Arts & culture
Arts & culture
Gold Coast Music Awards all set to celebrate the best of the city’s musical talent
August 28, 2023
Gold Coast Music Awards 2023 (GCMAs) is once again rolling out the red carpet for a glittering, action-packed event at HOTA, Home of the Arts in August.
Taking over the city’s booming cultural precinct on 31 August, the ninth annual GCMAs will do what it does best: Highlight the epic talent on offer in Gold Coast’s music scene, via a nail-biting awards ceremony and an eclectic lineup of cutting-edge live talent.
Who will take out the gongs is anyone’s guess.
In an unprecedented response to their call out earlier this year, GCMA organisers received a record number of nominations in 2023, showcasing the incredible talent and success of the South East Queensland music industry.
With twelve statuettes to give out on the night, the team is seriously pumped for what is promising to be the biggest and best GCMAs yet.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of Award nominations we received this year, a total of 937,” says GCMA co-founder Chloe Popa. (Up from 636 the previous year!)
“That number of nominations equates to several days’ worth of non-stop listening for the judging panel. It’s incredible to think that that is just a small portion of the music being produced on the Gold Coast each year.
“We’re always excited to see new nominees added to the mix each year and 2023 did not disappoint. There is a very strong contingent of emerging artists and new talent making waves on the Gold Coast right now. The finalists reflect a good balance of rising stars as well as musicians who are already recognisable on the national and international stage such as Budjerah, Tijuana Cartel, Hussy Hicks, and Hollow Coves.
“Recognition of those working behind the scenes has been a real focus for the Awards this year with the categories of Studio Producer and Visual Creative. The finalists named across these categories hold an impressive list of achievements between them and we’re looking forward to shining a light on the work they are doing in the industry.”
2021 Artist of the Year Winner: Casey Barnes.
GCMA founders Amanda Gorman, Chloe Popa, Samantha Morris.
2022 People’s Choice Winner: Lily Grace.
Gold Coast urban / hip hop stalwart and previous GCMA winner Saint Lane has been churning out top quality tunes on the Gold Coast since he was just a young emerging rapper, studying a Bachelor of Popular Music at Griffith University.
Now with huge chunks of national airplay and million of streams under his belt, this talented and fashion-forward Gold Coast artist is a finalist in no fewer than four categories at this year’s awards: Release of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Video of the Year. And he’s performing at the event, too.
“It’s super exciting,” says Lane.
“I’m just constantly working and making new stuff and it’s cool to have something like the awards come up and make me stop and think ‘Hey I’ve done some really cool stuff in the last twelve months.’
“I’ve been saying for years that the Gold Coast has the best music pocket in the whole country. It’s so diverse. There’s a whole scene here and it’s its own thing. There are so many cool artists. Every weekend I’m out somewhere and I’ll see some artists, go home and listen to their stuff and go ‘That’s the most incredible thing I’ve heard’.”
Gold Coast singer-songwriter, Chloe Styler, delivers a taste of feel-good energy with her soul-soothing brand of country pop. This year, she’s not only up for Release of the Year, but she’s going to be performing live at the awards for the very first time.
“I’m really grateful to be a finalist up against incredible musicians and releases from the Gold Coast over the last twelve months,” she tells us excitedly.
“We have an incredibly thriving scene on the Gold Coast, so to even to be among the names up for nomination is really heartwarming.
“I’m really excited to perform. My band and I are playing a song from [album] ‘Side A’, and we’re stoked to be able to play at the stage at HOTA, I’ve never played there as a band!”
With other live performances from Beckah Amani, Buttered, ECB, Lily Papas and Tijuana Cartel, this year’s GCMAs is set to be one for the record books.
Gold Coast Music Awards 2023 hits HOTA on 31 August.
Gold Coast Music Award categories and finalists:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Beckah Amani
Budjerah
Busby Marou
Chutney
Girl and Girl
Mass Sky Raid
Natalie Pearson
Saint Lane
Wildheart
BREAKOUT ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Chutney
ECB
Emmagen Rain
Friends of Friends
Girl and Girl
Hinterland
Peach Fur
Latour
Lily Grace
Lyric
LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Gold Coast Music
Budjerah
Busby Marou
Girl and Girl
Hollow Coves
Hussy Hicks
Peach Fur
Tijuana Cartel
Wildheart
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
sponsored by TAFE Queensland
Beckah Amani
Budjerah
Dave Amphlett
Elias Kokkoris
Harry J Hart
Jay Bainbridge
Lindsay Waddington
Omar Hanlon
Paul George
SOFIA ISELLA
RELEASE OF THE YEAR
sponsored by City of Gold Coast
Beckah Amani – ‘April’
Buttered – ‘Feel This Way’
Chloe Styler – ‘Side A’
Georgia Hoareau – ‘wish somebody told her’
Girl and Girl – ‘Divorce +’
Heavy Wax – ‘HEAVY WAX’
Mass Sky Raid – ‘Calm In Chaos’
Saint Lane – ‘i thought my name was cursed’
The Vultures – ‘Escobar’
SONG OF THE YEAR
Alt Fiction – ‘Why Are You Still Here?’
Beckah Amani – ‘Waiting On You’
Budjerah – ‘Therapy’
Busby Marou – ‘Everything Is Beautiful’
Danny Dyson – ‘Say Something’
Georgia Hoareau – ‘Girl’
Girl and Girl – ‘Dance Now’
Mass Sky Raid – ‘Begin With The End’
Peach Fur – ‘Yummy’
Saint Lane – ‘Staring at the Sun’
SOFIA ISELLA – ‘Us and Pigs’
The Vultures – ‘Escobar’
These Four Walls – ‘Marigold’
STUDIO PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Blake Malone
George Carpenter
Jared Adlam
Josh Beattie
Julz Parker
Lindsay Waddington
Mattymadeit
VENUE OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Oztix
Burleigh Town Hotel
Den Devine
elsewhere
Hound and Stag
Mo’s Desert Clubhouse
The Avenue
Vinnies Dive
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Alt Fiction – ‘Why Are You Still Here’
Beckah Amani – ‘Waiting On You’
Burger Joint – ‘Pub In The Middle Of Nowhere’
Busby Marou – ‘Everything Is Beautiful’
daste. – ‘Butterfly (So Free)’
ECB – ‘Slime’
Eimhin – ‘Lately’
Geniie Boy – ‘Better’
Georgia Hoareau – ‘Oh Well’
Girl and Girl – ‘Divorce 2’
Peach Fur – ‘Yummy’
Saint Lane – ’03:33’
SOFIA ISELLA – ‘All of Human Knowledge Made Us Dumb’
VISUAL CREATIVE OF THE YEAR
Bianca Hinton
Bianca Taylor-Andrews
Jared Hinz
Monkey Noise
Simone Gorman-Clark
GOLD COAST MUSIC PRIZE
sponsored by Friends of the Arts
Bayley Pearl
Bella Paton
daste.
Emmagen Rain
Georgia Hoareau
Lyric
NXT
Tanisha
Tomorrow’s Forecast
