EG Awards Reborn Under Music Victoria Banner

Renée Geyer and Michael Gudinski will be inducted into The Age Music Victoria Hall Of Fame in the first year of The Age Music Victoria Hall Of Fame, the re-branded EG Awards.

In a partnership between the Fairfax newspaper and the peak contemporary music industry body for Victoria, the awards will look to the 'Melbourne soul' sound which has emerged in recent years. Geyer, who Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan calls Melbourne's “queen of soul”, will perform a 45-minute greatest hits set, with other musicians – including Dan Sultan, Archie Roach, Kylie Auldist and Lance Ferguson – joining The EG Allstars Soul Revue.

The EG (entertainment guide) was an iconic masthead for Fairfax in Melbourne before it was replaced earlier this year with a new supplement.

Once again raising money for industry benevolent fund Support Act, Geyer will be the first female to be inducted while Gudinski's induction, to be completed by Molly Meldrum, comes as his Mushroom Group celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Today Donovan told theMusic.com.au that it was “hard to tell” if the awards would have continued without Music Victoria stepping in, but said that the revamped awards would be Melbourne's first contemporary music awards that aren't genre-specific.

“When it was the EG Awards it looked at music since EG's inception… the new awards will focus on the full history of music,” he said. “There's been a pretty huge soul revival in Melbourne for about five years now.”

Music Victoria set out to induct the first woman into the Hall Of Fame and admitted that they had considered the late Chrissy Amphlett.

Genre-specific panels chaired and assembled by experts in that field will recognise artist in 11 categories in an industry-only event on 10 October. The genre representatives will then argue the case of their winners to the Awards' panel for inclusion in the main categories, which will be voted by the public from Friday 11 October. Donovan said that Music Victoria have looked into entering the awards market previously, but found it too crowded. Having been on judging panels for a number of awards, Donovan looked to implement the best elements into his event.

“The Amp [Australian Music Prize] meeting to decide the winner is not of the most cutthroat and emotive conversations ever, you really need to have a good argument to get your choice over the line. We wanted to bring that in.”

Overall, about 80 judges – including most of the state's metro and regional music media – will be involved in the “massive project.”

Now eligible only to Victorian acts, prizes – such as $5,000 from APRA and a BIGSOUND 2014 showcase slot – have been attached to some of the awards. Donovan said that he expected quitessential 'Melbourne' artists, such as Cash Savage and The Darling Downs, to dominate the nominations.

The awards will take place at Billboard The Venue Wednesday 20 November, as part of Melbourne Music Week. The awards are open to the public and tickets are on sale now for $50 plus booking fee.

Previous inductees into the Hall Of Fame include members of Weddings Parties Anything, Hoodoo Gurus, Died Pretty and Kim Salmon. The full list of artists performing with the Allstars Soul Revue is Dan Sultan, Archie Roach, Kylie Auldist, Lance Ferguson, Nkechi Anele (Saskwatch), Henry Wagons, Remi Kolawole, Talei Wolfgramm, Linda Bull and Ella Thompson.

This year's categories include:

PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS

EG Best Album
City Of Melbourne Best Band
APRA Best Song
Best Male:
Best Female:
Big Sound Showcase Spot/Beyond Travel Best Emerging Artist
Rockwiz Best Live Band
Best Venue
Crumpler Best Festival
Best Regional Venue
Best Regional Act

GENRE AWARDS

MBAS Best Blues Album
Best Country Album
3PBS Best Soul, Funk, R&B And Gospel Album
Best Jazz Album
Best Hip Hop Album:
Select AV Best Electronic Act:
WiFire Music Best Heavy Album
White Sky Folk Festival Best Folk Album
Songlines Best Indigenous Act
AWME Best Global and Reggae Act
Best Experimental/Avant Garde Act