Royel Otis won the Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year award on a "great night of celebration and recognition for the talented Australian independent artist and label community."
Genesis Owusu, RVG, Polaris (Credit: Bec Parsons, James Morris, Third Eye Visuals)
Last night (1 August), the AIR Awards went down in Adelaide, handing out awards to the best independent Australian artists, whether they make hip-hop, alternative, metal, soul, or pop music.
Hosted by the AIR Awards’ longtime Master Of Ceremonies, Dylan Lewis, alongside co-host Jessica Braithwaite, the night saw performances by this year’s nominees, including RVG, Maple Glider, Bumpy, Jack River, and Slava Grigoryan.
The night saw Royel Otis named Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year, Genesis Owusu take home the award for Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP for STRUGGLER, RVG won the Independent Album of the Year for Brain Worms, and Jem Cassar-Daley won the Independent Song of the Year for King Of Disappointment.
Elsewhere, Fanny Lumsden’s Hey Dawn was crowned Best Independent Country Album or EP, Polaris won the Best Independent Heavy Album or EP for Fatalism, and WILSN won the Best Independent Soul/RnB Album or EP with her album Those Days Are Over.
Other winners included Jack River (Best Independent Pop Album or EP), Cub Sport (Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album or EP), Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers (Best Independent Rock Album or EP), and Private Function (Best Independent Punk Album or EP). The full list of winners is below.
Also announced last night was another two years of funding from AIR to continue hosting the awards in Adelaide and exclusively host the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) in Australia for the first time.
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AIR CEO Maria Amato said in a statement about last night’s awards, “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.”
Lisa Hresko, the General Manager of A2IM, added, “We are honoured 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.”
SA Minister for Arts 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.”
INDEPENDENT LABEL OF THE YEAR
OURNESS
INDEPENDENT PUBLICITY TEAM OF THE YEAR
JESSICA SEARLE - Jen Cloher, I Am The River, The River Is Me
INDEPENDENT MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
ADAM MUNNINGS - Cub Sport, Keep Me Safe
INDEPENDENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR
RVG - Brain Worms
INDEPENDENT SONG OF THE YEAR
JEM CASSAR-DALEY - King Of Disappointment
BEST INDEPENDENT SOUL/RNB ALBUM OR EP
WILSN - Those Days Are Over
BEST INDEPENDENT COUNTRY ALBUM OR EP
FANNY LUMSDEN - Hey Dawn
BEST INDEPENDENT BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM OR EP
DAN SULTAN - Dan Sultan
BEST INDEPENDENT POP ALBUM OR EP
JACK RIVER - Endless Summer
BEST INDEPENDENT ROCK ALBUM OR EP
TEEN JESUS AND THE JEAN TEASERS - I Love You
BEST INDEPENDENT CLASSICAL ALBUM OR EP
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA / RICHARD TOGNETTI - Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 ‘Eroica’
2024 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - SPONSORED BY MERLIN
DON SPENCER OAM
INDEPENDENT MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR
THE ANNEX, OURNESS, AWAL - Genesis Owusu, STRUGGLER
INDEPENDENT PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
BONNIE KNIGHT - ENOLA, All Is Forgiven EP
BREAKTHROUGH INDEPENDENT ARTIST OF THE YEAR - PRESENTED BY PPCA
ROYEL OTIS
BEST INDEPENDENT HIP HOP ALBUM OR EP
GENESIS OWUSU - STRUGGLER
BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE OR ELECTRONICA ALBUM OR EP
CUB SPORT - Jesus At The Gay Bar
BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE, ELECTRONICA OR CLUB SINGLE
FISHER & KITA ALEXANDER - Atmosphere
BEST INDEPENDENT JAZZ ALBUM OR EP
ELIXIR - A Small Shy Truth
BEST INDEPENDENT PUNK ALBUM OR EP
PRIVATE FUNCTION - 370H55V 0773H
BEST INDEPENDENT HEAVY ALBUM OR EP
POLARIS - Fatalism
BEST INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S ALBUM OR EP
JOSH PYKE - It’s Gonna Be A Great, Great Day!