Amyl and the Sniffers Win Levi’s® Music Prize

24/01/19

A panel of international judges have awarded the latest round of the $30,000 Levi’s® Music Prize to Melbourne’s explosive punk rock four-piece, Amyl and the Sniffers.

Now in its third year, the coveted prize provides $25,000 cash plus an additional $5,000 in travel from Stage & Screen to financially assist Australian and New Zealand acts - who have previously showcased at BIGSOUND – achieve their export goals.

Showcasing at BIGSOUND 2017, Amyl and The Sniffers hit the ground running during their breakout year with international appearances at The Great Escape (UK) and a North American tour supporting Australian label mates, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Following multiple sold out shows in the UK and Europe in 2018, the band signed to Rough Trade Records for the rest of the world – the first Australian band to ink an album deal with Rough Trade since The Go-Betweens.

The decision was made by a panel of international music industry buyers including representatives from Domino Publishing, ATC Live and Eat Your Own Ears.

“It's great to win the Levi's® Music Prize. The cash is gonna come in really handy this year, it’s gonna get us on the road for SXSW and our upcoming tours and we’re super grateful. It’s sick that we were a part of BIGSOUND a couple years ago and we’ve come a long way since then, some dude who is on BBC radio saw us play there and we ended up on his show in London last year. It’s great that Levi’s® give this opportunity to bands and even sicker that one of the bands is us hehe. We're excited to get back over to the States and play heaps of gigs before we put out our album in May. Filthy!!!!”

Amyl and the Sniffers

#Applications are now open for Round 3, 2018/19

Australian and New Zealand acts who have performed at BIGSOUND within the last five years (2014-2018) are eligible to apply.

Previous winners include Stella Donnelly, Alex Lahey, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Hatchie & Emerson Snowe. The prize provides funding towards recording, touring equipment, video production and promotion to supports artists that have built significant initial career momentum via their BIGSOUND experience, but who need a financial leg-up to keep moving forward on the international stage.