The 2020 Queensland Music Awards (QMAs), which took place tonight (3 March) at The Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, celebrated the artistic and commercial success of Queensland music over the previous 12 months.
The night featured performances from some of the best the state has to offer including Jaguar Jonze, Cub Sport, Nat Dunn, Busby Marou and Order Sixty6.Leading the winners was Thelma Plum, who scored Album Of The Year honours with her debut album ‘Better In Blak’. The Jungle Giants took out Song Of The Year and the Pop category for their latest release ‘Heavy Hearted’, their first release following their third album ‘Quiet Ferocity’.
“2019 was a stellar year for Queensland music and tonight we got to celebrate some of our finest home-grown talent who are at the forefront of Queensland artists making big waves on the national and global music front,” QMusic CEO Angela Samut says.
The Queensland Government’s 2020 Billy Thorpe Scholarship was awarded to Harry Phillips, who will receive $10,000 to record his next release; the Scholarship is now in its 12th year and has supported emerging musicians including Song Of The Year winner Sam Hales (The Jungle Giants) and Jeremy Neale in their developing years.
The QMusic Honorary Award was presented to Sony Music Executive Denis Handlin in recognition of his 50-year tenure at Sony Music Entertainment.
While icon of the Brisbane punk scene and lead singer of Blowhard, Brentyn ‘Rollo’ Rollason was posthumously honoured with the Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award after decades of leading the way and inspiring others in the music industry with his work on stage and through Splurt Records.
