The best Victorian musicians and bands of the past 12 months will be celebrated as part of the 16th annual Music Victoria Awards, slated to take place at Melbourne Recital Centre on 9 December.
The 2020 nominees are in for the industry-voted awards, while public voting is now open (until 6 November) for the Best Album, Best Band, Best Song, Best Solo Artist, Best Breakthrough Act, and Best Live Act awards (complete list below).This year has also seen the introduction of three new award categories: Outstanding Woman in Music Award (which will recognise not only the achievements of musicians but also industry professionals, management and crew); the industry-voted category for Best Producer; and the merging of Best Male and Best Female Musician to become the public-voted award for Best Musician.
The Archie Roach Foundation Award for Best Emerging First Peoples Act will continue to provide one deserving artist with a cash grant and access to mentorship as part of the award. The finalists are: Alice Skye, Allara, Kee'ahn, The Merindas and River Boy.
"It's been an incredibly tough year for the industry, but also a year where community spirit, ingenuity, and resilience have really come to the fore," Laura Imbruglia, Music Victoria Awards Event Producer says.
"The Victorian music community has so much to be proud of, and I encourage everyone to get involved with the Awards through submissions, voting and the event itself."
The 2020 ceremony will also see two members inducted into the Music Victoria Awards Hall Of Fame: Mary Mihelakos (industry), Chris Wilson (musician).
2020 Music Victoria Awards will be staged at Melbourne Recital Centre (and livestreamed and broadcast via Channel 31) on 9 December.
2020 Music Victoria Awards Nominees
PUBLIC-VOTED AWARDSBEST ALBUM
Cable Ties – 'Far Enough'
Elizabeth – 'The Wonderful World Of Nature'
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – 'Sideways To New Italy'
RVG – 'Feral'
Sampa The Great – 'The Return'
BEST BAND
Amyl and The Sniffers
Cable Ties
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
RVG
BEST SONG
Baker Boy – 'Move'
Leah Senior – 'Evergreen'
Mildlife – 'Rare Air'
RVG – 'I Used To Love You'
Sampa The Great – 'OMG'
BEST SOLO ARTIST
Angie McMahon
Baker Boy
Briggs
Courtney Barnett
Elizabeth
Gordon Koang
Leah Senior
Sampa The Great
Simona Castricum
Sui Zhen
BEST MUSICIAN
Amy Taylor (Amyl and The Sniffers)
Erica Dunn (Tropical F... Storm, Palm Springs, MOD CON)
Gareth Liddiard (Tropical F... Storm)
Gordon Koang
Jen Cloher (Dyson Stringer Cloher)
Romy Vager (RVG)
Sampa Tembo (Sampa The Great)
SilentJay (Sampa The Great, Mandarin Dreams)
Stu Mackenzie (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard)
Tom Iansek (Big Scary, #1 Dads)
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Alice Skye
Elizabeth
Grace Cummings
Nat Vazer
Pinch Points
BEST LIVE ACT
Amyl and The Sniffers
Cable Ties
Gordon Koang
Sampa The Great
The Teskey Brothers
INDUSTRY-VOTED AWARDS
ARCHIE ROACH FOUNDATION AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT
Alice Skye
Allara
Kee’ahn
The Merindas
River Boy
BEST REGIONAL/OUTER SUBURBAN ACT
Benny Walker (Echuca)
Bones and Jones (Geelong)
Freya Josephine Hollick (Ballarat)
The Kite Machine (Geelong West)
The Teskey Brothers (Warrandyte)
BEST BLUES ALBUM
Aaron Pollock – 'Separated Through Time'
Charlie Bedford – 'Good To Go'
Joey Vincent’s Bakelite Radio – 'Rosary Of Tears'
*Lloyd Spiegel – 'Cut And Run'
The Teskey Brothers – 'Live At The Forum'
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
The Cartwheels – 'Self-titled'
Lost Ragas – 'This Is Not A Dream'
