Other winners on the night included Royel Otis, Polaris and Jem Cassar-Daley.

The 2024 Air Awards was another raging success, with some of this year’s big winners including Genesis Owisu taking out the award for Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP for his incredible album STRUGGLER, Dan Sultan winning Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP for his self-titled seventh album and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers taking out Best Independent Rock or EP for their awesome I Love You.

The annual award ceremony founded by the Australian Independent Record Labels Association was once again held in Adelaide and hosted by long-time AIR Awards Master of Ceremonies Dylan Lewis, who was joined again by super co-host Jessica Braithwaite.

This year’s event featured mesmerising performances from nominees Maple Glider, Jack River, Bumpy, Slava Grigoryan and RVG and saw a wide cross-section of Aussie talent celebrated for their achievements.

Some of the other notable winners included RVG taking out Independent Album of the Year for Brain Worms, Jack River claiming the award for Best Independent Pop Album or EP for Endless Summer, Private Function’s 370H55V 0773H winning Best Independent Punk Album or EP and Josh Pyke bringing home a statue for It's Gonna Be a Great, Great Day!, which won for Best Independent Children’s Album or EP.

Ourness took out the highly coveted award for the Moshtix sponsored Best Independent Label. Not only did they win the award but they also took home a digital marketing campaign valued at $3,000, providing access to Moshtix’s vast audience reach.

This year’s AIR Awards also saw the introduction of two new categories – the Independent Music Video of the Year and the Independent Producer of the Year. Adam Munnings took home the inaugural award for Independent Music Video of the Year for his work on Cub Sport’s ‘Keep Me Safe’, while Bonnie Knight was awarded Independent Producer of the Year for their contribution to ENOLA‘s All Is Forgiven EP.

It was also revealed that funding for a further two years has been provided to hold the AIR Awards and Indie-Con Australia in Adelaide, along with the announcement that AIR will exclusively host A2IM’s Australian Edition of Indie-Week conference in conjunction with its events from 2025.

“Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients!” commented AIR CEO Maria Amato. “It was a great night of celebration and recognition for the talented Australian independent artist and label community. We thank all our sponsors and are especially grateful to the South Australian Government through its Music Development Office for their continued support. This will enable us to host the world’s largest independent music conference, A2IM’s Indie Week as part of AIR’s events and expand our ability to facilitate global connections.”

Lisa Hresko, A2IM, General Manager added: “We are honored and excited to bring A2IM Indie Week's first-ever international event to Adelaide, Australia’s UNESCO designated City of Music. A2IM extends our heartfelt thanks to AIR and The South Australian Government through its Music Development office for this incredible opportunity. This event promises to be a global hub for independent music, fostering a dynamic community of industry leaders and sharing future-shaping ideas that will propel music forward." Lisa Hresko, A2IM, General Manager.

Check out all the winners from this year’s AIR Awards below.

2024 AIR Award Winners

INDEPENDENT LABEL OF THE YEAR

Ourness

INDEPENDENT PUBLICITY TEAM OF THE YEAR

Jessica Searle – Jen Cloher, I Am The River, The River Is Me

INDEPENDENT MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Adam Munnings - Cub Sport, ‘Keep Me Safe’

INDEPENDENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR

RVG - Brain Worms

INDEPENDENT SONG OF THE YEAR

Jem Cassar-Daley- ‘King of Disappointment’

BEST INDEPENDENT SOUL/RNB ALBUM OR EP

WILSN - Those Days Are Over

BEST INDEPENDENT COUNTRY ALBUM OR EP

Fanny Lumsden - Hey Dawn

BEST INDEPENDENT BLUES AND ROOTS
ALBUM OR EP

Dan Sultan - Dan Sultan

BEST INDEPENDENT POP ALBUM OR EP

Jack River - Endless Summer

BEST INDEPENDENT ROCK ALBUM OR EP

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers - I Love You

BEST INDEPENDENT CLASSICAL ALBUM OR EP

Australian Chamber Orchestra / Richard Tognetti - Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 ‘Eroica’

2024 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - SPONSORED BY MERLIN

Don Spencer OAM

INDEPENDENT MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR

The Annex, Ourness, AWAL - Genesis Owusu, STRUGGLER

INDEPENDENT PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Bonnie Knight - ENOLA, All Is Forgiven EP

BREAKTHROUGH INDEPENDENT ARTIST OF THE YEAR - PRESENTED BY PPCA

Royel Otis

BEST INDEPENDENT HIP HOP ALBUM OR EP

Genesis Owusu - STRUGGLER

BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE OR ELECTRONICA ALBUM OR EP

Cub Sport - Jesus At The Gay Bar

BEST INDEPENDENT DANCE, ELECTRONICA OR CLUB SINGLE

Fisher & Kita Alexander - ‘Atmosphere’

BEST INDEPENDENT JAZZ ALBUM OR EP

Elixir - A Small Shy Truth

BEST INDEPENDENT PUNK ALBUM OR EP

Private Function - 370H55V 0773H

BEST INDEPENDENT HEAVY ALBUM OR EP

Polaris - Fatalism

BEST INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S ALBUM OR EP

Josh Pyke - It’s Gonna Be A Great, Great Day!