2023 Queensland Music Awards Nominations Revealed

The nominations for the 2023 Queensland Music Awards (QMAs), which recognise the diverse people and places that make contemporary popular music an invaluable part of the state's cultural heritage, have been announced.

The finalist pool is 74-strong across 17 categories – Indigenous, Blues & Roots, Children's, Contemporary Classical, Country, Electronic, Folk, Heavy, Hip Hop, Indigenous, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Youth, Soul/Funk/RNB, World, Regional/Remote and Video categories. 

Presented by The Music and Oztix, music lovers can cast their vote to decide Queensland’s favourite metro and regional venue, along with their favourite festival. All entries go in the draw to win a double pass to the award ceremony on Tuesday, 28 March, at The Fortitude Music Hall and an overnight stay at Treasury Casino and Hotel. Voting is open until midnight, March 6, via the voting portal here.

Finalists in the Country category are Casey Barnes for Small Town, James Johnston for COUNTRY BOYS, Sammy White for Love On The Line and Taylor Moss for What Am I Gonna Do?. 

In addition, Lily Grace scored a Youth (Aged 10-17) nomination for The Two Of Us Meet, as did Pat Kenny in the Folk category as part of the duo Freight Train Foxes for Fly To You.

"We are so incredibly proud of the last year of music in Queensland," QMusic CEO Kris Stewart said. "From epic stories of identity, like Thelma Plum’s stellar EP Meanjin or Beddy Rays’ break-neck debut album, to uplifting party-starters, like Confidence Man’s sophomore album TILT - our stories are reaching out into the world and defining what we’re made of. And it’s something special."

“The 2023 Queensland Music Awards will be a moment for our industry to come together and celebrate. I invite music-lovers across all genres to book their tickets and join us at The Fortitude Music Hall to celebrate the incredible success of our artists and to celebrate each other!”

Since 2006 (then known as QSong), the QMAs have spotlighted or unearthed a pantheon of Queensland music greats, including Kate Miller-Heidke, Bernard Fanning, Hungry Kids of Hungary, and Emma Louise. They’ve also recognised the chart-topping success of artists like Keith Urban and the Veronicas, and the lifelong contributions of the Bee Gees, Ed Kuepper and Grant McLennan.

See the full list of finalists here.

For more information, go to: qmusic.com.au