This year's list of Queensland Music Awards (QMAs) finalists highlight how strong the State's musical chops currently are.
With more than 50 judges involved in the selection process, the splendid list of finalists includes: Eves The Behavior, Velociraptor, Violent Soho, Avaberée, Caligula’s Horse, Sahara Beck, Ali The Great, We All Want To, The Kite String Tangle X Dustin Tebbutt and many more.
This year’s QMAs will be hosted by triple j’s Gen Fricker with showcase performances from indie-psychedelic supergroup The Belligerents, rising Sunshine Coast songwriter Ayla, the fast-paced rhymes of seven-piece live hip hop act Astro Travellers, the soulful beats of Standby Empire: all four are 2016 QMA finalists. More live acts are still to be announced.
Another highlight of the night will be the bestowment of Arts Queensland’s $10,000 Billy Thorpe Scholarship to an emerging Queensland-based contemporary musician or band.
Queensland music fans will also be given the chance to discover some of the State’s most promising songwriters and have their say in the Bank of Queensland People’s Choice Awards by voting for their favourite emerging acts in the Most Promising Female, Most Promising Male and Most Promising Songwriting Team categories.
Further accolades for Highest Selling Single, Highest Selling Album and an Export Achievement Award – celebrating Queensland acts taking their music to the world – will also be presented on the night.
The 2016 Queensland Music Awards takes place at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 21 March.
