Tia Gostelow, Pat Tierney & More Discuss What Excites Them About The QLD Music Scene

Minor Gold, Pat Tierney, Tia Gostelow, Karl S. Williams, Jem Cassar-Daley, Tom Busby (of Busby Marou fame), and Kurilpa Reach are just some of the artists nominated for awards at this year’s Queensland Music Awards (QMAs). To celebrate the achievement, they’ve told The Music all about what excites them about the vibrant Queensland music scene.

Taking place next Wednesday (17 April) at the Fortitude Music Hall, Karl S. Williams (Built This Way), Busby Marou (Conversation) and Kurilpa Reach (Chicken Rendang) are all nominated in the blues & roots category. Karl S. Williams appears again in the folk category (A Heart Is Not An Anvil) alongside Minor Gold (Cannonball) and Pat Tierney (Lost In The Haze).

Busby Marou (Conversation) and Tia Gostelow (Spring To Life) are up for the Indigenous award. Gostelow was also nominated for the regional award, while Jem Cassar-Daley was nominated in the pop category for King Of Disappointment.

Check out what they have to say about the Queensland music scene below.

PAT TIERNEY

I’m really excited by the support and encouragement from communities, venues, festivals, and organisations throughout QLD at the moment. Coming off the back of Covid and the last few years, it’s really encouraging to be deep into a career and see the music community and industry coming back together, getting stronger and stronger wherever you go. There’s also an incredible amount of wonderful songwriters here and it’s inspiring to be a part of that family.

KARL S. WILLIAMS

I think the thing that excites me most about QLD music right now (and always) is the community that exists here. There’s a certain solidarity among those who make music in this vast state - a certain steadfast commitment to proving it’s possible to make vital art no matter where you’re from. We’re all bound together in this endeavour, so there’s a sense of collective celebration at each success - and that’s a precious thing.

TIA GOSTELOW

The thing that excites me about Queensland music right now is how much of it there is and the quality of it. Queensland has some of the best songwriters and producers in the country from all sorts of genres, and I feel as though it’s starting to have its moment. From Cairns down to the Gold Coast, there is so much talent seeping out, and it makes me really proud to be a Queenslander.

TOM BUSBY

I'm incredibly proud to be part of the Queensland music community. I'm particularly excited about all of the great artists coming from regional areas. When Jeremy and I started in Rockhampton, there was very little music community around. Nowadays, it feels like the regional scenes are challenging what's happening in Brisbane.

JEM CASSAR-DALEY

What excites me the most about QLD music is how tight-knit and strong the community is. From collaborations to showing up at live events across the city, everyone is there for each other, and that’s what great music is all about.

KURILPA REACH

What excites us most about the Queensland music scene right now is honestly the energy that you feel when playing shows here in Meanjin or the rest of the state. Don't get us wrong, we love playing interstate, but whether it's at gigs or festivals that we are performing or attending, there's just something about the energy from the audience that hits different.

Maybe it's something in the water up here (we're no scientists), but the vibes from the crowd in Queensland are just unmatched. Makes it such an enjoyable experience to play and be at gigs when you can feel everyone around you having a ripper time, doesn't matter whether it's a sold-out Princess Theatre or a dingy Greaser set, the vibes are unmatched!

MINOR GOLD

It’s so exciting to see how vibrant the Americana/Folk scene is in Queensland. There is a unique style forming that differs from the heavy honky-tonk leanings coming out of Melbourne, which provides diversity to what Australia artists are contributing as a whole to the global music industry.

You can find all the nominees for the 2024 Queensland Music Awards here.