2024 AIR AWARDS WRAP!

WATCH THE 2024 AIR AWARDS HIGHLIGHT REEL HERE

The 2024 AIR Awards were held tonight, Thursday August 1st, at the Queens Theatre Adelaide, thanks to continued support from the South Australian Government’s Music Development Office. The awards celebrated the success of Australia’s independent music sector and featured performances from nominees Maple Glider, Jack River, Bumpy, Slava Grigoryan and RVG.

Dylan Lewis, long-time AIR Awards Master of Ceremonies, was joined again this year by Jessica Braithwaite as co-host.

    Genesis Owusu  took away the gong for Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP for STRUGGLER while Ourness, The Annex and AWAL took the award for Independent Marketing Team of the Year for their work on  Genesis Owusu’s STRUGGLER. Ourness’ domination continues with Royel Otis taking away one of two of their nominations, being crowned this year’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Jem Cassar-Daley took out Independent Song of the Year for King of Disappointment, and RVG took home the gong for Independent Album of the Year with Brain Worms.

Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP went to Dan Sultan for his extraordinary Dan Sultan, while Fanny Lumsden took home the award for Best Independent Country Album or EP with Hey Dawn. Best Independent Jazz Album or EP went to Elixir for A Small Shy Truth, and Best Independent Heavy Album or EP went to Polaris for their album Fatalism.

WILSN took out the Best Independent Soul/RnB Album or EP for Those Days Are Over, and Best Independent Pop Album or EP was awarded to Jack River for Endless Summer. Teen Jesus and the Jean Teaser came away with this year’s gong for Best Independent Rock or EP for I Love You and Private Function took home the award for Best Independent Punk Album or EP with 370H55V 0773H.

Cub Sport took out the Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album or EP with Jesus At The Gay Bar, FISHER and Kita Alexander took out the Best Independent Dance/Electronica or Club Single with Atmosphere, and the Best Independent Children’s Album or EP went to Josh Pyke for It’s Gonna Be A Great, Great Day!, while Best Independent Classical Album or EP went to Australian Chamber Orchestra and Richard Tognetti for Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 ‘Eroica’.

The award for Independent Publicity Team of the Year went to Jessica Searle for her work on Jen Cloher’s I Am The River, The River Is Me.

The highly coveted award for Best Independent Label sponsored by Moshtix recognised the efforts of  Ourness and will see them take home a digital marketing campaign valued at $3,000, providing access to Moshtix’s vast audience reach.

The 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award sponsored by Merlin, including $5000 for continued development, went to Don Spencer OAM, nominated by AIR members in recognition of his life’s work in children’s entertainment and the incredible work Don’s organisation, the Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF), continue to do with young people.

This year, AIR announced two new industry award categories – the Independent Music Video of the Year and the Independent Producer of the Year. These awards recognise the work of those that work behind the scenes to shape the augment and visuals of Australian Independent artists releases. The inaugural winner of the Independent Music Video of the Year was Adam Munnings for his work on Cub Sport’s Keep Me Safe and the winner of the inaugural Independent Producer of the Year was Bonnie Knight for their work on ENOLA‘s All Is Forgiven EP.

Announced tonight was confirmation of a further two years funding for AIR to hold its Awards and Indie-Con Australia conference in Adelaide and the exciting news that AIR will exclusively host A2IM’s Australian Edition of Indie-Week conference in conjunction with its events from 2025.

AIR CEO, Maria Amato commented – “Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients!  It was a great night of celebration and recognition for the talented Australian independent artist and label community.  We thank all our sponsors and are especially grateful to the South Australian Government through its Music Development Office for their continued support. This will enable us to  host the world’s largest independent music conference, A2IM’s Indie Week as part of AIR’s events and expand our ability to facilitate global connections.”

Maria Amato, AIR, CEO     Lisa Hresko, A2IM, General Manager

“We are honored and excited to bring A2IM Indie Week’s first-ever international event to Adelaide, Australia’s UNESCO designated City of Music. A2IM extends our heartfelt thanks to AIR and The South Australian Government through its Music Development office for this incredible opportunity. This event promises to be a global hub for independent music, fostering a dynamic community of industry leaders and sharing future-shaping ideas that will propel music forward.” Lisa Hresko, A2IM, General Manager

Minister for Arts, the Hon. Andrea Michaels, said – The Malinauskas Government is proud to host the wonderful artists and music businesses that make up the independent music sector on their night of nights. We would like to congratulate tonight’s winners and nominees for excellence in their categories and look forward to seeing their continued success.”

The Malinauskas Government is excited to confirm our continued support of AIR Awards and Indie-Con and we are thrilled with the announcement that our support will extend to the Australian edition of A2IM Indie Week, which will be held in Adelaide as part of AIR’s events.

THE 2024 AWARDS RECIPIENTS ARE…

VIEW THE FULL GALLERY HERE

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