Following select nomination announcements from our partners at Radio Adelaide, Timber and Steel and May The Rock Be With You, today the AU review is excited to reveal the nominees for all 38 categories of the 2nd Annual AU Live Music Awards.
These are the only awards in Australia – and in fact one of the only of their kind in the world – that purely award the live performances of Australian artists. Recordings are not taken into account. Alongside the artists themselves, the AU Live Music Awards also recognises the best venues, events and festivals around the country.
With the exception of the two international categories, Artists nominated must have performed within Australia between 1st November 2014 and 31st October 2015. The awards are voted on by the team at the AU review – alongside representatives from Radio Adelaide for the four SA awards, Timber & Steel for the Roots award and May The Rock Be With You for the Hard Rock and Metal award.
Leading the nomination tally with six are Sydney’s Gang of Youths, who have had a stellar year supporting the release of their debut album The Positions, followed up by Melbourne’s Meg Mac, who has scored four nominations including live voice of the year and one for International achievement (a new category for 2015), thanks in part to touring the US this year with none other than D’Angelo.
Meg Mac has scored four nominations. Pic: Johnny Au
A wide range of talents also scored three nominations throughout the categories, including Haitus Kaiyote and The Smith Street Band – both of whom were nominated for Live Act of the Year alongside Gang of Youths, Bad//Dreems and The Paper Kites – Tom Iansek’s #1 Dads, who is nominated for live voice of the year alongside the likes of Meg Mac and Gang Of Youths’ David Le’aupepe – emerging artist Hein Cooper (one of our Heatseeker nominees), NZ-via-Melbourne’s Marlon Williams, The Griswolds, Tame Impala, Sticky Fingers, Parkway Drive and more!
The vast majority of artists on our list received one or two nominations – including the likes of Ecca Vandal, Saskwatch, Kucka, Methyl Ethel, Alison Wonderland, DrawCard, Seth Sentry and many, many more – providing our most varied and eclectic mix of artists ever. Three new genre awards for Roots, R&B/Soul and Hard Rock/Metal have also spread the recognition to more types of artists than ever before.
St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Groovin’ The Moo, Womadelaide and Splendour in the Grass are the most nominated events of the awards, both receiving nominations for Festival of the Year, as well as best VIC, NSW, SA and NSW events, respectively.
Two of the awards are public voted, and you can vote now for your favourite live acts and vocalists HERE, for your chance to win a double pass to the Awards on 9th December at Oxford Art Factory in Sydney!
For more details on the awards, head here: http://music.
And the nominees are….
National Award Categories
LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR
Bad//Dreems
Gang of Youths
Hiatus Kaiyote
The Paper Kites
The Smith Street Band
VOICE OF THE YEAR
David Le’aupepe – Gang Of Youths
Meg Mac
Nai Palm – Haitus Kaiyote
Nkechi Anele – Saskwatch
Tom Iansek – #1 Dads
THE HEATSEEKER AWARD
Recognising the best emerging talents in Australia
Ecca Vandal
Hein Cooper
Kucka
Methyl Ethel
Pierce Brothers
HIP-HOP LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR
Citizen Kay
Seth Sentry
Thundamentals
Tkay Maidza
Tuka
DJ/ELECTRONIC LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR
Alison Wonderland
Flight Facilities
Hermitude
Jarryd James
Peking Duk
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Andi Durkin (DrawCard)
Dan Williams (Philly Jays, Art vs Science)
Lachlan West (The Griswolds)
Ryan Strathie (Holy Holy)
Simon Ridley (DZ Deathrays)
GUITARIST OF THE YEAR
Dylan Frost (Sticky Fingers)
HARTS
Kevin Parker (Tame Impala)
Marlon Williams
Shane Parsons (DZ Deathrays)
BASS GUITARIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Henery (Violent Soho)
Ryan Lamb (ALPINE)
Sam Rasmussen (The Paper Kites)
Steph Ashworth (Something for Kate)
Tom Tilley (Client Liaison)
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Airling
Ben Woolner (SAFIA)
Elana Stone (All Our Exes Live in Texas)
Jim Finn (Art vs Science)
Jon George (RÜFÜS)
BEST DOMESTIC TOUR
Alison Wonderland – Wonderland Warehouse Project 2.0 Tour (May/June 15)
Gang Of Youths – The Positions Album Launch Tour (August/September 15)
Holy Holy – When The Storms Come Out Album Tour (Aug/Sept 15)
RÜFÜS – You Were Right Tour (October 15)
Seth Sentry – Strange New Past Australian Tour (June to September 15)
BEST HARD ROCK OR METAL LIVE ACT
Presented by May The Rock Be With You
High Tension
King Parrot
Ne Obliviscaris
Parkway Drive
Voyager
BEST LIVE ROOTS ACT
Presented by Timber and Steel
Fanny Lumsden and The Thrillseekers
Fraser A Gorman
Kim Churchill
Marlon Williams
Ruby Boots
BEST R&B OR SOUL LIVE ACT
Emma Donovan
Hiatus Kaiyote
Meg Mac
Ngaiire
Saskwatch
BEST FESTIVAL IN AUSTRALIA
Falls Music and Arts Festival / Southbound (Touring)
Groovin the Moo (Touring)
Laneway Festival (Touring)
Splendour in the Grass (NSW)
Womadelaide (SA)
INTERNATIONAL LIVE ACHIEVEMENT – SOLO
Conrad Sewell
Flume
Meg Mac
Troye Sivan
Vance Joy
INTERNATIONAL LIVE ACHIEVEMENT – BAND
5 Seconds of Summer
The Griswolds
Parkway Drive
Sheppard
Tame Impala
NSW Award Categories
NSW BAND OF THE YEAR
Presented by Stockade Beer Co.
