The 2016 APRA Music Awards earlier this week yielded exciting results, with Tame Impala and Courtney Barnett walking away with yet more awards to add to their collection.
But, the competition isn’t over yet. There was an impressive spread of performances on the night at Sydney's Carriageworks – from The Living End paying homage to their idols in Cold Chisel to a questionable Guy Sebastian cover - and it’s time for you to have your say so we can crown one final victor.
Here’s all the action from the night, with a voting form below.
The Living End – Khe Sanh
This was a brilliant and inevitable pairing. The Melbourne rockers have always had adoration for Aussie icons Cold Chisel (for good reason), the love of which has been returned in recent years as Barnes and co took The Living End under their wings for a number of tours and a studio collaboration. They were a fitting band for the tribute considering Cold Chisel were honoured with the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music on the night.
San Cisco - Pedestrian At Best
Indie-pop meets indie-rock. WA favourites San Cisco did a fine job of reinterpreting Courtney Barnett’s Song Of The Year-nominated Pedestrian At Best, but they were given some solid material to work with, taking into account the tune comes from APRA's 2016 Songwriter Of The Year. San Cisco’s playful nature gets injected with an upbeat grunge edge for this one.
The Delta Riggs - Let It Happen
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A bit more rock than the psychedelic dreamscape Tame Impala fans become accustomed to, The Delta Riggs’ take on Let It Happen (which won the prestigious Song of the Year award) was refreshing and saw a bit more blues/soul injected into the worldwide superhit.
Gang Of Youths feat. Montaigne - Do You Remember
It’s a shame that Montaigne isn’t a permanent member of Gang Of Youths, as her voice paired with that of frontman David Le’aupepe was magic. A slow build into a rock onslaught that not even some feedback could damper, their reinvented Jarryd James single made for a performance that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Guy Sebastian - The Zombie
Perhaps C.W. Stoneking covering Guy Sebastian would have been a better idea. Luckily, you can’t really go wrong with The Zombie, one of the reasons it was up for Song Of The Year. This pop-soul rendition of the single is one you might have to stew on for a while. With that said, it’s good to see C.W. Stoneking getting well-deserved recognition.
D.I.G. feat Ngaiire & Ruel - Anchor
D.I.G.’s collaboration with Ngaiire and Ruel on Birds Of Tokyo’s Anchor was one of those rare covers that instantly takes on a life of its own and almost overpowers the original. The diverse and engaging instrumentation and harmonies on this tune saw it transform into one of the bet of the night. There was an interesting chemistry between industry veterans D.I.G., Ngaiire and 13-year-old Sydney singer-songwriter Ruel.
Urthboy feat. Kira Puru & Bertie Blackman - Daughter Of The Light
Urthboy was all class when he took to the stage at Carriageworks to perform original tune Daughter Of The Light and the dynamics brought to the table by Kira Puru really took things to the next level. Add to that Bertie Blackman and a choir providing more depth and you’ve got a winning combination. Not a bad way to open proceedings.
