Barkaa, 3% Win Big At National Indigenous Music Awards

One of Australian music’s night of nights went down this evening, celebrating some of the country’s finest First Nations talent: the National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs).

Held at the Darwin Amphitheatre on Larrakia Country, this year’s NIMAs were already set to be extra special, as the award ceremony celebrated a massive milestone of 20 years.

Barkaa was the big winner of this year’s ceremony, taking home the accolades for Artist Of The Year and Film Clip Of The Year for her track We Up. Meanwhile, 3% won the prestigious Song Of The Year award for their The Presets-interpolated tune OUR PEOPLE, and Dan Sultan’s self-titled album was crowned Album Of The Year.

More of the night’s award winners included Becca Hatch, who was named New Talent Of The Year, while the Bulman School & Community’s work on Nidjarra earned them the Community Clip Of The Year award.

This year’s award ceremony also brought a surprise in the form of a shared winner. Rrawun Maymuru’s Yolngu and Electric Fields’ Anpuru Maau Kutjpa were recognised for their efforts to preserve and celebrate Indigenous languages through art, both winning the Indigenous Language Award.

And, in the night's final award, Sammy Butcher was inducted into the NIMA Hall Of Fame.

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In addition to the awards, this year’s NIMAs, hosted by Karla Ranby and Nooky, featured powerful performances by Jessica Mauboy, Waanyi/Gangaliida rapper Jamahl Yami, Arrkula Yinbayarra (Together We Sing), Dr. Shellie Morris AO, Dan Sultan, 3%, Miss Kaninna, Birdz and Fred Leone, Eleanor Jawurlngali, and Emily Wurramara.

In a statement, NIMA Creative Director Ben Graetz said of this year’s award ceremony, “What an incredible night at NIMAs celebrating the 20th anniversary!

“It made me feel so proud seeing all the mob come from around the country to share in the celebrations and to honour our extraordinary musicians. A big highlight for me was the special NIMA medley and Jessica Mauboy, who also celebrates her 20 years in the music industry.”

The NIMAs were broadcast live and free on SBS On Demand and NITV and will be available to stream on SBS On Demand starting tomorrow (11 August). If you’d like to listen to the highlights, triple j’s Blak Out will also have you covered tomorrow.