Courtney Barnett & Baker Boy lead The Age Music Victoria Awards 2018 nominations

The Age Music Victoria Awards have today released their list of nominees for the 2018 edition of the awards, with some of Australia’s finest independent artists seeing recognition for their work over the last year.

Back for its thirteenth year, Australia’s largest publicly voted music awards are set to be handed out on Wednesday, November 21st during Melbourne Music Week.

This year's nominations are led by Courtney Barnett and Baker Boy, who have each scored five nominations in the publicly-voted awards, with both acts being nominated in every eligible category. Likewise Laura Jean has been nominated for four awards, while Sampa The Great, Camp Cope, Tropical F*ck Storm, and Mojo Juju are all up for three awards.

Voting is now open for the awards, with the public able to vote in categories such as Best Album, Best Band, Best Song, Best Solo Artist, Best Male Musician, Best Female Musician, Best Breakthrough Act, Best Live Band, Best Small Venue (under 500 capacity), and Best Large Venue (over 500 capacity).

Voting will be open until midnight on Friday, November 9th, so don't waste any time in letting your voice be heard!

Likewise, 17 industry-voted awards will also be handed out, with some of the industry's biggest names voting on categories such as Best Festival, Best Regional/Outer Suburban Act, and the Best Album in  the genres of Blues, Country, Folk or Roots, Heavy, Jazz, Rock/Punk, and Soul, Funk, & RnB.

This year also sees a few names enter the ring, with The Melbourne Recital Centre hosting the awards, while the Bendigo Bank is providing cash grants to regional award winners, and The Archie Roach Foundation will be sponsoring the new Emerging Talent Award.

Notably, the Victorian Government will also be providing cash prizes for a couple of awards, handing out $10,000 to the recipient of the Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Album of 2018, and $5,000 to the recipient of the Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Breakthrough Act of 2018.

“We’re proud to support these awards, and it’s just a small acknowledgement of the economic, social and cultural benefits music brings to our State," explained Martin Foley, Minister for Creative Industries.

The 2018 Age Music Victoria Awards will be handed out on November 21st at the Melbourne Recital Centre, with public voting open now at the Music Victoria website.

Check out Baker Boy's 'Marryuna':

The Age Music Victoria Awards 2018 Nominees

Public-Voted Nominees

The Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Album of 2018 - $10,000 Cash Prize

Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel Laura Jean – Devotion Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs Sampa The Great – Birds And The Bee9

Best Band

Camp Cope King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard MOD CON Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Tropical F*ck Storm

Best Song

Baker Boy – Marryuna Camp Cope – The Opener Courtney Barnett – Nameless, Faceless Laura Jean – Girls On The TV Mojo Juju – Native Tongue

Best Solo Artist

Alex Lahey Angie McMahon Baker Boy Courtney Barnett Didirri Laura Jean Mojo Juju Sampa The Great Tash Sultana Vance Joy

Best Male Musician

Danzal Baker (Baker Boy) Didirri Peters (Didirri) Gareth Liddiard (Tropical F*ck Storm) Jake Robertson (School Damage, Alien Nosejob) Tom Iansek (No Mono)

Best Female Musician

Courtney Barnett Erica Dunn (Tropical F*ck Storm, MOD CON, Palm Springs) Laura Englert (Laura Jean) Mojo "Juju" Ruiz De Luzuriaga (Mojo Juju) Sampa Tembo (Sampa The Great)

The Premier’s Prize for the Best Victorian Breakthrough Act of 2018 - $5000 Cash Prize

Angie McMahon Baker Boy Kaiit Mildlife MOD CON

Best Live Act

Amyl And The Sniffers Baker Boy Cable Ties Courtney Barnett King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Best Small Venue (under 500 capacity)

The Gasometer, Collingwood Howler, Brunswick Northcote Social Club, Northcote The Old Bar, Fitzroy The Tote, Collingwood

Best Large Venue (over 500 capacity)

170 Russell, Melbourne Corner Hotel, Richmond The Croxton Bandroom, Thornbury Hamer Hall, Southbank Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

Industry-Voted Nominees

Best Festival

Gizzfest Golden Plains Meredith Music Festival Sugar Mountain Wet Fest

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Act

Benny Walker Freya Josephine Hollick High Tension Stonefield This Way North

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Venue (Over 50 gigs per year)

Barwon Club, South Geelong Caravan Music Club, Bentleigh East Karova Lounge, Ballarat Sooki Lounge, Belgrave The Workers Club, Geelong

Best Regional/Outer Suburban Venue (Under 50 gigs per year)

Aireys Pub, Aireys Inlet Blues Train, Queenscliff Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan Theatre Royal, Castlemaine Wandi Pub, Wandiligong

Archie Roach Foundation Award for Emerging Talent

Alice Skye Baker Boy Kaiit Oetha Willow Beats

Best Blues Album

Collard Greens And Gravy – Luedella Fiona Boyes – Voodoo In The Shadows Lloyd Spiegel – Backroads Rhythm X Revival – Rhythm X Revival Steve Boyd’s Rum Reverie – Hoodoo Hipshake

Best Country Album

Ben Mastwyk & The Millions – Winning Streak Freya Josephine Hollick – Feral Fusion Greta Ziller – Queen Of Boomtown James Ellis &; The Jealous Guys – It's Ain't Texas (But It Ain't Bad) Michael Waugh – The Asphalt & The Oval

Best Electronic Act

Alice Ivy Cale Sexton Corin Habits Mildlife

Best Experimental or Avant-Garde Act

Aviva Endean Maria Moles MESS Ltd Nat Grant Romy Fox

Best Folk or Roots Album

Cat Canteri – Inner North Lucy Wise – Winter Sun Luke Plumb & The Circuit – Turn & ReTurn Michael Waugh – The Asphalt & The Oval Trouble In The Kitchen – The Score

Best Global Act

Cool Out Sun Digital Afrika Mojo Juju Senegambian Jazz Band Xylouris White

Best Heavy Album

Dangerous Curves – So Dirty Right Dream On Dreamer – It Comes And Goes Encircling Sea – Hearken High Tension – Purge YLVA – Meta

Best Hip Hop Act

Baker Boy Drmngnow Jordan Dennis Kaiit Sampa The Great

Best Jazz Album

30/70 – Elevate Barney McAll – Hearing The Blood Menagerie – The Arrow Of Time Origami - Wu Xing – The 5 Elements Sam Anning Sextet – Across A Field As Vast As One

Best Reggae and Dancehall Act

Marvin Priest & Rik-E-Ragga Melbourne Ska Orchestra Monkey Marc Ras Jahknow Yaw Faso

Best Rock/Punk Album

Camp Cope – How to Socialise & Make Friends Divide and Dissolve – Abomination Little Ugly Girls – Little Ugly Girls Sarah Mary Chadwick – Sugar Still Melts In The Rain Tropical F*ck Storm – A Laughing Death in Meatspace

Best Soul, Funk, RnB Album

30/70 – Elevate The Bamboos – Night Time People Billy Davis – A Family Portrait Mildlife – Phase Sampa The Great – Birds and The BEE9

Voting is open now at the Music Victoria website, and closes at midnight on Friday, November 9th

The Age Music Victoria Awards

Wednesday, November 21st, 7pm Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne, VIC