Cable Ties, Immy Owusu & Julia Jacklin Among Winners At 2023 Music Victoria Awards

Music Victoria have crowned the winners of the 2023 Music Victoria Awards, with the ceremony going down tonight (October 31) at Naarm/Melbourne’s Federation Square.

Alongside this year’s Hall Of Fame inductees – Kirsty Rivers (former Head Of Music for Creative Australia) and Mutti Mutti songwriter/activist Kutcha Edwards – Cable Ties were the night’s biggest winners, taking home two awards: Best Rock Or Punk Work for their recent third album, All Her Plans (which arrived back in June via Poison City), and the all-encompassing Best Group award.

Other notable winners included Charlie Needs Braces (who took home the Archie Roach Foundation Award For Emerging Talent, open exclusively to First Nations artists), Katie Dey (winner of the Arts Access Victoria Amplify Award, open to deaf and disabled artists), and the duo of Origami and Wang Zheng-Ting (who together took out the MAV Diasporas Award, open to culturally and linguistically diverse entrants).

Elsewhere on the night, Immy Owusu was crowned Best Musician, and Gab Strum (aka Japanese Wallpaper) was crowned Best Producer. As for the other genre-based awards, Damon Smith earned the trophy for Best Blues Work, while Matt Joe Gow won the corresponding gong for country, Close Counters for electronic, Maria Moles for experimental and avant-garde, Lucy Wise for folk, ISUA for heavy, Agung Mango for hip-hop, Joshua Moshe for jazz, Daine for pop, Killah Keys for reggae and dancehall, and Bumpy for soul, funk, R&B and gospel.

In the publicly voted categories, Julia Jacklin’s Love, Try Not To Let Go took out the award for Best Song Or Track, while Cash Savage And The Last Drinks’ So This Is Love won Best Album. Jen Cloher was named Best Solo Artist, Cara Murphy was named Best DJ, and Watty Thompson was named Best Regional Act.

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In a press statement, Music Victoria CEO Simone Schinkel said of this year’s honours: “Congratulations to the 2023 nominees, and of course, our winners! Victorian music is so special and something to be celebrated not just tonight, but year round. Our artists, venues, festivals and industry are pushing creative bounds, working collaboratively and rethinking the wheel, and we're so excited to see what the future holds.”

See the full list of winners from the 2023 Music Victoria Awards below.

2023 MUSIC VICTORIA AWARDS

ARCHIE ROACH FOUNDATION AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT

Charlie Needs Braces – WINNER
Jada Weazel
Kiwat Kennell
Miss Kaninna
Pirritu

ARTS ACCESS VICTORIA AMPLIFY AWARD

Artemis Muñoz
BATTS
Jimmy from Thornbury
Katie Dey – WINNER
Mathilde Anne

MAV DIASPORAS AWARD

Black Jesus Experience
Don Glori
Mitch Tambo
Origami with Wang Zheng-Ting – WINNER
The Cloud Maker

BEST BLUES WORK

Damon Smith – WINNER
Eddie Ink
Nigel Wearne
Paul Buchanan’s Voodoo Preachers
The Teskey Brothers

