, will be held across eight venues during ARIA Week on November 29. The Canberra venue is still to be locked in and will be revealed next month.

Venues:

Perth:Badlands
https://badlands.bar
Melbourne:The Curtin
http://www.johncurtinhotel.com
Sydney:The Basement
http://www.thebasement.com.au
Darwin:The Railway Club
17 Somerville Gardens, Parap NT 0820
Hobart:The Republic Bar
http://www.republicbar.com/
Adelaide:The Jade
http://www.thejadeadl.com.au
Brisbane:The Triffid
http://thetriffid.com.au

The Sydney Gala Event at The Basement will see the national winners revealed; it’s the only venue to be ticketed. The seven other events will be free to the public and tickets will be made available through an online RSVP system.

On the decision to host the NLMAs in every state, Heath told TMN:

“So much of the music we love has been created by musicians who didn’t start out in one of the major capital cities. They might be from Canberra, or Darwin, Wollongong or the Blue Mountains. It was important that an awards called the National Live Music Awards earned its name, and truly represented the entire country, in a way that a music awards has never done before.

“We hope this, in turn, will help encourage musicians from all over the country to get more involved in the national touring scene,” he added. “It’s not just about the three capital cities on the East Coast, as some may lead you to believe.”

In the lead-up to the Awards, organisers have asked a few local musicians what they love about live music. The first instalment is from Canberra band SAFIA.

The inaugural NLMAs nominees will be announced next month.