Some of Melbourne music’s best and brightest were bestowed with recognition at The Age Music Victoria Awards 2013 last night.
Held at Melbourne’s Billboard, the ceremony brought an evening of live music entertainment as more than 70,000 members of the public voted on 11 awards handed to some of Australia’s finest talent, with legendary singer-songwriter Paul Kelly and ferocious five-piece The Drones walking away from the night as multiple award winners.
Hosting duties went to RRR presenter and Northside Records personality Chris Gill, looking dapper in a Saturday Night Fever number, while the evening was marked by several extended live performances.
Melbourne indie twosome Big Scary delivered a sophisticated half-hour set early in the ceremony, drawing from their Best Album-nominated Not Art, while the EG Allstars Soul Revue saw the likes of The Bamboos’ Kylie Auldist and Lance Ferguson, Saskwatch singer Nkechi Anele, Dan Sultan, and many more delivering hip-shaking greatness.
As for those filling their trophy cabinets, Paul Kelly took out the coveted Best Album for his latest, Spring & Fall, while also beating out Gotye, Archie Roach, David Bridie and Mikelangelo in the Best Male category.
Also earning two The Age Music Victoria Awards were The Drones, claiming the Best Band over fellow Melbourne outfits, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Dick Diver, Saskwatch, and Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes. Drones guitarist Dan Luscombe and drummer Mike Noga were also humbled when accepting the gong for Best Live Band, honoured for their multiple touring duties off the back of their sixth (and possibly best) studio album I See Seaweed. Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Kelly and ferocious five-piece The Drones walking away from the night as multiple award winners.
Melbourne’s Queen of Rock, Adalita, retained her reign – taking out the Best Female Artist category, while fellow all-female troupe Stonefield were recognised as the Best Regional Act. The internationally-renowned future soul outfit Hiatus Kaiyote scooped up the evening’s first award, for Best Emerging Artist, with Chris Gill – a very public supporter of the group – finding it hard to supress his glee.
Later in the Best Song award, Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’ beati out strong contenders from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (and their 16 min jam ‘Head On/Pill) and Courtney Barnett (with the laconic ‘History Eraser’), while in the venue stakes, the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine was voted as Best Regional Venue and Richmond’s prolific Corner Hotel took the Best Venue gong.
The Meredith Music Festival took top honours in the Best Festival category, over sister event Golden Plains, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Sugar Mountain, and Boogie. By way of an acceptance speech, enigmatic festival matriarch, Aunty Meredith, delivered a telegram to be read out.
The nearly five hour ceremony also recognised the newest Music Victoria Hall of Fame inductees. Mushroom mogul and Frontier Touring boss, Michael Gudinski, was treated to a short film reel recognising his early work in the 70s (including great vintage footage of the Sunbury Music Festival), while the likes of Mark Seymour, Molly Meldrum, Jimmy Barnes, and Dan Sultan sung Gudinski’s praises in the video acceptance.
There was also a timely plug for the Gudinski-driven Melbourne, Music + Me exhibition, (but with courtesy, no mention of “the fucking Government” and their lack of financial support for Aussie music).
Also inducted into the Hall Of Fame was Renée Geyer, who called it a career-topping highlight before concluding the night with an hour-long set, showing off the chops of her award-winning voice as well as her talented ensemble, turning on a dime with the subtlest of Geyer’s cues.
The Age Music Victoria Awards have wrapped up as the music awards season is in full swing. AIR kicked off proceedings with their Independent Music Awards ceremony last month, the same night that WAM handed out their Song of the Year Awards before Tame Impala scooped the pool at the annual WAM Awards.
Triple J have also revealed their final list of J Awards 2013 nominees – including the Unearthed and best Music Video Award nominees – along with the full 2013 ARIA Awards nominations, The AMP‘s Album of the Year nods, and even Melbourne’s Cherry Bar are even getting in on the action.
The Age Music Victoria Awards 2013 Nominees
The Age Music Victoria Hall Of Fame
Michael Gudinski
Renée Geyer
Best Album
WINNER: Spring and Fall – Paul Kelly
All Day Venus – Adalita
Calendar Days – Dick Diver
I See Seaweed – The Drones
Not Art – Big Scary
Best Song
WINNER: ‘Riptide’ – Vance Joy
‘Nono/Yoyo’ – Standish/Carlyon
‘Head On/ Pill’ – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
‘History Eraser’ – Courtney Barnett
‘I’m In Love’ – Cash Savage And The Last Drinks
Best Band
WINNER: The Drones
Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes
Dick Diver
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Saskwatch
Best Male Artist
WINNER: Paul Kelly
Archie Roach
David Bridie
Gotye
Mikelangelo
Best Female Artist
WINNER: Adalita
Courtney Barnett
Evelyn Morris (Pikelet)
Jen Cloher
Kylie Auldist
Best Emerging Artist
WINNER: Hiatus Kaiyote
Andras Fox
Brighter Later
Damn Terran
Fraser A. Gorman
Best Live Band
WINNER: The Drones
Bombay Royale
Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes
Harmony
Money For Rope
Best Festival
WINNER: Meredith Music Festival
All Tomorrow’s Parties / I’ll Be Your Mirror
Boogie
Golden Plains
Sugar Mountain
Best Venue
WINNER: The Corner Hotel
The Caravan Club
The Forum
The Old Bar
The Toff In Town
Best Regional Act
WINNER: Stonefield
Gold Fields
Hunting Grounds
Quarry Mountain Dead Rats
Yacht Club DJs
Best Regional Venue
WINNER: Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Meeniyan Town Hall, South Gippsland
The Barwon Club, Geelong
The Bridge, Castlemaine
