THELMA PLUM LEADS WINNERS WITH DOUBLE-AWARD AS 2023 QUEENSLAND MUSIC AWARDS CELEBRATES THE BEST OF OUR STATE

Lindy Morrison of The Go Betweens honored with Lifetime Achievement Award.

Gamilaraay singer-songwriter Thelma Plum was the standout star of the 2023 Queensland Music Awards taking home the coveted Song of the Year and the Pop awards for her single Backseat of My Mind.

Hosted by Katherine Feeney and Kevin Yow Yeh, the evening was a celebration of the music and stories of our state crowning the best musicians across 27 categories to a sold-out audience.

Brisbane indie royalty Ball Park Music were awarded Album of the Year for their seventh studio album Weirder & Weirder before a surprise performance of Stars In My Eyes and Weirder & Weirder. The night also enjoyed performances from Casey Barnes, Hope D, Uncle Bob Wetherall, Katie Noonan, Dameeeela and a show-starting opening number by Sahara Beck.

“From the extraordinary success of established artists like Thelma Plum to emerging artists like Lottie McCleod, these awards are a recognition of the phenomenal music that our artists create. I am always so blown away by the immense talent coming out of our state.” said CEO of Queensland Music, Kris Stewart.

It was an incredible night for First Nations women with Sycco taking out the Electronic award for her single Ripple and Central Queensland singer Miiesha receiving the Soul, Funk and RNB award for her single Still Dream.

Nabbing two awards, rising indie icon Yb. won both the Folk category and the triple j Unearthed Emerging Artist of The Year award. Local punks WAAX took out the Rock category for the second consecutive year with their latest single No Doz while DZ Deathrays accepted the Heavy award for their track Paranoid.

Other winners include Menaka Thomasin and mou in the World category with Space, Jen Mize & the Rough ‘n’ Tumble in Blues and Roots with All Riled Up and rising Brisbane-based rapper Khi’leb in the Hip-Hop category with Cheques.

In the commercial success categories, Gold Coast singer-songwriter and break-out superstar Amy Shark was crowned with Highest Selling Single for Sway My Way while country music legend Casey Barnes received Highest Selling Album for Light It Up.

Local industry icon, and drummer for The Go Betweens, Belinda ‘Lindy’ Morrison OAM was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her decades of work as an advocate for First Nations people and women in the music industry as well as her outstanding contribution to Queensland music.

Another special moment of the evening was a stunning rendition of ‘Devil May Care’, performed by Katie Noonan in tribute to devoted Queensland music advocate and 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Lynette Irwin, who passed away in recent weeks.