The winners of this year’s South Australian Music Awards (aka the SAM Awards) have been crowned.
Pop-punk duo Teenage Joans lead the pack with a whopping seven wins, taking home the titles for Best New Artist, Best Group, Punk, Best Song (for their breakout single ‘Something About Being Sixteen’), Best Release (for their recent debut EP, ‘Taste Of Me’) and the City Of Adelaide Exceptional Live Performance Award.
Samual Graves and Eve Burner also nabbed the award for Best Cover Art for their collaborative work on ‘Taste Of Me’, while the duo’s manager, Rachie Whitford of 27 Music, was bestowed the title of Best Manager.
Altogether, Teenage Joans broke the record for most wins at the SAM Awards by almost double. Pub-rockers West Thebarton held the distinction previously, taking home four wins in 2018.
The wins come amid an already enormous year for Teenage Joans, riding hot on the heels of their triple j Unearthed High win last September. The trailblazing duo dropped ‘Taste Of Me’ back in May, which in addition to ’Something About Being Sixteen’, featured singles ‘Ice Cream’ and ‘Wine’.
NME writer Alex Gallagher named ‘Taste Of Me’ one of the best Australian releases to land in May, describing it as “a thrilling formal introduction to their cathartic, bittersweet pop-punk.”
The pair are currently on tour with Sly Withers, supporting the Perth outfit on their national ‘Gardens’ tour. Following it, they’ll perform at the 2022 UNIFY Gathering alongside the likes of The Amity Affliction, Violent Soho, Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers, Short Stack and WAAX.
Other winners at this year’s SAM Awards include Motez (who took home the titles for Best Solo Artist and Electronic), Towns (Rock) and Siberian Tiger (Folk).
The full list of 2021 SAM Award winners are:
Best Studio
Chapel Lane Studios and Wundenberg’s Recording Studio (tie)
Best Studio Engineer/Producer
Kiah Gossner
Best Live Technician
Lisa Lane Collins
Best Major Festival/Event
WOMADelaide
Best Small Festival/Event
Space Jams South Coast Tour
Best Venue
Jive
Best Cover Art
Samuel Graves and Eve Burner (Teenage Joans – ‘Taste Of Me’)
Best Manager
Rachel Whitford
Best Music Video
Harry Nathan (Glowing – ‘Poppy’)
Best Song
Teenage Joans – ‘Something About Being Sixteen’
Best New Artist
Teenage Joans
Best Group
Teenage Joans
Best Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Artist
Tilly Tjala Thomas
Best Solo Artist
Motez
Best Release
Teenage Joans – ‘Taste Of Me’
Best Music Educator
Alison Hams
Best Innovation
WOMADelaide x NSS Academy
Blues & Roots
Cal Williams Jr
Country
Ricky Albeck & The Belair Line Band
Electronic
Motez
Experimental
Sons Of Zöku
Folk
Siberian Tiger
Heavy
Kitchen Witch
Hip Hop
Boffa
Jazz
Chelsea Lee
Pop
G-Nat!on
Punk
Teenage Joans
Rock
Towns
Soul/Funk/R&B
Mum Thinks Blue
City Of Adelaide Exceptional Live Performance Award
Teenage Joans
Adelaide Unesco City Of Music Best International Collaboration
Lazaro Numa
Emily Burrows Award
Tilly Tjala Thomas
Rosanna And Neville Clark Award
Ryan Martin John And Aidan Cibich
Music SA Community Achievement Award
Mick Wordley