THE AGE MUSIC VICTORIA AWARDS 2018 - voting now open!

Australia’s largest publicly voted music awards The Age Music Victoria Awards is back for its 13th year in 2018.

This year, the awards welcome new major partners, The Melbourne Recital Centre, which is hosting the event for the first time, Bendigo Bank who will be providing cash grants to the regional award winners, and The Archie Roach Foundation sponsoring the new Emerging Talent Award.

Also, for the first time, the Victorian Government will provide $10,000 to the newly titled Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Album of 2018, and $5,000 to the Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Breakthrough Act of 2018.

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said: “We’re proud to support these awards, and it’s just a small acknowledgement of the economic, social and cultural benefits music brings to our State.”

Co-presented by vital community radio stations Triple R 102.7FM and PBS 106.7FM, the evening will be hosted by beloved radio presenters Lyndelle Wilkinson and Chris Gill and will invite industry to gather, reflect and celebrate another successful year for Victorian music, with live performers and the Hall Of Fame induction to be announced in early November.

From now until Friday 9 November, Australia’s music community can vote for their favourite music contributions of the year in the 10 publicly-voted categories for Best Album, Best Band, Best Song, Best Solo Artist, Best Male Musician, Best Female Musician, Best Breakthrough Act, Best Live Band, Best Small Venue (under 500 capacity) and Best Large Venue (over 500 capacity).

This year, Melbourne icon Courtney Barnett and rising star Baker Boy are leading the charge in the publicly voted awards, nominated in all 5 categories that they are each eligible for. Laura Jean is up for 4 awards for her fifth studio album Devotion, and Sampa The Great, Camp Cope, Tropical F*ck Storm and Mojo Juju all in the running for three mentions.

Additionally, 17 industry awards will be handed out, with nominees and winners selected by expert panels of industry heavyweights. The industry-voted awards celebrate the diversity of Victoria’s thriving music community, and reward excellence in regional music, festivals and genres, with new and updated award categories introduced this year for Best Reggae and Dancehall, Best Global and Best Rock/Punk.

Be sure to cast your vote now to commend your local favourites on yet another incredible year of Victorian music! Voters will automatically go in the running to win one of 2 double passes to the exclusive industry-only event.

The full lists of nominees now open for PUBLIC VOTING are:

The Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Album of 2018 - $10,000 Cash Prize
Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
Laura Jean – Devotion
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs
Sampa The Great – Birds And The Bee9

Best Band
Camp Cope
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
MOD CON
Rolling Blackouts Coastal
Fever Tropical F*ck Storm

Best Song
Baker Boy – Marryuna
Camp Cope – The Opener
Courtney Barnett – Nameless, Faceless
Laura Jean – Girls On The TV
Mojo Juju – Native Tongue

Best Solo Artist
Alex Lahey
Angie McMahon
Baker Boy
Courtney Barnett
Didirri
Laura Jean
Mojo Juju
Sampa The Great
Tash Sultana
Vance Joy

Best Male Musician
Danzal Baker (Baker Boy)
Didirri Peters (Didirri)
Gareth Liddiard (Tropical F*ck Storm)
Jake Robertson (School Damage, Alien Nosejob)
Tom Iansek (No Mono)

Best Female Musician
Courtney Barnett
Erica Dunn (Tropical F*ck Storm, MOD CON, Palm Springs)
Laura Englert (Laura Jean)
Mojo "Juju" Ruiz De Luzuriaga (Mojo Juju)
Sampa Tembo (Sampa The Great)

The Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Breakthrough Act of 2018 - $5000 Cash Prize
Angie McMahon
Baker Boy
Kaiit
Mildlife
MOD CON

Best Live Act
Amyl And The Sniffers
Baker Boy
Cable Ties
Courtney Barnett
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Best Small Venue (under 500 capacity)
The Gasometer, Collingwood
Howler, Brunswick
Northcote Social Club, Northcote
The Old Bar, Fitzroy
The Tote, Collingwood

Best Large Venue (over 500 capacity)
170 Russell, Melbourne
Corner Hotel, Richmond
The Croxton Bandroom, Thornbury
Hamer Hall, Southbank
Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

INDUSTRY-VOTED NOMINEES:
Best Festival
Gizzfest
Golden Plains
Meredith Music Festival
Sugar Mountain
Wet Fest

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Act
Benny Walker
Freya Josephine Hollick
High Tension
Stonefield
This Way North

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Venue (Over 50 gigs per year)
Barwon Club, South Geelong
Caravan Music Club, Bentleigh East
Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Sooki Lounge, Belgrave
The Workers Club, Geelong

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Venue (Under 50 gigs per year)
Aireys Pub, Aireys Inlet
Blues Train, Queenscliff
Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan
Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
Wandi Pub, Wandiligong

Archie Roach Foundation Award for Emerging Talent
Alice Skye
Baker Boy
Kaiit
Oetha
Willow Beats

Best Blues Album
Collard Greens And Gravy – Luedella
Fiona Boyes – Voodoo In The Shadows
Lloyd Spiegel – Backroads
Rhythm X Revival – Rhythm X Revival
Steve Boyd’s Rum Reverie – Hoodoo Hipshake

Best Country Album
Ben Mastwyk & The Millions – Winning Streak
Freya Josephine Hollick – Feral Fusion
Greta Ziller – Queen Of Boomtown
James Ellis & The Jealous Guys – It Ain't Texas (But It Ain't Bad)
Michael Waugh – The Asphalt & The Oval

Best Electronic Act
Alice Ivy
Cale Sexton
Corin
Habits
Mildlife

Best Experimental or Avant-Garde Act
Aviva Endean
Maria Moles
MESS Ltd
Nat Grant
Romy Fox

Best Folk or Roots Album
Cat Canteri – Inner North
Lucy Wise – Winter Sun
Luke Plumb & The Circuit – Turn & ReTurn
Michael Waugh – The Asphalt & The Oval
Trouble In The Kitchen – The Score

Best Global Act
Cool Out Sun
Digital Afrika
Mojo Juju
The Senegambian Jazz Band
Xylouris White

Best Heavy Album
Dangerous Curves – So Dirty Right
Dream On Dreamer – It Comes And Goes
Encircling Sea – Hearken
High Tension – Purge
YLVA – Meta

Best Hip Hop Act
Baker Boy
Drmngnow
Jordan Dennis
Kaiit
Sampa The Great

Best Jazz Album
30/70 – Elevate
Barney McAll – Hearing The Blood
Menagerie – The Arrow Of Time
Origami - Wu Xing – The 5 Elements
Sam Anning Sextet – Across A Field As Vast As One

Best Reggae and Dancehall Act
Marvin Priest & Rik-E-Ragga
Melbourne Ska Orchestra
Monkey Marc
Ras Jahknow
Yaw Faso

Best Rock/Punk Album
Camp Cope – How to Socialise & Make Friends
Divide and Dissolve – Abomination
Little Ugly Girls – Little Ugly Girls
Sarah Mary Chadwick – Sugar Still Melts In The Rain
Tropical F*ck Storm – A Laughing Death in Meatspace

Best Soul, Funk, RnB Album
30/70 – Elevate
The Bamboos – Night Time People
Billy Davis – A Family Portrait
Mildlife – Phase
Sampa The Great – Birds and The BEE9

Vote at www.musicvictoria.com.au/votenow
Voting closes at midnight, Friday 9 November 2018