Stella Donnelly, Methyl Ethel blitz WAMAwards nominations

The current buoyancy and diversity of the West Australian scene was underscored with the release of the WAMAwards nominations this morning.

No less than 19 acts were multi-nominees, a mixture of well-known and fast-rising names.

Methyl Ethel lead the field with seven gongs, coming in the wake of strong reviews for their second album Everything Is Forgotten. It peaked at #16 on the ARIA chart leading to the Sydney and Melbourne dates on their November 30 to January 7 Australian run.

Signed to 4AD, the record also got strong reviews abroad, with the band currently on a US tour until November 16.

TMN faveStella Donnelly took five nominations, the latest achievement for a remarkable 2017 which saw her not only juggle solo commitments behind April’s Thrush Metal EP but also her two other projects, Boat Show and Bells Rapids.

This year she was signed to Phil Stevens Management (John Butler, San Cisco, Waifs) as well as European booking agency ATC Live.

She was chosen by the 2017 The Great Escape conference in the UK to play a special preview show in London in November.

She also played relentless around the country, Last month she was picked asartist of the week by Apple Music and generated even more heat locally after winning the BIGSOUND Levi’s Music Prize.

Also on the list with five noms each were Tired Lion and San Cisco.

With four chances each at a win were hip hop artist Ziggy Ramo, soul orchestra Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics, the post- punk Nerve Quakes, heavy rock band RAG N’ BONE and Afro-Peruvian style jazz drummer Daniel Susnjar.

Voyager, POW! Negro, POND, Boat Show, SLUMBERJACK, Memory of Elements, Feels, Carla Geneve, Drapht and WAYJO were each three-timers.

This year WAM consulted with category specific specialists when creating the nomination panels, and the 350-strong group of industry judges will start voting to decide the winners of the craft and industry awards.

There are six Publicly Voted categories including Most Popular Live Act, Most Popular Event and Most Popular Video.

WAM notes, “For the first time ever, the popular categories also expand beyond the usual 5 or so nominations, with longer lists and the ability to vote for acts not on the lists provided, truly making it a popular vote.”

After a sold-out event in 2016, the awards return on Thursday November 2 to Gate One Theatre at Claremont Showgrounds.

Performing on the night are Tired Lion, Stella Donnelly, Harry Mitchell & Daniel Susnjar, John Bennett & David Hyams and Nerve Quakes.

The full list is at the WAMfest website.

But here’s a look at some of the categories…

BEST ALBUM

Methyl Ethel – Everything Is Forgotten

POND – The Weather

San Cisco – The Water

The Waifs – Ironbark

MOST POPULAR ACT

Birds of Tokyo

Drapht

Jebediah

John Butler Trio

Karnivool

Make Them Suffer

Methyl Ethel

POND

San Cisco

SLUMBERJACK

Ta-ku

Tame Impala

The Waifs

Tired Lion

Troye Sivan

Voyager

MOST POPULAR LIVE ACT

Blue Shaddy

BOAT SHOW

Claim The Throne

Drapht

Hideous Sun Demon Methyl Ethel

POW! Negro

RAG N’ BONE

Scalphunter

Soukouss Internationale

Stella Donnelly

The Love Junkies

The Southern River Band

Tired Lion

The Volcanics

MOST POPULAR MUSIC EVENT

Blues at Bridgetown

Camp Doogs

Fairbridge Festival

Falls Festival

HyperFest

In The Pines

Nannup Music Festival

RTRFM Winter Music Festival

Rust In Perth

State Of The Art Festival

MOST POPULAR VENUE

Badlands Bar

Fremantle Arts Centre

Jack Rabbit Slim’s

Mojo’s Bar

Perth Arena

Rosemount Hotel

Settlers Tavern

The Bird

The Ellington Jazz Club

The Odd Fellow

The Prince of Wales Hotel

The Railway Hotel



BEST EP

Dream Rimmy – Heavy

POW! Negro – Jasmine & Licorice

SLUMBERJACK – Fracture

Stella Donnelly – Thrush Metal

BEST SINGLE

Methyl Ethel – ’Ubu’

San Cisco – ’The Distance’

Stella Donnelly – ’Mechanical Bull’

Tired Lion – ’Cinderella Dracula’

Ziggy Ramo – ’Black Face’

INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YEAR

Caitlin Nienaber (Radio Presenter – RTRFM)

Chris Wheeldon (Volunteer, Events & Operations Managar – RTRFM)

Mark Neal (Manager, Booker & Event Coordinator – Blue Grey Pink / HyperFest)

Rachael Barrett (Rachael Barrett Photography)

Rose Kingdom-Barron (Programming Coordinator – The Bird / Safer Venues WA)

LABEL OF THE YEAR

Obsius Records

Rhubarb Records

Televised Suicide

MANAGEMENT AWARD

Jacob Snell (Methyl Ethel / Tired Lion)

Luke Rinaldi (RAG N’ BONE / Red Jezebel / The Ghost Hotel / Usurper of Modern Medicine)

Matt Johnson (BOAT SHOW / Dream Rimmy / The Love Junkies)

Phil Stevens (John Butler Trio / POW! Negro / San Cisco / Stella Donnelly / The Waifs)

Rachel Davison (Mosquito Coast)



GOLDEN WAMi

Caitlin Nienaber (Radio Presenter – RTRFM)

Phaedra Watts (Festival Director – Nannup Music Festival)

Rik van der Velde (Sound Engineer – Engelbert Humperdinck / Frank Sinatra / Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse / Metallica / Fly by Night Club / Perth Blues Club)

Scott Griffiths (MC Optamus – Downsyde / Rap’N’Radio)