ARIA season is kicking off next week and local legends like Paul Kelly have dominated the first round of nominations.
This week ARIA announced the nominees in the Artisan, Fine Arts and Comedy awards, already showcasing the incredible diversity and talent within Australia’s music scene.
Paul Kelly has secured nomiations in all three Artisan categories for his #1 album Life Is Fine. D.D Dumbo is close behind with his debut album Utopia Defeated scoring nominations in the Engineer Of The Year and Producer Of The Year categories.
Blue Mountains songstress Julia Jackin has earned an early nomination in the Best Cover Art category for the charmingly retro photo on Don’t Let The Kids Win, alongside Midnight Oil whose collection of unreleased sounds The Overflow Tank is also in the running. Singer-songwriter Dean Lewis is in the running for Engineer Of The Year for his tender debut Same Kind Of Different.
The ARIA Awards will take place on Tuesday 28 November. Check out the full list of nominees so far below:
Best Cover Art
Lee McConnell — Dune Rats (The Kids Will Know It’s Bullshit)
Nathan Cahyadi — Gang Of Youths (Go Farther In The Lightness)
Nick McKinlay — Julia Jacklin (Don’t Let The Kids Win)
Mitchell Stock — Midnight Oil (The Overflow Tank)
Peter Salmon-Lomas — Paul Kelly (Life Is Fine)
Engineer Of The Year
Oliver Hugh Perry & Fabian Prynn — DD Dumbo (Utopia Defeated)
John Castle — Dean Lewis (Lose My Mind)
Adrian Breakspear — Gang Of Youths (Go Farther In The Lightness)
Bob Scott — Kate Miller-Heidke & Sydney Symphony Orchestra (Live At The Sydney Opera House)
Steven Schram — Paul Kelly (Life Is Fine)
Producer Of The Year
Daniel Rankine — AB Original (Reclaim Australia)
Tom Iansek — Big Scary (Animal)
Oliver Hugh Perry & Fabian Prynn — DD Dumbo (Utopia Defeated)
Gang Of Youths & Adrian Breakspear — Gang Of Youths (Go Farther In The Lightness)
Steven Schram — Paul Kelly (Life Is Fine)
Best Classical Album
Grigoryan Brothers — Songs Without Words
Jayson Gillham, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Benjamin Northey — Medtner: Piano Concerto No 1 | Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 2
Kate Miller-Heidke & Sydney Symphony Orchestra — Live At The Sydney Opera House
Slava Grigoryan — Bach: Cello Suites Volume I
Tamara-Anna Cislowska — Elena Kats-Chernin: Unsent Love Letters – Meditations on Erik Satie
Best Jazz Album
Australian Art Orchestra — Water Pushes Sand
James Morrison & James Morrison Academy Jazz Orchestra — James Morrison With His Academy Jazz Orchestra
James Morrison, BBC Concert Orchestra, Keith Lockhart, Harry Morrison & William Morrison — The Great American Songbook
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard — Sketches Of Brunswick East
The Vampires — The Vampires meet Lionel Loueke
Best Original Soundtrack Or Musical Theatre Cast Album
Australian Cast Recording featuring David Campbell — Dream Lover
Cezary Skubiszewski — Red Dog: True Blue OST
Jessica Mauboy — The Secret Daughter (Songs from the Original TV Series)
Nigel Westlake & Sydney Symphony Orchestra, with Joseph Tawadros, Slava Grigoryan & Lio — Ali’s Wedding
Richard Tognetti & Australian Chamber Orchestra — Mountain
Best World Music Album
Joseph Tawadros — Live at Abbey Road
Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp — Songs of the Latin Skies
Melbourne Ska Orchestra — Saturn Return
Slava Grigoryan & Australian String Quartet — Migration
Xylouris White — Black Peak
Best Comedy Release
Arj Barker — Get In My Head
Buddy Goode — More Rubbish
John Clarke — Clarke’s Classics
Kitty Flanagan — Seriously?
Rhys Nicholson — Rhys Nicholson Live at The Eternity Playhouse