The South Australian music community celebrated AusMusic Month in style last night at the 2021 South Australian Music (SAM) Awards gala event
This year, the SAMs was one of the only music awards ceremonies with a live audience in attendance due to COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing restrictions. The sold-out ceremony was held in open-air on Kaurna Land within the walls of the historic Old Adelaide Gaol grounds and was hosted by South Australian media personality and presenter Shanelle Franklin (formerly SAFM, Jam LIVE, and Rip It Up magazine).
A record-breaking live audience of artists and industry workers were treated to live performances by local acts Teenage Joans, Marlon x Rulla, George Alice and TOWNS throughout the evening – showcasing just a taste of the talent amongst Adelaide’s contemporary music artists.
Teenage Joans has officially set a new record for the SAMs for the most awards won by a single artist in the same year! The pop-punk duo took home an impressive seven awards in their very first year as nominees! This record was previously held by West Thebarton, who scored four wins in 2018.
The triple j Unearthed High winners took out every single award category they were nominated for – Best Song, Best New Artist, Best Group, Best Release, Most Popular Punk Artist and Best Cover Art for their single ‘Something About Being Sixteen’ (created by Samuel Graves & Eve Burner). Additionally, they were awarded the inaugural award for the City of Adelaide Exceptional Live Music Performance Award, which was decided by a collective of Adelaide-based original live music venues.
The night was also a massive win for new talent, with a few first-time nominees also becoming winners. Tilly Tjala Thomas took home the Major Award for Best Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Artist as well as the inaugural Emily Burrows Award, as part of the special awards categories which also includes Adelaide UNESCO City Of Music Best International Collaboration, Rosanna and Neville Clarke Award, and the Music SA Community Achievement Award (all winners listed here).
Additionally, other first-time winners include Boffo for Most Popular Hip Hop, Kitchen Witch for Most Popular Heavy, and Cal Williams Jr for Most Popular Blues and Roots. Additionally, The Voice 2021 stars G-Nat!on were acknowledged for their all-girl pop group power with a win for Most Popular Pop Artist.
Several past SAMs winners took home some additional wins, including Ricky Albeck and The Belair Line Band who won Most Popular Country, TOWNS for Most Popular Rock and Siberian Tiger for Most Popular Folk. Motez also returned to claim the Most Popular Electronic Artist title for the second year in a row, along with a Major Award for Best Solo Artist.
A panel of 15 local and national industry representatives, including Triple J’s Declan Byrne, Hayden Davies of Pilerats and James Tidwell (Domestic LaLa / Violent Soho) (full list here) decided on this year’s Industry/Major awards winners.
The iconic local venue, Jive, took home Best Venue a year after the ‘Keep Jive Alive’ campaign saw owner, Tam Boakes, asking local music fans to support the 20-year old venue through crowdfunding. Best Studio was a tie vote in a first for the awards, with both Chapel Lane Studios and Wundenberg’s Recording Studio winners on the night. Best Major Festival/Event went to WOMADelaide, which will celebrate its 30th year of bringing world music, art and dance to Adelaide next March. Best Small Festival/Event was awarded to live-stream turn real-life festival Space Jams, South Coast Tour, which championed local artists during the pandemic.
Additionally, Teenage Joans’ manager Rachie Whitford of 27 Music also took home the win for Best Manager. She also manages indie-pop group Glowing who won Best Music Video for their track ‘Poppy’ (by Harry Nathan).
Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni extends his heartfelt gratitude to the South Australian music industry. He states:
“Congratulations to all finalists and award winners at this year’s SA Music Awards in what has been a challenging time for the industry.”
He continues, “The Marshall Liberal Government recognises the contribution the music sector makes to our economy, and we are committed to supporting and growing South Australia’s music industry. Our $3 million live music support package will help to ensure the industry is ready to go as soon as restrictions ease.
“As a UNESCO City of Music, Adelaide has become a hub of creativity for local musicians, attracting local and international attention, and I am proud of our music industry for continuing to show resilience and agility”.
Music SA Chair Anne Wiberg highlights the strength of South Australia’s music community.
“Despite 2021 being another tough year for music industry workers, venues and artists, we’ve seen so many great shows of strength and resilience amongst the South Australian music community. From the number of great new music releases to COVID-safe music events such as Summer Sounds and the re-imagined WOMADelaide festival in a temporary location. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!”
