In a room full of industry heads and fans alike, SA’s musicians and music industry movers and shakers will find out next month who, from this shortlist, will take out the local industry's top accolades.

The votes are in, and finalists for the South Australian Music (SAM) Awards have been announced, split between the People’s Choice Awards, determined by a public online ballot, and the SAM awards, judged by a panel of industry big-wigs.

On Friday, 22 November winners from each category’s subcategories will be announced at Adelaide University’s Bonython Hall, in a night of live music, liquor and pomp, hosted by Triple J’s Declan Byrne and organised by Music SA.

Live performances and deejay sets by Stellie, Jess Day, Horror My Friend and Jimblah will backdrop the guzzling of Yalumba, Hills Cider Company and Young Henrys booze, while awards across sound engineering, album art, management and talent will be dished out, gala style.

The contest includes fuzz-rock trio Horror My Friend blasting ahead with six category nominations, while the electro-pop pair who made a splash at Eurovision, Electric Fields, fights for three.

 

RnB queen Elsy Wameyo is up for best solo and best hip hop, and country-alternative outfit Dead Roo is vying for best new artist and blues and roots, alongside Ollie English.

MANE is gunning for a triad of knock-out wins – pop, best song and best release (the latter of which she’s going up against herself in the form of Wing Defence‘s track Hindsight) – and Jess Day is double parked with nominations for best solo and best new artist.

The SAM Awards ceremony is happening on Friday, 22 November, and tickets are available via Moshtix.

See below for the full list of SAM Awards 2019 finalists.

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SAM Industry Awards

Best Studio

• Adelaide Recording Studios
• Ghostnote Recording Studio Mixmasters
• Wizard Tone Studios
• Wundenberg’s Recording and Rehearsal Studios

Best Live Engineer

• Greg Sound
• Kevin Farrant
• Luke Hancock
• Liam Roche

Best Studio Engineer

• Alex Mader
• Jimmy Balderston
• Neville Clark
• Lewis Wundenberg
• Mario Spate

Best Music Festival / Event

• Flipside Festival
• Porchland
• Spin Off Festival
• Stonecutters
• The Porch Sessions

Best Music Venue

• Crown & Anchor Hotel
• Jive
• Lion Arts Factory
• The Hotel Metro
• The Wheatsheaf Hotel

Best Manager

• Planet Shhh
• Stormfront Productions
• Sue Germein
• Alex Karatassa
• Little Acorn Music

Best Cover Art

• Dress Code (Jack Fenby)
• Horror My Friend (Sam Kolesnik)
• Lost Woods (Todd Fischer)
• Sleep Talk (Michael Belletti)
• The Cameramen (Planet Lazuli)

Best Music Video

• Beau Lightning (Matthew Schirripa and Benjamin Dowie)
• Horror My Friend (Ryan Sahb)
• Life Pilot (Eli Green & Alex Robertson)
• Planet Self (Capital Waste Pictures)
• Sleep Talk (Crystal Arrow Films)

 

SAM Major Awards

Best Song

• Collarbones – A.I.
• Electric Fields – 2000 and Whatever
• Horror My Friend – Turned Loose
• MANE – Save Yourself
• Stellie – Let’s Forget We Were In Love

Best New Artist

• Dead Roo
• Dress Code
• Jess Day
• Stellie
• Ukulele Death Squad

Best Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island Artist

• Eskatology
• UPK
• Nancy Bates
• Electric Fields

Best Group

• Germein
• Horror My Friend
• Sleep Talk
• The Montreals
• Ukelele Death Squad

Best Solo

• Adrian Eagle
• Elsy Wameyo
• Jess Day
• Ollie English
• Stellie

Best Release

• Adrian Eagle – A.O.K.
• Collarbones – A.I.
• Horror My Friend – Turned Loose
• MANE – Save Yourself
• Wing Defence – Hindsight

 

The People’s Choice Awards Finalists

Blues & Roots

• Bortier Okoe
• Dieter Horvat
• Jimmybay
• Ollie English
• Sturt Avenue

Country

• Dead Roo
• Matt Ward
• Nancy Bates
• Ricky Albeck & The Belair Line Band
• The Cut Snakes

 Electronic

• China Roses
• Electric Fields
• Jethro
• Luke Million
• Theeves

Experimental

• GIRL
• My Chérie
• SONS OF ZÖKU
• The Dunes
• The Empty Threats

Folk

• Alana Jagt
• Alison Newman
• Anya Anastasia
• Bromham
• Ukulele Death Squad

Heavy

• Audio Reign
• Hidden Intent
• Japam
• Life Pilot
• The Straight-Jacket Tailors

Hip Hop

• Argus and The Liar
• Elsy Wameyo
• Richysand
• Stefan Rossi
• We Move Like Giants

Jazz

• Adam Page
• Mike Tilbrook
• She Descends The Stairs
• Thomas Voss/ Lauren Henderson Big Band

Pop

• Germein
• MANE
• Paper Sunsets
• Pinkish Blu
• The Montreals

Punk

• Bear Claw Camp
• Chainsaw Preachers
• Collateral Damage
• Sleep Talk
• Wing Defence

Rock

• Horror My Friend
• Indiago
• TOWNS
• Venice Queens
• West Thebarton

Soul/Funk/R’n’B

• BIG SEVENTIES BUSH
• Dirtyfrank
  Eliza Dickson
• Isaac Thomas
• Wanderers