A brief glimpse at the goings-on in the WA music industry, rounded up by WAM aka West Australian Music.
SONG OF THE YEAR WINNERS REVEALED
Following the much anticipated live reveal at the 2021 Awards Party, WAM are excited to celebrate the WA songwriters crowned winners of the 2021 Song Of The Year competition presented by Act Belong Commit.Taking out the coveted overall Grand Prize was Siobhan Cotchin with her blues banger 'Just The Way It Is'. Grand Prize Runner-up was Timothy Nelson with his song 'Biding Time', and the Grand Prize Second Runner-up went to Detour for their track 'Left Shoe'.
It was WA's First Nations songwriters that truly shone this year with Cyndy Moody and Phil Bartlett winning the Country category, Warrallgurniya taking out Global and Matalja winning Outstanding Indigenous.
Taking out the Act Belong Commit category was songwriter and Whadjuk and Ballardong woman, Natasha Eldridge, for her powerful song written for NAIDOC Week 2020, 'Always Was Always Will Be'.
Award winning singer-songwriter Odette Mercy and media personality Blake Williams took on MC duties for the exciting Awards ceremony at Fremantle live-music venue Freo.Social, with people around the country tuning in online for the live-streamed event.
The evening saw performances from award winners Warralgurniya, Sydnee Carter and Detour, plus nominees Chaos Divine and tunes from RTRFM's Homegrown DJs. Read the complete list of winners.
WA MUSIC WEEK RETURNS IN 2022
The inaugural WA Music Week, held in March 2021, was a triumphant success on all fronts. Engaged audiences, record number of artists showcased, and significant on-flowing commercial and employment benefits for the WA music community and its supporting industries.Our small team, together with contracted event staff and the community's support, delivered one of the biggest and most ambitious musical programmes for quite some time.
Arts Minister David Templeman has been emphatically supportive of WAM and the staging of WA Music Week, citing its cultural importance as one of the key West Australian arts events on the WA calendar.
WAM is excited to deliver the next iteration of WA Music Week in March 2022. With festival season opening with Fringe and transitioning into Perth Festival, we will 'round out the end of summer with WA's best loved local live music event programme.
WAM BACKS #VAXTHENATION
That incredible feeling of singing along to your favourite band in a crowd of thousands, arms around your mate under an open sky. It's something that just doesn't work on a screen. We need to experience it IRL.It's been a long road to get here, but the end is in sight. With a vaccinated nation, live events can and will happen. We've missed them. They've missed us. That's why WAM is proud to partner with the L.I.V.E. Alliance to promote the #VaxTheNation campaign.
Live entertainment is one of the nation's most beloved pastimes. In 2019, it contributed a whopping $36.5bn to our economy, with over 26 million tickets sold. It's also been one of the hardest hit industries by the pandemic; as the first to close and last to open, nearly 80,000 working Australians have lost their jobs.
So no matter who you are, your background or where you live, now is the time to get vaccinated.
LAUNCHPAD Upcoming local launches
Little Guilt single launch - The Aardvark, 14 Oct
Ben William music video launch - The Sewing Room, 14 Oct
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets single launch - Indian Ocean Hotel, 15 Oct
South Summit single launch - Jack Rabbit Slim's, 15 Oct
Dan Howls single launch - Milk Bar, 15 Oct
Sensimillia album launch - Milk Bar, 16 Oct
Big Town Players album launch - Mojos, 17 Oct
King Ibis single launch - Indian Ocean Hotel, Oct 22
Death By Denim single launch - Indian Ocean Hotel, 23 Oct
Kimura album launch - Lynott's Lounge, 23 Oct
Figurehead single launch - The Aardvark, 23 Oct
Yomi Ship EP launch - The Bird, 29 Oct
Coolibah single launch - Indian Ocean Hotel, 29 Oct
The Drowners single launch - The Aardvark 30 Oct
Clay Western single launch - Mojos Bar, 4 Nov
BYPOLA album launch - Lynott's Lounge, 5 Nov
The Scotch Of Saint James album launch - The Bird, 6 Nov
Green Pools EP launch - The Aardvark, 6 Nov
Grace Sanders single launch - Mojos Bar, 6 Nov
Dear Soldier single launch - Lynott's Lounge, 6 Nov
Sly Withers album launch - The Rechabite, 12 Nov
DICE single launch - Milk Bar, 12 Nov
46 Brigade single launch - Mojos Bar, 14 Nov
Killian Harty EP launch - The Aardvark, 19 Nov
