Voting Now Open For The 2022 South Australian Music Awards!

South Australia's most promising musical talent has its night of nights coming up.

The SAM Awards (The South Australian Music Awards) have announced this year's People's Choice Nominees and voting begins today via The Music, ending on Sunday, 30 October, before the event is held on Thursday, 17 November, at Hindley Street Music Hall.

160 People's Choice Nominations were submitted this year, making it a record-breaking instance illustrating the strength of the South Australian music scene. 

Among the best punk, electronic, jazz, experimental, hip hop, and pop artist nominees are Teenage Joans, Motez, Alexander Flood, The Empty Threats, Elsy Wameyo, Electric Fields, and Tilly Tjala Thomas.

This year's SAM Awards judging panel is a group of esteemed music professionals from South Australia and across the country. The judging proceedings will be run by a 14-person strong panel, with triple j Home and Hosed presenter Declan Byrne, Adelaide-born vocalist of The Superjesus Sarah McLeod; First Nations singer Leah Flanagan, and founder of Wundenberg studio Lewis Wundenberg.  

MusicSA CEO Christine Schloithe is delighted by the number of nominees for this year's awards and believes that the number of applications proves that the local South Australian music scene is in good health.

In a statement, she wrote, "We are thrilled with the calibre and excellence of the nominees across such a wide range of musical genres – which shows the diversity of the music industry we have in our state. 

"We encourage South Australian music lovers to jump online and vote for their favourite artists. The SAM Awards can literally launch careers-as we have seen with previous People's Choice winners Teenage Joans."

Teenage Joans set the record for the most awards won by a single artist in the same year at the 2021 SAM Awards, previously held by West Thebarton, who won four awards in 2018. Teenage Joans brought home seven awards, including Best Group, Best New Artist, Best Punk Artist, Best Release (Taste of Me), Best Cover Art, Best Song (Something About Being Sixteen), and Most Popular Punk Artist. 

This year's Best Pop nominee, Tilly Tjala Thomas, won the inaugural APRA AMCOS Emily Burrows Award and the Best Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Award in 2021. SONS OF ZÖKU have won the People's Choice Experimental award for the past three years and have received the nomination again this year.

To vote for the SAM Awards People's Choice Awards, click here.