Music Victoria Awards Reveal 2022 Hall Of Fame Inductees & Best Musician

7 December 2022 | 9:00 am | Mary Varvaris

Deborah Conway AM, Helen Marcou AM and Ian 'Quincy’ McLean AM will be honoured; Xani Kolac to be awarded Best Musician.

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The 2022 Music Victoria Awards will be held next Tuesday, 13 December, at The Edge, Federation Square.

The event has also become more exciting if your name is Deborah Conway AM, Helen Marcou AM, Ian 'Quincy' McLean AM, or Xani Kolac.

Today, the 2022 Music Victoria Awards has announced that Deborah Conway AM and Bakehouse founders Helen Marcou AM and Ian 'Quincy' McLean AM will be inducted into the Music Victoria Hall Of Fame. In addition to this announcement, Xani Kolac will be crowned Best Musician.

The fabulous Paul Kelly will induct Conway. Throughout over four decades in music, she has been a significant and eloquent contributor to art in this country. 

The Do Re Mi lead vocalist has sung songs that chronicle the essential elements of life, love, loss, memory, the mundane and the spiritual. At the beginning of her musical career, Conway was assertive in a time when the music industry was male-dominated. She continues to be a role model and mentor to up-and-coming artists.

Best Country Work nominees Georgia State Lane will perform their own rendition of Conway's classic tune, It's Only The Beginning, at the Music Victoria Awards.

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Helen Marcou AM & Ian ‘Quincy’ McLean AM founded the now iconic Bakehouse Studios (Bakehouse) over 25 years ago. A staple in the Victorian music scene and an institution for Australian musicians, Bakehouse fuses art, music and a deep sense of community. 

"When we signed the lease on 1 Bakehouse lane In 1991, we couldn’t have imagined that over the next three decades, Bakehouse would become a home and a connection to generations of artists. Everywhere we go, we meet someone with a heartwarming ‘Bakey’ story," Marcou and McLean shared.

They added, "We are humbled to work alongside the wealth of Victoria’s brilliant musical minds as they interpret, elevate and define our lives in song. 

"This induction writes our names next to giants from our community, and although it’s an overwhelming honour, this recognition helps keep our flame burning."

The pair will be inducted into the Music Victoria Hall Of Fame by Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin from acclaimed Victorian bands The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm.

Xani Kolac will be named Best Musician at the ceremony. As an acclaimed violinist, artist, and intrepid songwriter, Kolac has carved her own path since breaking out with the indie band The Twoks over ten years ago.

Kolac ventures between pop, jazz, electronic and chamber music and her live performances are simply unforgettable. With electronic effect pedals and live looping essential to her live sets, Kolac’s songs are coloured by the ferocity of her instrumental output and shaded by mountains of creativity, her earnest voice, and pure joy.

Deborah Conway AM, Helen Marcou AM, Ian 'Quincy' McLean AM, and Xani Kolac will receive their awards at the 2022 Music Victoria Awards, alongside winners selected from an impressive list of nominees, including Julia Jacklin, Baker Boy, Camp Cope, Memphis LK, Emma Donovan & The Putbacks and more.

View the Public-Voted nominees at this year's Music Victoria Awards here.