The National Indigenous Music Awards and triple j are teaming up for a special broadcast of the 2021 awards for First Nations Music.
The reimagined award ceremony is broadcasting live around Australia – and the world – this Sunday 14 November from 5pm – 7pm AEDT via triple j, Double J and triple j Unearthed. There will be exclusive performances from Electric Fields and Tilly Tjala Thomas, as well as interviews with winners, live crosses to the Torres Strait, Tasmania and the Northern Territory with community artists DENNI, Mau Power and Yirrmal. Also, keep an ear out for guest cameos from Australian comedian Stephen Oliver and actress Elaine Crombie.
Proud Yuin man and future Mayor of Nowra, Nooky will be joined by triple j presenter royalty Karla Ranby as co-hosts. This totally reinvisioned installment of one of the most important nights in Australian music will, for the first time, broadcast nationally on triple j’s First Nations show, Blak Out, allowing more people than ever before to engage with the prestigious event. The NIMAs broadcast will also be made available to First Nations community radio stations via The National Indigenous Radio Service.
With COVID-19 rearing its ugly head and postponing this year’s live event in Darwin, the NIMAs and triple j’s Blak Out team have come together to bring you this two-hour radio special. “I said I’d be back for special occasions, and it doesn’t get any more special than this! It’s been a huge year in Blak music and I’m all g’d up to celebrate on Sunday with my brother, Nooky.” – Karla Ranby, co-host of the NIMAs. “I cannot wait to tune in Sunday, to listen to the very best Australian First Nations music and to celebrate 60,000 years of history and culture!” – Benjamin Greatz, NIMAs Creative Director.
This year’s nominees are led by Sydney’s The Kid LAROI who has collaborated with some of the world’s biggest stars, the prince of Arnhem Land, Baker Boy, who just dropped recent triple j Feature Album Gela and 2020 J Award nominee Sycco, each with three nominations. Also up for awards are two-time finalists Birdz, Miiesha and Tia Gostelow, plus first-time NIMA nominees Budjerah, J-MILLA, King Stingray, JK-47 and Chasing Ghosts.
The past year has seen Indigenous talent reach the highest heights with The Kid Laroi having an emphatic year on the international stage. Miiesha and JK-47 continue to solidify themselves as HUGE home-grown talents with a handful of awards already under their belts. Meanwhile, new talents such as Sycco, Budjerah and King Stingray are proving themselves as some of the best up-and-coming talents in Australia.
Established artists are on the nominees list, including her Royal Blakness Jessica Mauboy who has been doing the most as Coach on The Voice Australia and certified OG Troy Cassar-Daley using music as his medicine to tackle mental health in his 11th studio album, The World Today.
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