Michael Waugh – 'The Weir'
Mitch Dean – 'Holding Back The Levee'
Tracy McNeil & The GoodLife – 'You Be The Lightning'
BEST ELECTRONIC ACT
*DRMNGNOW
OK EG
Pugilist
Simona Castricum
Sleep D
BEST EXPERIMENTAL OR AVANT GARDE ACT
Bridget Chappell
James Rushford
Maria Moles
Natasha Anderson
Robin Fox
BEST FOLK ALBUM
Charm of Finches – 'Your Company'
Fiona Ross & Shane O'Mara – 'Sunwise Turn'
Liz Frencham – 'Love And Other Crimes'
Louisa Wise – 'All Of These Things'
Ruth Hazleton – 'Daisywheel'
BEST HEAVY ALBUM
Carcinoid – 'Metastatic Declination'
Dead – 'Raving Drooling'
Diploid – 'Glorify'
Internal Rot – 'Grieving Birth'
Sithlord – 'From Out Of The Darkness'
BEST HIP HOP ACT
Birdz
DRMNGNOW
Jordan Dennis
Nomad
Sampa The Great
BEST INTERCULTURAL ACT
Amaru Tribe
Black Jesus Experience
Gelareh Pour's Garden
No Borders Music
Sampa The Great
BEST JAZZ ALBUM
Andrea Keller – 'Life Is Brut[if]al'
Horns of Leroy – 'Big Night'
JK Group – 'The Young Ones'
Vanessa Perica Orchestra – 'Love Is A Temporary Madness'
ZEDSIX – 'The Shape Of Jazz'
BEST REGGAE & DANCEHALL ACT
Dub FX
Jah Tung
Marvin Priest
Monkey Marc
The Push Reggae Band
BEST ROCK/PUNK ALBUM
Cable Ties – 'Far Enough'
Nuada – 'Beneath The Swamp'
Pseudo Mind Hive – 'Of Seers And Sirens'
RVG – 'Feral'
Shepparton Airplane – 'Sharks'
BEST SOUL, FUNK, RNB AND GOSPEL ALBUM
Karate Boogaloo – 'Carn The Boogers'
Sampa The Great – 'The Return'
Surprise Chef – 'All News Is Good News'
The Teskey Brothers – 'Live at The Forum'
Various Artists – 'Over Under Away Volume 1: 10 Years of Hopestreet Recordings'
NOMINEES & WINNERS FOR INDUSTRY AWARDS
(Voted by select industry panels)
BEST SMALL VENUE
Winner: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Nominees:
Howler, Brunswick
Northcote Social Club, Northcote
The Tote, Collingwood
The Old Bar, Fitzroy
BEST LARGE VENUE
Winner: Forum Melbourne
Nominees:
Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank
Corner Hotel, Richmond
The Night Cat, Fitzroy
Hamer Hall, Southbank
BEST REGIONAL/OUTER SUBURBAN VENUE – UNDER 50 GIGS/YR
Winner: *Theatre Royal – Castlemaine
Nominees:
The Blues Train – Queenscliff
The Sound Doctor Presents – Anglesea
Volta – Ballarat
Daylesford Cider – Daylesford
BEST REGIONAL/OUTER SUBURBAN VENUE – OVER 50 GIGS/YR
Winner: Barwon Club Hotel – Geelong
Nominees:
The Bridge Hotel – Castlemaine The Eastern – Ballarat
Torquay Hotel – Torquay
Sooki Lounge – Belgrave
BEST FESTIVAL
Winner: Golden Plains
Nominees:
Brunswick Music Festival
Isol-Aid
Melbourne Music Week
Queenscliff Music Festival
OUTSTANDING WOMAN IN MUSIC
Winner: Sarah Hamilton (One Of One)
Nominees:
Anna Laverty (Music Producer)
Charlotte Abroms (Support Act Fundraiser, Music Management)
Coco Eke (Bad Apples, Barpirdhila Foundation and Ngarrimili)
Emily Ulman (Isol-Aid, Brunswick Music Festival)
BEST PRODUCER
Winner: Joelistics: Mo'Ju & Joelistics 'Ghost Town' EP
Nominees:
Annika Schmarsel aka Alice Ivy: 'Sunrise', 'Don't Sleep', 'Better Man' (singles)
Anna Laverty: 'Milk on Milk' (Milk! Records compilation)
Damien Charles: Coda Chroma 'Inside The Still Life' (album)
Tom Iansek: #1 Dads – 'Golden Repair' (album)
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Mary Mihelakos (industry)
Chris Wilson (musician)
*Music Victoria Board Member Tim Heath is a co-owner of Regional Venue winner Theatre Royal.
*VMDO/Songlines staff member Neil Morris is nominated for his work under the performing name DRMNGNOW. Music Victoria Artist Advisory Panel member Lloyd Spiegel is nominated in the Best Blues Album category. These Awards are industry-voted by independent panels, and nominees are not involved in the voting process.
