Record-breaking voter numbers for SAM Awards as A.B. Original, Tkay Maidza top nominees list

The countdown for the third SAM (South Australian Music) Awards night, held on Thursday November 9 at Thebby Lane (Thebarton Theatre) in Adelaide, kicked off with the announcement by Music SA of the nominees for the Peer-Voted and People’s Choice categories.

Hip-hop duo A.B. Original received six nominations and Tkay Maidza with four, while emerging acts on the list included young South Sudanese-born rapper DyspOra and indie folk singer Naomi Keyte, who is nominated for Best Female, Best Release and The People’s Choice: Folk Award.

“The 2017 SAM Awards are shaping up to be the biggest to date with a record-breaking amount of votes cast by the public,”Music SA’s General Manager Lisa Bishop said.

“I’m proud to see the diversity and talent represented across the board and I’m looking forward to celebrating at Thebby Lane in six weeks’ time. 50% of tickets have already sold.”

Over 6,500 individual votes were cast across the 12 genre-based categories.

The People’s Choice Award finalists, whittled down to 60, included Bad//Dreems (4 nominations), Grenadiers, and triple j favourites Heaps Good Friends.

The awards will be hosted by musician and double j radio host Henry Wagons, with performances bySAM nominees Timberwolf, Grenadiers, Glass Skies, Hana & Jessie-Lee, Dyspora, Lonelyspeck and Allume.

Full list of nominations and further info at the SAM Awards website.

THE PEER-VOTED AWARDS

BEST STUDIO

Chapel Lane Studios

Hillside Recordings

Island Studios

Stormfront Productions

Wizard Tone Studios

BEST ENGINEER

Gabs Agostino

Kiah Gossner

Matt Hills

Simon Kither

Tom Barnes

BEST MUSIC FESTIVAL/EVENT

Blenheim Music & Camping Festival

Futuresounds

Porch Sessions

Scumfest

WOMADelaide

BEST MUSIC VENUE

Crown & Anchor Hotel

Exeter Hotel

Fat Controller

Grace Emily Hotel

Jive

BEST MANAGER

Ben Martin

Craig Lock

Matthew Hayward

Sian Walden

Tom Gordon

BEST COVER ART

Capital Waste & Jamie Brockenbrow – Space Bong’s ‘Dead In Paradise

Hebe Sayce – Neon Tetra’s Relections

Henry Stentiford – The Bitter Darlings’ Stuart Highway

Nic Ames & Sam Kruckemeyer – Kaurna Cronin’s Southern Loss

Todd Fischer – Donnarumma’s Billy Billy

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

Aaron Schuppan – Cosmo Thundercat’s’Warning Bell’

Kieran Ellis-Jones – Sleep Talk’s’Mother’

Lewis Brideson – Donnarumma’s ’Love Your Man’

O’Foley – Standard Union’s ’I Don’t Care’

Richard Coburn – A.B. Original’s’January 26th’

BEST SONG

A.B. Original – ’January 26th’ feat. Dan Sultan

Bad//Dreems – ’Mob Rule’

Timberwolf – ’Washed Out’

Tkay Maidza – ’Simulation’

West Thebarton – ’Moving Out’

BEST NEW ARTIST

Bec Stevens

Donnarumma

Dyspora

Heaps Good Friends

Lonelyspeck

BEST ABORIGINAL/ TORRES STRAT ISLAND ARTIST

A.B. Original

Corey Theatre

Glenn Skuthorpe

BEST GROUP

A.B. Original

Bad//Dreems

Battlehounds

Cosmo Thundercat

Wanderers

BEST MALE ARTIST

Adam Page

Dyspora

Ross McHenry

PNK FME

Thom Lion

BEST FEMALE ARTIST

Allume

Bec Stevens

Hunt

Naomi Keyte

Tkay Maidza

BEST RELEASE

A.B. Original

Bad//Dreems

Lonelyspeck

Naomi Keyte

Tkay Maidza