Music SA’s General Manager Kim Roberts acknowledges the strong sense of community that SA’s music industry has shown throughout yet another challenging year.
“The many displays of community spirit amongst the SA music industry over the past 12-months has been nothing short of inspiring.”
She continues, “This year’s SAM awards are not only an opportunity to congratulate our nominees, finalists and winners but also a chance to safely come together to acknowledge the countless other heroic efforts within our industry throughout a difficult year. From the crowdfunding campaigns that have kept our live music venues open, to the incredibly dedicated individuals that have taken on huge challenges to create opportunities for local artists to perform during the pandemic, this one’s for you.”
The SAM Awards are proud to continue celebrating and championing local music and the hard workers behind the scenes who have made live music possible during a tumultuous year for the music and entertainment industry.
2021 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS
MAJOR/INDUSTRY VOTED AWARDS WINNERS
BEST STUDIO (Presented by Adelaide Music Collective) – TIE!
Chapel Lane Studios
Wundenberg’s Recording Studio
BEST STUDIO ENGINEER/PRODUCER (Presented by SAE Institute Adelaide)
Kiah Gossner
BEST LIVE TECHNICIAN (Presented by Novatech)
Lisa Lane Collins
BEST MAJOR FESTIVAL/EVENT (Presented by MOSHTIX)
WOMADelaide
BEST SMALL FESTIVAL/EVENT (Presented by Pirate Life)
Space Jams South Coast Tour
BEST VENUE (Presented by AHA – SA)
Jive
BEST COVER ART (Presented by Version Design)
Samuel Graves & Eve Burner (Teenage Joans – “Taste of Me”)
BEST MANAGER (Presented by Association of Artist Managers)
Rachel Whitford
BEST MUSIC VIDEO (Presented by Alpha Box & Dice)
Harry Nathan (Glowing – “Poppy”)
BEST SONG (Presented by APRA AMCOS)
Teenage Joans – “Something About Being Sixteen”
BEST NEW ARTIST (Presented by WOMADelaide)
Teenage Joans
BEST GROUP (Presented by Derringers Music)
Teenage Joans
BEST ABORIGINAL AND/OR TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ARTIST
(Presented by Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music – CASM)
Tilly Tjala Thomas
BEST SOLO ARTIST (Presented by Media Arts Lawyers)
Motez
BEST RELEASE (Presented by the Music
Teenage Joans – “Taste of Me”
BEST MUSIC EDUCATOR (Presented by SAMII)
Alison Hams
BEST INNOVATION (Presented by CityMag)
WOMADelaide x NSS Academy
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS WINNERS
BLUES & ROOTS (Presented by UniBar)
Cal Williams Jr
COUNTRY (Presented by Grace Emily Hotel)
Ricky Albeck & The Belair Line Band
ELECTRONIC (Presented by Fat Controller)
Motez
EXPERIMENTAL (Presented by The Lab)
Sons of Zöku
FOLK (Presented by The Wheatsheaf Hotel)
Siberian Tiger
HEAVY (Presented by ARMI)
Kitchen Witch
HIP HOP (Presented by The Gov)
Boffa
JAZZ (Presented by the Gilbert St Hotel)
Chelsea Lee
POP (Presented by Lion Arts Factory)
G-Nat!on
PUNK (Presented by Three D Radio)
Teenage Joans
ROCK (Presented by Jive)
TOWNS
SOUL/FUNK/R&B (Presented by Woodville Town Hall)
Mum Thinks Blue
2021 SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS
CITY OF ADELAIDE EXCEPTIONAL LIVE PERFORMANCE AWARD (Presented by City of Adelaide)
Teenage Joans
ADELAIDE UNESCO CITY OF MUSIC BEST INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION (Presented by Adelaide UNESCO City of Music)
Lazaro Numa
EMILY BURROWS AWARD (Presented by APRA AMCOS)
Tilly Tjala Thomas
ROSANNA AND NEVILLE CLARK AWARD (Presented by Disk-Edits)
Ryan Martin John and Aidan Cibich
MUSIC SA COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (Presented by Music SA)
Mick Wordley