BEST COUNTRY WORK

Charlotte Le Lievre
De Porsal
Henry Wagons
Matt Joe Gow – WINNER
Nathan Seeckts

BEST ELECTRONIC WORK

Close Counters – WINNER
Lastlings
Memphis LK
The Oddness
Tim Shiel

BEST EXPERIMENTAL OR AVANT-GARDE WORK

Aviva Endean
Fia Fiell
Maria Moles – WINNER
Patrick Hartono
R. Rebeiro

BEST FOLK WORK

Dandelion Wine
Folk Bitch Trio
Katankin
Leah Senior
Lucy Wise – WINNER

BEST HEAVY WORK

DEAD
FACELESS BURIAL
GELD
ISUA – WINNER
The Maggie Pills

BEST HIP-HOP WORK

Agung Mango – WINNER
Strictly D.T
Teether & Kuya Neil
VOLDY
Yung Shōgun

BEST JAZZ WORK

Don Glori
Fran Swinn
Joshua Moshe – WINNER
Nat Bartsch
The Rookies

BEST POP WORK

Daine – WINNER
Mia Wray
Mitch Tambo
Monnie
Telenova

BEST REGGAE OR DANCEHALL WORK

ALETHIA
Crown Heights
JahWise
Killah Keys – WINNER
Melbourne Ska Orchestra

BEST ROCK OR PUNK WORK

Cable Ties – WINNER
Cash Savage And The Last Drinks
CIVIC
CLAMM
RVG

BEST SOUL, FUNK, R&B OR GOSPEL WORK

30/70
Bumpy – WINNER
Forest Claudette
Mo’Ju
Surprise Chef

BEST PRODUCER

Anna Laverty
Candice Lorrae
Gab Strum – WINNER
Lucy Blomkamp
Simon Lam

BEST MUSICIAN

Daniel Farrugia
Immy Owusu – WINNER
Jen Sholakis
Joshua Moshe
Sam Teskey

BEST SONG OR TRACK

Forest Claudette – Mess Around (feat. EARTHGANG)
Julia Jacklin – Love, Try Not To Let Go – WINNER
Miss Kaninna – Blak Britney
NO ZU – Liquid Love
RVG – Nothing Really Changes

BEST ALBUM

Cable Ties – All Her Plans
Cash Savage And The Last Drinks – So This Is Love – WINNER
Jen Cloher – I Am The River, The River Is Me
Julia Jacklin – PRE PLEASURE
Teether and Kuya Neil – STRESSOR

BEST SOLO ARTIST

Adalita
Forest Claudette
Gena Rose Bruce
Jen Cloher – WINNER
Sarah Mary Chadwick

BEST DJ

CAITY WATSØN
Cara Murphy – WINNER
Moopie
Rakhi
Uone

BEST GROUP

Cable Ties – WINNER
Folk Bitch Trio
Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 & Tim Shiel
RVG
Surprise Chef

BEST REGIONAL ACT

Bones and Jones
Coda Chroma
Immy Owusu
Leah Senior
Watty Thompson – WINNER

BEST METRO FESTIVAL

Brunswick Music Festival (Wurundjeri)
Leaps and Bounds Music Festival (Wurundjeri)
Melbourne International Jazz Festival (Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung)
RISING Melbourne (Kulin Nation) – WINNER
YIRRAMBOI Festival including The Archie Roach Block Party (Wurundjeri)

BEST REGIONAL FESTIVAL

Boogie – Tallarook (Taungurung)
Esoteric Festival – Donald (Dja Dja Wurrung)
OK Motels – Charlton (Dja Dja Wurrung)
Port Fairy Folk Festival (Gunditjmara) – WINNER
Winter Sounds – Daylesford (Dja Dja Wurrung)

BEST LARGE VENUE (METRO)

Forum Melbourne (Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung) – WINNER
Melbourne Recital Centre (Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung)
Northcote Theatre (Wurundjeri)
Palais Theatre – St Kilda (Boonwurrung)
The Corner Hotel – Richmond (Wurundjeri)

BEST SMALL VENUE (METRO)

Brunswick Ballroom (Wurundjeri) – WINNER
Northcote Social Club (Wurundjeri)
Shotkickers – Thornbury (Wurundjeri)
The Gem – Collingwood (Wurundjeri)
The Night Cat – Fitzroy (Wurundjeri)

BEST REGIONAL VENUE OR PRESENTER (UNDER 50 GIGS)

Meeniyan Town Hall – South Gippsland (Bunurong) – WINNER
The Minerva Ballaarat (Wadawurrung)
The Blues Train – Bellarine Peninsula (Wadawurrung)
Trash Cult – Bendigo (Dja Dja Wurrung)
The Vine Hotel – Wangaratta (Bpangerang)

BEST REGIONAL VENUE OR PRESENTER (OVER 50 GIGS)

Caravan Music Club – Archies Creek (Boonwurrung) – WINNER
Palais – Hepburn (Dja Dja Wurrung)
The Barwon Club Hotel – Geelong (Wadawurrung)
The Bridge Hotel – Castlemaine (Dja Dja Wurrung)
Volta – Ballarat (Wadawurrung)