Gang of Youths
Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders
Royal Headache
RÜFÜS
Sticky Fingers
NSW VOICE OF THE YEAR
Dave Le’aupepe (Gang of Youths)
Ev Jones (Jones Jnr)
Hein Cooper
Jess Cerro (Montaigne)
Ngaiire
NSW VENUE OF THE YEAR
Enmore Theatre
Goodgod Small Club
Metro Theatre
Newtown Social Club
Oxford Art Factory
NSW EVENT OF THE YEAR
Groovin’ The Moo (Maitland)
Secret Garden
Splendour in the Grass
Volume Festival
Young Henry’s Small World
QLD Award Categories
QLD BAND OF THE YEAR
Dead Letter Circus
DEAFCULT
The Grates
WAAX
Zefereli
QLD VOICE OF THE YEAR
Airling
Jeremy Neale
JOY.
Patience Hodgson (The Grates)
Sam Cromack (My Own Pet Radio)
QLD VENUE OF THE YEAR
The Triffid
Solbar – Sunshine Coast
The Brightside
Crowbar
The Foundry
QLD EVENT OF THE YEAR
BIGSOUND
Caloundra Music Festival
Jungle Love Festival
Maroochy Music and Visual Arts Festival
Valley Fiesta
SA Award Categories
Presented by Radio Adelaide
SA LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR
Bad//Dreems
Grenadiers
Skies
Sparkspitter
Urtekk
SA VOICE OF THE YEAR
Chris Panousakis (Timberwolf)
Dusty Lee Stephensen (Wasted Wanderers / SKIES)
Jesse Davidson
Koral Chandler (Koral and the Goodbye Horses)
Max Savage
SA VENUE OF THE YEAR
Fowlers Live
Grace Emily
HQ
Jive
The Gov
SA EVENT OF THE YEAR
Blenheim Festival
Futuresounds
The Porch Sessions
Unsound
Womadelaide
VIC Award Categories
VIC BAND OF THE YEAR
#1 Dads
Jakubi
Loon Lake
Northeast Party House
Swim Season
VIC VOICE OF THE YEAR
Bec Rigby (The Harpoons)
Adam Curley (Gold Class)
HOWQUA
Tash Sultana
Tom Iansek (#1 Dads, Big Scary)
VIC VENUE OF THE YEAR
Howler
Palais Theatre
The Corner Hotel, Richmond
The Forum
The Gasometer
VIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
AIR Awards
Boogie
Laneway Festival
Live Music Safari (Melbourne Music Week)
Meredith Music Festival
WA Award Categories
WA LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR
GRRL PAL
Kucka
Lilt
Our Man in Berlin
Tired Lion
WA VOICE OF THE YEAR
Joni Hogan (Joni in the Moon)
Kat Wilson
Louise Penman (Lilt)
Ruby Boots
Riley Pearce
WA VENUE OF THE YEAR
Amplifier Bar
The Astor
Jack Rabbit Slim’s
Mojos
Rosemount Hotel
WA EVENT OF THE YEAR
Camp Doogs Festival
In The Pines
State of the Art
Southbound
WAM Festival
Public Voted Categories
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST HERE.
Everyone who votes goes in the draw to win a double pass to the awards!
BEST LIVE ACT IN AUSTRALIA
Alpine
Bad//Dreems
Dead Letter Circus
Gang of Youths
The Griswolds
Parkway Drive
Royal Headache
Sheppard
The Smith Street Band
Sticky Fingers
BEST LIVE VOICE IN AUSTRALIA
Conrad Sewell
Dean Ray
Ecca Vandal
Hein Cooper
Katie Noonan
Kevin Parker (Tame Impala)
Marlon Williams
Meg Mac
Patrick James
Wil Wagner (The Smith Street Band)
The winners will be announced at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday, 9th December in an event sponsored by the Stockade Beer Co. The event is strictly invite only – the only chance you have to attend the event is to vote in the public awards! We’ll be giving away double passes on Monday, 7th December when the voting closes.