Elsy Wameyo Leads The Way With Five Awards At The 2022 South Australian Music Awards

The 2022 South Australian Music (SAM) Awards were celebrated on Thursday, November 17, at the Hindley Street Music Hall, honouring the best in South Australian music over the past 12 months.

Over 30 awards were presented by the evening’s MC, national musical icon Jane Gazzo, plus special live performances from Dem Mob, Nancy Bates, Tilly Tjala Thomas, and Wanderers ensured the energy was kept alive all night.

Elsy Wameyo was the talk of the night as the growing Hip-Hop star took home five awards from six nominations, including Best Song for her track River Nile, Best Release for her ‘Nilotoc’ EP, along with winning Best Solo Artist, and Best Music Video for Nilotic which was shot with Richard Coburn. Wameyo also picked up an industry award earlier in the week for her talents beyond the stage by taking out Best Studio Engineer/Producer.

Music SA CEO, Christine Schloithe, said that Elsy winning five awards, the second biggest haul in the history of the awards, is a fantastic achievement and believes that this is only the start for the urban music star.

“Elsy in recent years has become one of South Australia’s biggest musical exports and this is just another achievement on a long list of awards and accolades for her,” said Ms. Schloithe

“Wameyo, who recently supported Adelaide’s own Hilltop Hoods on their national tour and performed at some of the biggest festivals in the country including Dark Mofo, Vivid, and WOMADelaide, along with being billed to play this year’s Falls Festival, is the perfect example of how to carve a burgeoning musical career from Adelaide and we are excited to watch Elsy’s career grow.”

The state’s First Nations musical prowess was on full display at the 2022 SAM Awards, with Electric Fields taking home 2 gongs, one for Best Group in the Major Awards and another for the People’s Choice Award for Pop artist of the year. Fellow First Nations artist Tilly Tjala Thomas made history as the maiden winner of Best Regional Artist, while the folk meets hip-hop duo of Marlon x Rulla was awarded Best Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Artist. 

Others receiving People’s Choice Awards include Motez for Electronic Artist, folk pioneers Ukulele Death Squad for Folk, We Move Like Giants for Hip Hop, and The Shaolin Afronauts for Jazz. 

A special highlight of the awards was the acknowledgment of four special awards, honouring those who have made a significant contribution to the SA music industry. 

The APRA AMCOS Emily Burrow APRA AMCOS Award, named in memory of music worker Emily Burrow, awarded $5,000 for professional development to the four-piece alt-rock group, Molly Rocket. The Neville Clark Award, named after Disk Edits founder and sound engineer Neville Clark, is awarded to an outstanding sound engineering student from TAFE and SAE. This year the awards were presented to SAE student Thessa Burdon and from TAFE, Lucinda Machin.

The UNESCO Collaboration Award highlights an event that pursues the collaboration of music and ideas across international boundaries, with the 2022 award being presented to the Adelaide Guitar Festival for the presentation of ‘Origination’. Youth-focused creative and music institution, Northern Sound System took home the MusicSA Community Award, acknowledging a long-standing commitment to music within the community. 

The 2022 Industry Awards saw the inaugural Best Regional Venue/Activation award being presented to Big Easy Radio in Aldinga,Wundenberg’s Recording Studios took home the award for Best Studio. Sian Walden from Little Acorn Music was celebrated as SA’s Best Manager and Porch Records received the accolade for Best Industry Innovation.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said that the 2022 SAM Awards highlight the wealth of industry and musical talent in this city which his government will continue to support.

“The South Australian Music Industry, led by MusicSA, is an incredibly thriving community full of talented artists across and an industry we will continue to support.” Said Premier Peter Malinauskas.

“To date, the SA government has supported the industry through event grants of up to $50,000 for SA-based businesses, venue grants of $5000 for upgrades to help to cater for live music performances, and through the ‘See it LIVE’ campaign, providing more opportunities for artists and revitalising South Australia’s night-time economy.

“The music industry is vital to the South Australian economy and we congratulation all the winners and finalists at the 2022 SAM Awards.”