AIR Awards Winners: Genesis Owusu, RVG, Polaris & More

Last night (1 August), the AIR Awards went down in Adelaide, handing out awards to the best independent Australian artists, whether they make hip-hop, alternative, metal, soul, or pop music.

Hosted by the AIR Awards’ longtime Master Of Ceremonies, Dylan Lewis, alongside co-host Jessica Braithwaite, the night saw performances by this year’s nominees, including RVG, Maple Glider, Bumpy, Jack River, and Slava Grigoryan.

The night saw Royel Otis named Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year, Genesis Owusu take home the award for Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP for STRUGGLER, RVG won the Independent Album of the Year for Brain Worms, and Jem Cassar-Daley won the Independent Song of the Year for King Of Disappointment.

Elsewhere, Fanny Lumsden’s Hey Dawn was crowned Best Independent Country Album or EP, Polaris won the Best Independent Heavy Album or EP for Fatalism, and WILSN won the Best Independent Soul/RnB Album or EP with her album Those Days Are Over.

Other winners included Jack River (Best Independent Pop Album or EP), Cub Sport (Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album or EP), Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers (Best Independent Rock Album or EP), and Private Function (Best Independent Punk Album or EP). The full list of winners is below.

Also announced last night was another two years of funding from AIR to continue hosting the awards in Adelaide and exclusively host the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) in Australia for the first time.

AIR CEO Maria Amato said in a statement about last night’s awards, “Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients! It was a great night of celebration and recognition for the talented Australian independent artist and label community.

“We thank all our sponsors and are especially grateful to the South Australian Government through its Music Development Office for their continued support. This will enable us to host the world’s largest independent music conference, A2IM’s Indie Week, as part of AIR’s events and expand our ability to facilitate global connections.”

Lisa Hresko, the General Manager of A2IM, added, “We are honoured and excited to bring A2IM Indie Week's first-ever international event to Adelaide, Australia’s UNESCO-designated City of Music.

“A2IM extends our heartfelt thanks to AIR and The South Australian Government through its Music Development office for this incredible opportunity. This event promises to be a global hub for independent music, fostering a dynamic community of industry leaders and sharing future-shaping ideas that will propel music forward.”

SA Minister for Arts Andrea Michaels said, “The Malinauskas Government is proud to host the wonderful artists and music businesses that make up the independent music sector on their night of nights. We would like to congratulate tonight’s winners and nominees for excellence in their categories and look forward to seeing their continued success.

“The Malinauskas Government is excited to confirm our continued support of AIR Awards and Indie-Con, and we are thrilled with the announcement that our support will extend to the Australian edition of A2IM Indie Week, which will be held in Adelaide as part of AIR’s events.”

AIR AWARDS 2024 WINNERS

INDEPENDENT LABEL OF THE YEAR

OURNESS

INDEPENDENT PUBLICITY TEAM OF THE YEAR

JESSICA SEARLE - Jen Cloher, I Am The River, The River Is Me

INDEPENDENT MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

ADAM MUNNINGS - Cub Sport, Keep Me Safe

INDEPENDENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR

RVG - Brain Worms

INDEPENDENT SONG OF THE YEAR

JEM CASSAR-DALEY - King Of Disappointment

BEST INDEPENDENT SOUL/RNB ALBUM OR EP

WILSN - Those Days Are Over

BEST INDEPENDENT COUNTRY ALBUM OR EP

FANNY LUMSDEN - Hey Dawn

BEST INDEPENDENT BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM OR EP

DAN SULTAN - Dan Sultan

BEST INDEPENDENT POP ALBUM OR EP

JACK RIVER - Endless Summer

BEST INDEPENDENT ROCK ALBUM OR EP

TEEN JESUS AND THE JEAN TEASERS - I Love You

BEST INDEPENDENT CLASSICAL ALBUM OR EP

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA / RICHARD TOGNETTI - Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 ‘Eroica’

2024 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - SPONSORED BY MERLIN

DON SPENCER OAM

INDEPENDENT MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR

THE ANNEX, OURNESS, AWAL - Genesis Owusu, STRUGGLER

INDEPENDENT PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

BONNIE KNIGHT - ENOLA, All Is Forgiven EP

BREAKTHROUGH INDEPENDENT ARTIST OF THE YEAR - PRESENTED BY PPCA

ROYEL OTIS

BEST INDEPENDENT HIP HOP ALBUM OR EP

GENESIS OWUSU - STRUGGLER

BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE OR ELECTRONICA ALBUM OR EP

CUB SPORT - Jesus At The Gay Bar

BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE, ELECTRONICA OR CLUB SINGLE

FISHER & KITA ALEXANDER - Atmosphere

BEST INDEPENDENT JAZZ ALBUM OR EP

ELIXIR - A Small Shy Truth

BEST INDEPENDENT PUNK ALBUM OR EP

PRIVATE FUNCTION - 370H55V 0773H

BEST INDEPENDENT HEAVY ALBUM OR EP

POLARIS - Fatalism

BEST INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S ALBUM OR EP

JOSH PYKE - It’s Gonna Be A Great, Great Day!