With 18 major award categories that are voted on by industry members, 2023 South Australian Music Awards spotlight the diverse and incredible local talent on display within the state.
"South Australia is at heart a creative state and the music talent coming out of this state is incredibly exciting and I don't envy the panel of independent judges this year," shares Music SA CEO, Christine Schloithe."MusicSA is very proud to host these awards each year on behalf of the South Australian contemporary music industry and we wish everyone all the best in all categories."
Read the list of 2023 SA Music Award nominees.
We'll be profiling a number of this year's nominees with our Spotlight On series, that continues with Ryan Martin John, a nominee for Best Solo Artist, Best Studio, Best Engineer/ Producer and Best Live Technician.
Folky with a notable country flair, Ryan's sonic spectrum ranges from a dynamic, intimate hush when solo to a harmony-gilded, guitar-laden fanfare when playing with his full band. As well as a songwriter, Ryan is an award-winning recording engineer and has collaborated with numerous local artists over his years.
What's the elevator pitch version of your 2023 so far?
I released and toured my debut country/ folk record 'Goodness, Gracious, Graceless' to a pretty nice national reception, and recorded/ produced a number of incredible local artists' records at my studio Cactus Cactus.
Biggest moment creatively you/ the band have had in 2023?
Probably either releasing my record, that I self-recorded and mixed, or recording and producing the Tom & Lucinda record 'Peninsula' – that was a pretty big milestone for me in terms of executing all my production ideas on an album.
Being a creative, artist, musician can be a lonely existence, so what does it mean to be nominated for a South Australian Music Award?
It's a super nice bit of recognition for a year of hard work creatively! It's nice to have peers champion what you do. All I care about is pushing my own envelope in the craft of recording and songwriting, so this feels like a big bit of validation.
Fast forward to the awards ceremony; if your name is read out as winner who are you mentioning-thanking in your speech?
My band members that played and toured my record, the other nominees, probably just a big shoutout to the SA music scene in general – I find it super inspiring to be a part of this community.
How can folks best support independent musicians-bands?
Go to shows, buy merch, share each other's releases on socials, lift each other up, like your friends' band's posts, buy records on Bandcamp instead of streaming 'em.
2024 is just around the corner; anything special you're brewing in the background you can share?
I have a bunch of incredible local artists' records that I'm finishing the mix for in my studio with some highly reputable names. Plus a follow-up record of my own – I'm excited for this in particular. I've honestly written my best songs yet and can't wait to share them.
What makes South Australian music unique?
There's a tight knit community with a lot of overlap in genres I think. Bigger cities have somewhat more isolated scenes dependent on genre, whereas here it feels like we're all melded into a big family in a some ways.
The 2023 SA Music Awards will be staged at Woodville Town Hall (Adelaide) on 8 November.
