Winner Announced for 2023 Grant McLennan Fellowship

QMusic have unveiled the winner of this year’s prestigious Grant McLennan Fellowship, honouring Full Moon Flower Band frontwoman Kate Herrington as the 15th annual recipient of the $15,000 grant.

Supported by the Queensland Government (by way of the Arts Queensland organisation), the Grant McLennan Fellowship reflects the legacy of its late namesake, the iconic singer-songwriter and co-frontman of The Go-Betweens. As part of its offerings, the annual fellowship’s recipient will follow in McLennan’s steps and head overseas – either to New York, London or Berlin – to engage in a cultural journey that will (hopefully) inspire their musicality and offer opportunities to further develop their career. Herrington’s pick for her upcoming trip was noted to be New York.

The Gympie-native Herrington was awarded this year’s fellowship at a ceremony held in Brisbane last night (August 24). In congratulating her, Leeanne Enoch (QLD’s Minister for the Arts) called the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist “a testament to” the state’s “wealth of homegrown talent”. She also gave props to the other three artists shortlisted for the grant alongside Herrington, being Gabriella Cohen, Jesswar and Tia Gostelow.

Enoch continued in her statement: “Grant McLennan's legacy as one of Australia’s leading songwriters endures. The Queensland Government provides $15,000 for this prize, which pays tribute to the inspiration he gave to many musicians throughout his career by offering a songwriter, or songwriting duo, support to develop their artistic skills on the international stage. 

“The Queensland Government recognises QMusic’s important role as an incubator of new and emerging Queensland music talent, growing sector capacity, creating employment and platform opportunities as we prepare to showcase our artists and unique stories on the global stage of Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The sentiment was echoed by QMusic CEO Kris Stewart, who said in a statement of his own: “This is a career defining opportunity for an artist and Kate’s dedication to her development as an artist, collaborator, engineer and producer over the course of her career is immensely impressive. We have no doubt Kate is going to return from her chosen city New York, with a truckload of rich experiences that will have longstanding influence on her artistic output. We look forward to hearing from her after her travels.”

Herrington’s win was decided by a panel of four judges, this year comprised of Adele Pickvance, Ian Haug, Seja Vogel and Sean Sennett. In a joint statement shared this morning, they said: “This year’s applications were of an extremely high standard and while it was difficult to choose a winner, Kate’s personification of the spirit of the Fellowship along with her planning and the current momentum of her band made it undeniable that this is her year.”