Archie Roach To Receive Prestigious Prize At APRA Music Awards

Singer, songwriter, storyteller, activist and general legend Archie Roach will be honoured as the recipient of the 2017 Ted Albert Award For Outstanding Services To Australian Music at this year's APRA Music Awards, it has been announced.

The multi-award-winning Roach will receive the prize as part of this year's event next month at the International Convention Centre Grand Ballroom in Sydney.

The award comes in recognition of Roach's immeasurable contributions to the nation's musical landscape in a career that has spanned three decades, from his celebrated works with his longtime 'musical soulmate', the late Ruby Hunter, to his fruitful solo and collaborative work.

He has released 10 albums over the course of his career, starting with 1990 debut Charcoal Lane, and racked up a stack of recognition along the way, including five ARIA Awards, seven Deadlys, three National Indigenous Music Awards, a Human Rights Achievement Award — he was the first songwriter to receive such an acknowledgment, for his iconic 1992 track Took The Children Away — and an induction into the NIMA Hall Of Fame in 2013.

Roach joins a list of acclaimed musicians to have been named as recipients of the award, including Paul Kelly, Jimmy Little, Slim Dusty, The Seekers, Fifa Riccobono, Lindy Morrison and Cold Chisel.

Speaking of Paul Kelly, he will be at this year's APRA Music Awards, performing with A.B. Original and Dan Sultan, along with fellow performers Kate Miller-Heidke, Tkay Maidza, Holy Holy, Julia Jacklin, Cloves and Busby Marou.

The 2017 APRA Music Awards will be held on Monday 3 April, but two preliminary prizes have already been dictated — the International Work Of The Year, which went to Adele's Hello, and the inaugural Licensee Of The Year, bestowed upon Adelaide's Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, affectionately known as The Gov.

The main ceremony itself will be hosted by Julia Zemiro, with award presentations from Bernard Fanning, Hayley Mary (The Jezabels), Tex Perkins, Morgan Evans and Stan Grant, and musical direction from Robert Conley.

See the event's website for more information.