Pictured: L-R: Eves Karydas, No Money Enterprise, Miiesha, Tia Gostelow
The annual Queensland Music Awards (QMAs) today announces the 2021 finalists, and the nominees for the publicly voted People’s Choice Awards with winners to be presented under the decadent chandeliers of the Fortitude Music Hall on Wednesday 5 May in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
Finalists include Eves Karydas, The Jungle Giants, Mallrat, and Sycco contending for the Pop crown, AYA J, Beddy Rays, ELEEA and Miiesha are finalists for the Indigenous Award, DVNA, FELIVAND, MiCCY, and Miiesha representing the judges best releases from the Soul/Funk/R’n’B category, and Ball Park Music, Beddy Rays, Hope D, and Jaguar Jonze are the top talent for Rock.
Jesswar, No Money Enterprise, LEMAIRE, and Tbi$h round out the best of the best in the Hip Hop / Rap category, CLOE TERARE, Fragile Animals, Greta Stanley, and Tia Gostelow are up for the Regional Award, and the returning new Children’s Music Category sees a stellar list of finalists with Fabulous Lemon Drops, Nyssa Ray, Happy Singing Kids, and The Mini Moshers.
With even more outstanding artists up for awards in Blues/Roots, Country, Electronic/Dance, Jazz, Heavy, Folk/Singer Songwriter categories and more, the 2021 QMAs promises to be a massive night of celebrating the talent, resilience, and relentless passion of Queensland’s musicians and their teams.
QMusic CEO Angela Samut says “The Queensland Music Awards have become an important date in the calendar for our music community and despite the hardship of the last twelve months, our artists have proven that they are among the best in the world.
The creativity emanating from our state is both exciting and inspiring and I'm proud that the QMAs can be the place for Queensland to celebrate our musicians' success"
Billy Thorpe Scholarship Finalists. Clockwise: Beckah Amani, King Stingray, Selve, Phoebe Sinclair
Also announced today are the finalists for the annual Billy Thorpe Scholarship, which will be awarded to one of the four finalists Beckah Amani, King Stingray, Phoebe Sinclair, or Selve. Supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and presented by QMusic, The Billy Thorpe Scholarship was established in 2010 in honour of the late Billy Thorpe, and awards the annual winner $10k as well as the opportunity to record with an established producer and receive career-planning from Chugg Entertainment.
Lynn Thorpe says "My daughters and I are so happy and proud that The Billy Thorpe Scholarship and QMusic have had the privilege to support the emerging young talent of Queensland for the past 13 years. There was a record amount of applications this year, and the quality of our four finalists was just amazing. It took a very long Zoom meeting with the judges to narrow down the finalists.
I look forward to seeing how the scholarship might help the winner achieve exciting things in the coming 12 months.”
After a notably difficult year for live music across the country, Queensland’s much-loved music venues and festivals have proved resilient and adaptive in the face of COVID-19, continuing to showcase local artists, diversity, and sustainability throughout the past 12 months. The Queensland Music Awards are yet again placing the power in the hands of the public to decide on Queensland’s favourite festival and live music venues, welcoming back the People’s Choice Awards presented by The Music and Oztix - but with a twist… This year, Queensland's best venues and festivals will be decided by 60% public vote, and 40% from an expert industry panel.
The 2021 People’s Choice Award categories are: Metro Venue Of The Year, Regional Venue Of The Year, and Festival Of The Year. All public votes go in the draw to win a double pass to celebrate with the who’s who of Queensland music at the 2021 Queensland Music Awards on Wednesday 5 May at The Fortitude Music Hall. You only have one vote, so make it count!
With an impressive line-up of artists and special performances to be announced soon, the Queensland Music Awards are a must in this year’s calendar for Queensland’s industry and music community to celebrate the best artists and entertainment we have to offer.
Tickets are on sale now with a range of Awards experiences available: from banquet tables and VIP Boxes to bird’s eye views from the Mezzanine. Tickets start from $55 for QMusic members / $75 for non-members plus transaction/booking fees.
Are you ready to make Queensland music history? Queensland’s 2022 music award season begins with nominations now open for artists and filmmakers who released songs and music videos between 1 Dec 2020 and 30 Nov 2021!
Valley Fiesta is back October 28-30 to make the rescheduled Ekka long weekend the most Valley weekend ever! With over 150 bands in 21 venues, get back to the Valley for three nights of FIESTA!
Creative Arts Alliance's Live and Local Series kicks off this weekend, and QMusic's very own Development and Program Manager Dom Miller will be presenting a series of panels and workshops.
QMusic supports the call by live music and entertainment industry bodies for the adoption of a government-backed insurance scheme to provide certainty for the Australian live music and entertainment sector.
One of Australasia’s biggest annual music prizes, the Levi’s® Music Prize in partnership with BIGSOUND, awards a total of $90,000 to emerging artists ASHWARYA, Beddy Rays, Birdz, Jerome Farah, JK-47, and Sycco.
In yet another blow to the Australian music industry, COVID-19 has forced BIGSOUND, the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest industry gathering, to be cancelled.
