Amy Shark, Good Boy, Tia Gostelow & More Named As 2017 Qld Music Awards Finalists

Regional areas stand tall among this year's crop of Queensland Music Awards finalists, with about half of the overall cabal coming from outside Brisbane and the batch of standouts being led in nominations by up-and-coming Mackay songstress Tia Gostelow.

Gostelow — incidentally, one of our acts to watch in 2017 — has picked up a deeply impressive six nominations across four categories, getting the nod from the QMAs' esteemed judging panel of more than 60 industry identities under the Folk/Singer-Songwriter banner (twice, for Vague Utopia and State Of Art) as well as in the Indigenous (State Of Art), Regional (Vague Utopia) and Schools (Vague Utopia, State Of Art) brackets.

Also turning in a superlative effort (for another year) is acclaimed Cairns songstress and previous QMA winner Leanne Tennant, who earns her nominations in the categories of Blues & Roots (Gentle Annie), Country (Lay Me Down) and Regional (Gentle Annie).

Gold Coast musician and Hottest 100 #2 placer Amy Shark has also stepped up to the plate in 2017 following her Pop win last year, returning to the category as a nominee with Adore, which also steers her to a nomination under the Regional tag.

Emergent 'dolewave' faves Good Boy make their debut in the list of nominees this year, with two nods inside the Rock category (Poverty Line and S.O.G.K); also making their first appearance on the finalists' list, among others, are Confidence Man, stepping out for the first time in the Electronic/Dance finalists with Boyfriend (Repeat), Hanlon Brothers, who score two nominations across Regional and Urban (both for Diamonds), upstart artist Mallrat (in Urban, for Tokyo Drift), and ROMY, whose two entries — both for Wild Heart — land in the Urban and Video groups.

Of course, there are also plenty of old favourites, winners and nominees among the list of awesome acts shortlisted for the QMAs, including the evergreen Halfway (Country, Three In & Nothing But The Stars), The Belligerents (Electronic/Dance, Caroline), Emily Wurramara (another of our acts to watch; Indigenous, Ngayuwa Ngelyeyiminama [I Love You]), Cub Sport (Pop, Come On Mess Me Up) and Angharad Drake (Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Baby).

Also filling out the program for 2017 are the nominees for the annual Billy Thorpe Scholarship as well as the publicly voted BOQ People's Choice Awards and the industry-centric Highest Selling Album, Highest Selling Single and Export Achievement awards. Head this way for more details on those particular aspects of the event.

The 2017 Queensland Music Awards will be held at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Monday 27 March.

A limited number of public tickets are available for the event; don't think you'd just be in for an evening of all talk, though, as nominees Cub Sport, Good Boy, ROMY and Tia Gostelow (plus more yet-to-be-revealed acts) will be soundtracking the night with live performances. Plus, the whole thing takes place in a room filled with some of the best and brightest musicians from all over the state. As if you wouldn't want to be a part of that.

For more information, see the QMAs' website.

2017 Queensland Music Awards — Nominees

Blues & Roots

Silent Feature Era — House Of Thieves
Kingfisha — The Gold
Shukura Chapman — One By One
Leanne Tennant — Gentle Annie

Country

Alex & Bec Crook — Suitcase
Josh Rennie-Hynes — Fiddlewoods
Halfway — Three In & Nothing But The Stars
Leanne Tennant — Lay Me Down

Electronic/Dance

Confidence Man — Boyfriend (Repeat)
Miss Pompeii — Haru Haiku
Mosaic x Thiefdude — 422
The Belligerents — Caroline

Folk/Singer-Songwriter

Moreton — The Water
Angharad Drake — Baby
Tia Gostelow — Vague Utopia
Tia Gostelow — State Of Art

Heavy

Lagerstein — Drink The Rum
A Breach Of Silence — Falling Away
In Death... — Malignancy Eradicated
Evol Walks — Tear It Down

Indigenous

Emily Wurramara — Ngayuwa Ngelyeyiminama (I Love You)
Robbie Miller — Fire
Tia Gostelow — State Of Art
Dubmarine — Solar Flare Fire

Jazz

Abbreviations Orchestra — Quiet Wisdom
Andrew Butt Trio — Blueberry Ash
Sean Foran — Une Fille
Abbreviations Orchestra — The Alley

Pop

Morning Harvey — Susanne Monday
AYLA — Like The Other Kids
Cub Sport — Come On Mess Me Up
Amy Shark — Adore

Regional

Amy Shark — Adore
Hanlon Brothers — Diamonds
Tia Gostelow — Vague Utopia
Leanne Tennant — Gentle Annie

Rock

Good Boy — Poverty Line
Some Jerks — The Hunter
The Creases — Impact
Good Boy — S.O.G.K.

Schools

Asha Jefferies — On The Inside
Tangs — In Dreams (ft. Asha Jefferies)
Tia Gostelow — State Of Art
Tia Gostelow — Vague Utopia

Urban

Hanlon Brothers — Diamonds
Mallrat — Tokyo Drift
Dubmarine — Solar Flare Fire
ROMY — Wild Heart

Video

Hey Geronimo — Boredom
SS Sebastian — Nightmare Of 1984
ROMY — Wild Heart
Cub Sport — Come On Mess Me Up

World

High Life — Aware
Innessa — Yasen
Tenzin — Snow Lion
The Mouldy Lovers — Civilised Crossfire