Live Review: WAM Song Of The Year Awards 2017

With the port of Fremantle providing a spectacular backdrop, the Western Australian music community came together to celebrate local songwriters at the WA Maritime Museum for the 2017 WAM Song Of The Year Awards. With over $40,000 in prize money spread over 17 categories, the award show provides an invaluable opportunity for WA songwriters from a diverse range of genres to gain exposure and further their careers.

Tonight's early comers were welcomed by a set from DJ Charlie Bucket as the sun set over the ocean before this year's host, the debonair Magnus Danger Magnus, got the proceedings under way, introducing WAM CEO Mike Harris who welcomed everyone and thanked the event's generous sponsors before handing over to Barry McGuire for the Welcome to Country.

Highlighting WAM's commitment to developing young local talent, the evening's first awards were the Schools 15 - 17 and Schools 14 & Under. Presented by Matt Bonanno from Diskbank, they were taken out by Narrogin hip hop outfit Burdiya Mob for Djarliny and Farraday's Cage for Meaning of Life respectively. 

Mayor Brad Pettitt from the City of Fremantle was the evening's next presenter, giving the Electronic Award to Tobacco Rat, a solo project of local producer/composer Jake Steele, for Infra.

Next up was the first live performance for the evening which saw Ben Matthews deliver an impressive 20-minute set of tight jazz fusion with his quartet, giving the audience a taste of what to expect from their upcoming album which will be launched at The Ellington Jazz Club on 29 Jun.

Then it was back to the awards with the Country Music Club of Boyup Brook's President Daly Winter presenting Ralway Bell with the Country Award for Caught In The Crossfire from their eagerly awaited forthcoming release.

Perth rapper Macshane received out this year's Urban/Hip Hop Award from David Chitty, representing St Jerome's Laneway Festival, for his track Meant To Do.

Phil Walley-Stack from Noongar Radio was the night's next presenter, with Kalgoorlie's The Brownley Gospel Singers taking out the Outstanding Indigenous Award for their sublime recording of The Man Of Calvary.

Presented by Phaedra Watts from the Nannup Music Festival, the Folk Award was taken out by Riley Pearce for Seasick from his 2016 release, Outside The Lines.

The intermission saw the crowd move out onto the balcony for a half-hour set from DJ Charlie Bucket before being invited back in by the evening's host for a 20-minute set of dirty, growling blues from Dan Howls that proved to be one of the highlights of the evening.

The Experimental Award was presented by Noah Shilkin on behalf of PPCA and went to The Intenso Band for the very coolly titled As Steadfast As The Ether Itself.

Rod Vervest from The Fairbridge Festival presented the World Award to the Fremantle-based Jere Sosa for the very chilled, flamenco-infused Taste Of Honey.

Tenille Elkins and Sam Scherr from APRA AMCOS were the presenters for the Outstanding Regional Award, which went to the emerging county artist Codee-Lee for her song Heart Is A Compass.

This year's Jazz Award, presented by Chris O'Neill, went to pianist Harry Mitchell for his smooth track Ignacio.

Following on from his live performance not long before, Dan Howls soon returned as a worthy winner to accept this year's Blues/Roots Award from Tom Fisher of Clancy's, Fremantle for his song The Prince Of Wails.

With the evening moving on, it was time for the final live performance of the night which saw The Money War treat the appreciative audience to a short set of their melodic indie-pop gems.

The Punk/Hardcore Award was next up. Presented by Matt Templeman it was taken out by local four-piece, Rag N' Bone, who were - it has to be said - very popular winners, for their song Pissy Flow.

Four-piece metal band Nucleust took out the Heavy/Metal Award for their track Of King And Tree, gratefully receiving their award from Tristan Sturmer of Sumo Sound.

Mark Partridge from Badlands presented the Rock Award to High Horse for Carbon Copy.

This year's Pop Award went to 19-year-old Sydnee Carter for her song When We Were Young, who also proved to be a popular winner.

Then it came time for the big award of the evening, the Grand Prize. Presented by the Minister For Culture And The Arts, the Honourable David Templeman, this year's award went to Sydnee Carter for When We Were Young, solidifying her growing reputation as an artist on the rise. Despite being only 19, this wasn't her first Song of the Year nomination and follows on from a stint on The X Factor, a showcase appearance at the Music Matters Festival in Singapore and being a grand finalist in the Telstra Road To Discovery. 

The presentation of the final award brought an end to the night's proceedings. The strength of all the nominees, and not just the lucky few that walked away with awards on the night, showed once again the amazing depth of diverse talent on offer in Western Australia. With WAM providing opportunities for new and established artists to develop and gain valuable exposure, the future looks bright for original music in the west.