Australia’s independent music sector was celebrated in Adelaide this week when the winners of the 2023 AIR Awards were announced at Freemasons Hall in a ceremony hosted Dylan Lewis and Jessica Braithwaite.
King Stingray owned the night, taking home gongs for Best Independent Rock Album or EP, Independent Album of the Year and Breakthrough Artist of the Year, while Independent Song Of the Year went to Genesis Owusu for Get Inspired.
Dope Lemon won Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP for Rose Pink Cadillac, while Andy Golledge took home the award forBest Independent Country Album or EP with Strength Of A Queen. Best Independent Jazz Album or EP went to Donny Benét for his album Le Piano, and Best Independent Heavy Album or EP went to Northlane for their album Obsidian.
Felivand took out the Best Independent Soul/RnB Album or EP for Ties, and Best Independent Pop Album or EP was awarded to Daniel Johns for FutureNever.
Jesswar came away with this year’s gong for Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP for LIFE’S SHORT, LIVE BIG and Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers took home the award for Best Independent Punk Album or EP with Pretty Good For A Girl Band.
Confidence Man took out the Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album or EP category with TILT, Cub Sport took out the Best Independent Dance/Electronica or Club Single with Always Got The Love, and the Best Independent Children’s Album or EP went to Teeny Tiny Stevies for How To Be Creative.
While Best Independent Classical Album or EP went to William Barton and Veronique Serret for Heartland.
The highly coveted award for Best Independent Label recognised the efforts of Chapter Music and the 2023 Outstanding Achievement Award went to Dr. Catherine Crock, nominated by AIR members in recognition of her work revolutionising healthcare through music and the arts and for establishing the Hush Foundation.
This year, AIR announced two new industry categories – the Independent Marketing Team of the Year and theIndependent Publicity Team of the Year. These awards recognise the work of those who work behind the scenes to promote and build media and fan engagement for the nominees in this year’s awards.
The inaugural winner of the Independent Marketing Team of the Year was I Oh You and Mushroom Marketing for Confidence Man’s TILT campaign and the winner of the inaugural Independent Publicity Team of the Year was Genna Alexopoulos for the Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers’ Pretty Good For A Girl Band campaign.
Minister for Arts, the Hon. 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.”
AIR CEO, Maria Amato commented, “Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients! It was a great night of celebration and recognition for the talented, and resilient Australian independent artist and label community. We thank the South Australian Music Development Office for being our major sponsor and extend thanks to our supporting partners and label members for their continued support.”
C44 is proudly a media partner for Indie-Con and the AIR Awards, presented by the Australian Independent Record Labels Association.
