The Queensland Music Awards, known colloquially as the QMAs, is a state-wide search for some of Queensland’s best and brightest musicians that launched for the first time last year in partnership with QMusic and The Courier-Mail. A wide range of artists in a variety of genres are to be recognised for their innovation in songwriting and music excellence.
Judged by a panel of music industry professionals, drawn from all over the nation, finalists are chosen based on their musical abilities as well as their national significance; and today the QMA panel have announced their list of finalists.
The likes of roots duo Busby Marou, quirky indie act Ball Park Music, zinging guitar slingers Last Dinosaurs, as well as The Medics, The Grates and Brisbane garage provocateurs DZ Deathrays are up for nomination for the Most Popular Group award; while the likes of The Jungle Giants, Cub Scouts, Mosman Alder, Dubmarine and Ben Salter are all up for awards in various genre categories.
On top of that, Arts Queensland have added the nominees for its Billy Thorpe Scholarship award. A cash prize of $10,000 put together by the Queensland Government to help build the careers of emerging artists.
The winners will be announced during an awards ceremony, to be held at Brisbane’s Old Museum on Tuesday 14th August which will also act as a showcase for music performances from the state’s legendary Ed Kuepper, Ball Park Music, up-and-comers Art of Sleeping, The McMenamins and more.
Limited tickets will be on sale to the general public through Oztix (from July 5th) but music fans can still have their voice heard by voting in the Courier-Mail People’s Choice Awards. Which also puts them in the draw to win tickets to major music festivals including the Big Day Out, Harvest Festival, Woodford, Soundwave and BIGSOUND Live. Voting opens today over at the Queensland paper’s website.
Last year’s inaugural awards ceremony recognised an array of emerging artists, winners including Brisbane garage duo DZ Deathrays (in the Rock category for “Gebbie Street”), The Medics (for Indigenous Act) and the recently disbanded The Middle East claimed album of the year – for their first (and only) record, I Want That You Are Always Happy.
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The 2011 QMAs also recognised Kate Miller-Heidke as the ‘Most Popular Female’ for the Courier-Mail’s People’s Choice award as well as for the Export Achievement Award. While indie chanteuse Emma Louise scooped two gongs for her track “Jungle” in the Pop and Song Of The Year categories.
The full list of 2012 finalists is below:
Title | Artist | Region |
| POP | ||
| I Still Don’t Believe | Busby Marou | Brisbane |
| Do You Hear | Cub Scouts | Brisbane |
| I’ll Change Your Mind | Kate Miller-Heidke | Brisbane |
| Mr Polite | The Jungle Giants | Brisbane |
| ROCK | ||
| Dollar Chills | DZ Deathrays | Brisbane |
| Winter Was The Time | Jeremy Neale | Brisbane |
| I Don’t Write No Sad Songs | Texas Tea | Brisbane |
| Summertime | The Keep On Dancin’s | Brisbane |
| ELECTRONIC/DANCE | ||
| M&R | Bec Laughton | Brisbane |
| Underwater | Carly Dickenson | Brisbane |
| Stratosphere | Pigeon | Brisbane |
| Xplodes When Played ft. Kitch | Shola | Brisbane |
| BLUES / ROOTS | ||
| Looking Glass | Kingfisha | Brisbane |
| Wanderlust | Band of Frequencies | Sunshine Coast |
| Golden | Band of Frequencies | Sunshine Coast |
| Love Me Longtime Swing | Pete Cullen | Sunshine Coast |
| HEAVY | ||
| Dawn To Rise | A Breach of Silence | Brisbane |
| Empty Smile | A Breach of Silence | Brisbane |
| Devil Blues | Black Mustang | Brisbane |
| Relic | Lynchmada | Gold Coast |
| JAZZ | ||
| Finality | Lauren Lucille | Brisbane |
| Dresden | Marialy Pacheco | Brisbane |
| Flood Lines | Toby Wren Quartet | Brisbane |
| Rich and Famous | Toby Wren Quartet | Brisbane |
| SCHOOLS | ||
| New Beginning | Becc Holdorf | Scenic Rim |
| Rainstorm | Jordan Brodie | Cairns |
| You Could Be Happy | Sahara Beck | Sunshine Coast |
| Bang Bang Bang | Sahara Beck | Sunshine Coast |
| INDIGENOUS | ||
| Unconditional | Dubmarine | Brisbane |
| Red Roses | Sue Ray | Toowoomba |
| Golden Bear | The Medics | Brisbane |
| Griffin | The Medics | Brisbane |
| URBAN | ||
| Unconditional | Dubmarine | Brisbane |
| Take This Message | Impossible Odds | Brisbane |
| The Valley | Rainman | Brisbane |
| Good Thing (ft. Mr Hill) | Seven | Gold Coast |
| COUNTRY | ||
| Cyclone Country | 8 Ball Aitken | Brisbane |
| The Old Man’s Gone | Brad Butcher | Brisbane |
| Precious Little | Harmony James | Ipswich |
| Red Roses | Sue Ray | Toowoomba |
| WORLD | ||
| Unconditional | Dubmarine | Brisbane |
| The Vespa with a Bullbar | Greshka | Brisbane |
| Icarus Falling | LAIQUE | Brisbane |
| Panini Fandango | Lüke | Brisbane |
| FOLK / SINGER SONGWRITER | ||
| The Great Divorce | Kate Martin | Townsville |
| The Alphabet Song | Texas Tea | Brisbane |
| Raisin Heart | Mosman Alder | Brisbane |
| Fever | Paul Donoughue | Brisbane |
| CHILDRENS MUSIC | ||
| Australia is a Dangerous Place | Tyrone and Lesley | Brisbane |
| The Goat and the Goose | Nadia Sunde | Sunshine Coast |
| Alphabet Groove | BoomTish | Brisbane |
| The Hopping Mouse | The Lamplights | Gold Coast |
| REGIONAL | ||
| Rainstorm | Jordan Brodie | Cairns |
| Tom Whisky Blues | Pete Cullen | Sunshine Coast |
| Lover Evermore | Sue Ray | Toowoomba |
| All I’ve Found | Band of Frequencies | Sunshine Coast |
| ALBUM OF THE YEAR | ||
| The Cat | Ben Salter | Brisbane |
| Bloodstreams | DZ Deathrays | Brisbane |
| Magnetic North | Kellie Lloyd | Brisbane |
| Secret Rituals | The Grates | Brisbane |
| EXPORT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD | ||
| Emma-Louise | ||
| DZ Deathrays | ||
| Last Dinosaurs | ||
| The Grates | ||
| BILLY THORPE SCHOLARSHIP | ||
| Jeremy Neale | ||
| The Secret Whisper | ||
| Astrid and the Asteroids | ||
| Cold and Need | ||
| THE COURIER-MAIL PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS | ||
| Most Popular Female ArtistEmma Louise Patience Hodgson Harmony James Kate Miller-Heidke Washington Katie Noonan | ||
| Most Popular Male ArtistAndrew Redford Tim Steward Troy Cassar-Daley Pete Murray Danny Widdicombe 8 Ball Aitken | ||
| Most Popular GroupBusby Marou Ball Park Music Last Dinosaurs The Medics DZ Deathrays The Grates | ||
