UOW band comp heats announced

The heats for the annual University of Wollongong band competition have been announced, with a swag of the region’s most promising young bands set to take part in four heats starting tonight.

The heats will run every Tuesday night from tonight (April 24) to May 15, with the repechage and final set for August. 2011 runners-up Tommy M & The Mastersounds are in the mix again this year, alongside My Little Underground, Emris, Beaten Bodies and more. See below for the full lineups and information.

Each heat begins at 7pm, and entry is free. Bands will be competing for prizes from Main Street Studios, Laww Media and Haworth’s Music.

HEAT 1 – April 24
Sylvain – Shady Nook – Paul and Dave – The Omissions

HEAT 2 – May 1
My Little Underground – Fiend – Go Away Everyone – Jack Dawson – Form One Planet

HEAT 3 – May 8
21st Century Happiness – Thomas Covenant – Shit Sandwich – MANorex6 – ShereKhan

HEAT 4 – May 15
Tommy M and the Mastersounds – Beaten Bodies – Emris – The Maze – We Are Them

Radar Illawarra Music Award winners announced!

The winners of the inaugural Radar Illawarra Music Awards were announced on Saturday night, with a packed-out event at the Patch.

Totally Unicorn were the big winners on the night, picking up awards for “best live act” and “best video” for their clip ‘Cool Dads With Cool Sons.’ The four-piece, who were on tour in Adelaide at the time, were good enough to send in a few choice pre-recorded acceptance speeches for the night.

Other winners of the RIMAs were Tommy M & The Mastersounds for “best band,” Places People for “best solo artist” and Sydney Girls Choir for “best release” for their recently-released EP.

The publicly-voted awards saw over 200 entries from fans and local music-lovers, with many of the categories decided by just a handful of votes.

Tommy M, Places People and Sydney Girls Choir celebrated their wins with performances at the RIMAs event, with Vulpes Vulpes and Jack R Reilly – both of whom were also nominated in various categories – also showing off their tunes for an appreciative crowd.

For the inaugural event, the RIMAs were (in my opinion) a success, with many fans turning out to the event and many votes being received. From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank everyone involved in the RIMAs: from Jeb Taylor at Music Farmers and the Patch for allowing the awards to be held at the venue; to the bands who gave up their time; and everyone who voted, and of course, attended the RIMAs.

I would also like to thank all the sponsors who made the event possible; New Millennium Trophies and Gifts, who supplied the awesome trophies to the winners (see left); Haworth Guitars; 55ive Design; Laww Media; Main Street Studios; and Music Farmers.

Keep an eye out for more Radar-presented events in 2012!

Click here to see photos from the night.

Radar Illawarra Music Award winners (as voted by the public):
BEST BAND: Tommy M & The Mastersounds
BEST SOLO ARTIST: Places People
BEST LIVE ACT: Totally Unicorn
BEST RELEASE: Sydney Girls Choir, EP
BEST VIDEO: Totally Unicorn, ‘Cool Dads With Cool Sons’