National Indigenous Music Awards Reveal Final Line-Up

Following last month's announcement that this year's National Indigenous Music Awards ceremony would be headlined by country/soul/rock luminary Dan Sultan (with a full seven-piece band), the event has now revealed its complete and final line-up for 2014.

With nominations closing in a week (on Friday, June 20) - and the rate of entry the highest it has ever been in the history of the ceremony - the NIMAs today announced that the 2014 event will feature acts such as Tom E. Lewis, the Tjintu Desert Band, Djuki Mala, The Last Kinection, Desert Divas, and evening MC Aaron Pederson.

Lewis will be showcasing songs from his lauded album Beneath The Sun, while Tjintu Desert Band have been making waves on national radio, receiving airplay across the ABC local and community networks with single Tjamuku Ngurra, which made its debut at #6 on AMRAP's Southern Chart.

Djuki Mala are an acclaimed Arnhem Land-bred dance sensation who also go by Chooky Dancers, while the celebrated hip-hop stylings of The Last Kinection are sure to take the event's first hip-hop showcase, on which they feature with acts such as Briggs and Jimblah, to another whole level. Meanwhile, MusicNT's Desert Divas program features performers Jacinta Price, Catherine Satour and Mandy Garling in collaboration with some of Darwin's leading orchestral musicians.

It all adds up to a genuinely exciting prospect for Indigenous and Australian music in general. NIMAs finalists, as well as the winner of the triple j Unearthed NIMAs competition, will be announced during NAIDOC Week, on Wednesday, July 16.

As mentioned above, you can still put in nominations for the main ceremony for another week or so, or if you wish to enter the Unearthed comp, you can do that, too.

The 2014 National Indigenous Music Awards, presented as part of the Darwin Festival, will be held on Friday, August 15 from 7pm (gates at 6pm) at The Amphitheatre, George's Green. Entry will set an adult back $30, with concessions scooting in for $25. Phone (08) 8943 4222 or check the MusicNT NIMAs website for more information.