Named after, and held at popular Adelaide live music venue Fowler’s last night, the inaugural Fowler’s Live Music Awards 2012 handed out 20 industry awards and five public voted gongs “recognise success and achievement over the past 12 months [and] celebrate the great diversity of original live music” in South Australia.
The winners were announced at a ceremony conducted last night at Fowler’s, with Aussie hip hop luminaries and recent J-Award nominees Hilltop Hoods, (who have the dubious honour of being the most illegally downloaded artist by Australians) named Best Hip Hop Act, while Adelaide-based Celtic outfit The Borderers took out Most Popular SA Band/Artist, as well as Most Popular SA Release for their tune, ‘Tales Of Love & Loss’.
Other winners included comedy rock act The Beards, who are currently on their End Of The World (For Beardless People) tour, who took out The Best Music Video for their single, ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With A Bearded Man’, and much heralded Adelaide sextet, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! were awarded Best Indie Act.
Meanwhile, popular Adelaide band Lady Strangelove took out the Best Rock Act, who have recently returned from recording their debut album in America with famed producer Sylvia Massey, whose previous credits include production work with Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Australia’s own Cog (R.I.P.). They are set to head out on tour in support of their new EP and lead single, ‘Demon‘.
Speaking about the awards, organiser and key judge Peter Darwin said that they are “not a ‘definitive industry based awards’, but rather a researched and considered recognition of the independent South Australian based Music Industry, for the purpose of recognising, celebrating and rewarding our local artists.”“South Australia needs to get out there and make some noise about what we’ve got and this is a great start.”
Adelaide’s The Governor Hindmarsh was voted the Most Popular Live Music Venue and WOMADelaide, the annual festival that showcases “the world’s best traditional and contemporary musicians, dancers and DJs” was awarded The Most Popular Live Music Event.
The awards follow in the footsteps of the South Australian Music Industry Awards (SAMIA) which concluded seven years ago, and Darwin, speaking to The Herald Sun, has stated that although the awards are independent, he would love for it to become a bigger event, as The Herald Sun reports.
“Hopefully the event will encourage a bit more leverage to reinstitute it into a stronger format,” Darwin said, “It’s called the Fowler’s Live Music Awards but I’d love to see other organisations come on board over the next few years and it can be called the South Australian Music Awards…South Australia needs to get out there and make some noise about what we’ve got and this is a great start.”
You can view the full list of winners below:
Fowler’s Live Music Awards 2012 Winners
Best Acoustic Act – The Audreys
Best Electronic Act – The Killgirls
Best Hip Hop Act – Hilltop Hoods
Best Indie Act – Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!
Best Metal Act – Truth Corroded
Best New World Act – Shaolin Afronauts
Best Pop Act – Leader Cheetah
Best Punk Act – Coerce
Best Rock Act – Lady Strangelove
Best Manager – Daisy Brown
Best Music Industry Initiative – Moving Music
Best Music Organisation Or Individual – Alice Fraser
Best Music Video – The Beards: ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With A Bearded Man’
Most Popular SA Release – ‘Tales Of Love & Loss’: The Borderers
Most Popular SA Band/Artist – The Borderers
Most Popular Live Music Venue – The Governor Hindmarsh
Most Popular Live Music Event – WOMADelaide
Most Popular Regional Band/Artist – Eviscerate
Jazzscene Best Blues Act – Bottleneck
Country Music SA Best Country Act – Tracey Rains And Claypan
Folk Federation Of South Australia Best Folk Act – Heather Frahn
Backwater Blues And Roots Festival Best Emerging Blues Act – Carla Lippis & The Martial Hearts
Music SA Best Emerging Contemporary Music Act – Johnny McIntyre
Fowler’s Live Achievement Award – Sacha Sewell / Eldorado Music
