News October 11, 2018

Courtney Barnett & Baker Boy lead The Age Music Victoria Awards 2018 nominations

The Age Music Victoria Awards have today released their list of nominees for the 2018 edition of the awards, with some of Australia’s finest independent artists seeing recognition for their work over the last year.

Back for its thirteenth year, Australia’s largest publicly voted music awards are set to be handed out on Wednesday, November 21st during Melbourne Music Week.

This year’s nominations are led by Courtney Barnett and Baker Boy, who have each scored five nominations in the publicly-voted awards, with both acts being nominated in every eligible category. Likewise Laura Jean has been nominated for four awards, while Sampa The Great, Camp Cope, Tropical F*ck Storm, and Mojo Juju are all up for three awards.

Voting is now open for the awards, with the public able to vote in categories such as Best Album, Best Band, Best Song, Best Solo Artist, Best Male Musician, Best Female Musician, Best Breakthrough Act, Best Live Band, Best Small Venue (under 500 capacity), and Best Large Venue (over 500 capacity).

Voting will be open until midnight on Friday, November 9th, so don’t waste any time in letting your voice be heard!

Likewise, 17 industry-voted awards will also be handed out, with some of the industry’s biggest names voting on categories such as Best Festival, Best Regional/Outer Suburban Act, and the Best Album in the genres of Blues, Country, Folk or Roots, Heavy, Jazz, Rock/Punk, and Soul, Funk, & RnB.

This year also sees a few names enter the ring, with The Melbourne Recital Centre hosting the awards, while the Bendigo Bank is providing cash grants to regional award winners, and The Archie Roach Foundation will be sponsoring the new Emerging Talent Award.

Notably, the Victorian Government will also be providing cash prizes for a couple of awards, handing out $10,000 to the recipient of the Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Album of 2018, and $5,000 to the recipient of the Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Breakthrough Act of 2018.

“We’re proud to support these awards, and it’s just a small acknowledgement of the economic, social and cultural benefits music brings to our State,” explained Martin Foley, Minister for Creative Industries.

The 2018 Age Music Victoria Awards will be handed out on November 21st at the Melbourne Recital Centre, with public voting open now at the Music Victoria website.

Check out Baker Boy’s ‘Marryuna’:

The Age Music Victoria Awards 2018 Nominees

Public-Voted Nominees

The Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Album of 2018 – $10,000 Cash Prize

Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
Laura Jean – Devotion
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs
Sampa The Great – Birds And The Bee9

Best Band

Camp Cope
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
MOD CON
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Tropical F*ck Storm

Best Song

Baker Boy – Marryuna
Camp Cope – The Opener
Courtney Barnett – Nameless, Faceless
Laura Jean – Girls On The TV
Mojo Juju – Native Tongue

Best Solo Artist

Alex Lahey
Angie McMahon
Baker Boy
Courtney Barnett
Didirri
Laura Jean
Mojo Juju
Sampa The Great
Tash Sultana
Vance Joy

Best Male Musician

Danzal Baker (Baker Boy)
Didirri Peters (Didirri)
Gareth Liddiard (Tropical F*ck Storm)
Jake Robertson (School Damage, Alien Nosejob)
Tom Iansek (No Mono)

Best Female Musician

Courtney Barnett
Erica Dunn (Tropical F*ck Storm, MOD CON, Palm Springs)
Laura Englert (Laura Jean)
Mojo “Juju” Ruiz De Luzuriaga (Mojo Juju)
Sampa Tembo (Sampa The Great)

The Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Breakthrough Act of 2018 – $5000 Cash Prize

Angie McMahon
Baker Boy
Kaiit
Mildlife
MOD CON

Best Live Act

Amyl And The Sniffers
Baker Boy
Cable Ties
Courtney Barnett
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Best Small Venue (under 500 capacity)

The Gasometer, Collingwood
Howler, Brunswick
Northcote Social Club, Northcote
The Old Bar, Fitzroy
The Tote, Collingwood

Best Large Venue (over 500 capacity)

170 Russell, Melbourne
Corner Hotel, Richmond
The Croxton Bandroom, Thornbury
Hamer Hall, Southbank
Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

Industry-Voted Nominees

Best Festival

Gizzfest
Golden Plains
Meredith Music Festival
Sugar Mountain
Wet Fest

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Act

Benny Walker
Freya Josephine Hollick
High Tension
Stonefield
This Way North

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Venue (Over 50 gigs per year)

Barwon Club, South Geelong
Caravan Music Club, Bentleigh East
Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Sooki Lounge, Belgrave
The Workers Club, Geelong

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Venue (Under 50 gigs per year)

Aireys Pub, Aireys Inlet
Blues Train, Queenscliff
Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan
Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
Wandi Pub, Wandiligong

Archie Roach Foundation Award for Emerging Talent

Alice Skye
Baker Boy
Kaiit
Oetha
Willow Beats

Best Blues Album

Collard Greens And Gravy – Luedella
Fiona Boyes – Voodoo In The Shadows
Lloyd Spiegel – Backroads
Rhythm X Revival – Rhythm X Revival
Steve Boyd’s Rum Reverie – Hoodoo Hipshake

Best Country Album

Ben Mastwyk & The Millions – Winning Streak
Freya Josephine Hollick – Feral Fusion
Greta Ziller – Queen Of Boomtown
James Ellis &; The Jealous Guys – It’s Ain’t Texas (But It Ain’t Bad)
Michael Waugh – The Asphalt & The Oval

Best Electronic Act

Alice Ivy
Cale Sexton
Corin
Habits
Mildlife

Best Experimental or Avant-Garde Act

Aviva Endean
Maria Moles
MESS Ltd
Nat Grant
Romy Fox

Best Folk or Roots Album

Cat Canteri – Inner North
Lucy Wise – Winter Sun
Luke Plumb & The Circuit – Turn & ReTurn
Michael Waugh – The Asphalt & The Oval
Trouble In The Kitchen – The Score

Best Global Act

Cool Out Sun
Digital Afrika
Mojo Juju
Senegambian Jazz Band
Xylouris White

Best Heavy Album

Dangerous Curves – So Dirty Right
Dream On Dreamer – It Comes And Goes
Encircling Sea – Hearken
High Tension – Purge
YLVA – Meta

Best Hip Hop Act

Baker Boy
Drmngnow
Jordan Dennis
Kaiit
Sampa The Great

Best Jazz Album

30/70 – Elevate
Barney McAll – Hearing The Blood
Menagerie – The Arrow Of Time
Origami – Wu Xing – The 5 Elements
Sam Anning Sextet – Across A Field As Vast As One

Best Reggae and Dancehall Act

Marvin Priest & Rik-E-Ragga
Melbourne Ska Orchestra
Monkey Marc
Ras Jahknow
Yaw Faso

Best Rock/Punk Album

Camp Cope – How to Socialise & Make Friends
Divide and Dissolve – Abomination
Little Ugly Girls – Little Ugly Girls
Sarah Mary Chadwick – Sugar Still Melts In The Rain
Tropical F*ck Storm – A Laughing Death in Meatspace

Best Soul, Funk, RnB Album

30/70 – Elevate
The Bamboos – Night Time People
Billy Davis – A Family Portrait
Mildlife – Phase
Sampa The Great – Birds and The BEE9

Voting is open now at the Music Victoria website, and closes at midnight on Friday, November 9th