With under a month to go until the show kicks off, the AIM Independent Music Awards has announced that indie icon Johnny Marr will take home the coveted Pioneer Award, presented in association with Bucks Music Group. Marr will also headline the first-ever live show, set to follow the ceremony at Camden’s Roundhouse on 3 September.
Alongside his considerable solo success, with 2014’s Playland and 2018’s Call the Comet charting in the UK at #9 and #7 respectively, Marr has collaborated with some of the greatest musicians of a generation including Talking Heads, Modest Mouse and New Order’s Bernard Sumner. Fresh from the release of his critically acclaimed new single “The Bright Parade”, the former Smiths guitarist will take to the stage to receive the Pioneer Award in recognition of his prodigious career spanning nearly 40 years. Previous winners have included Goldie and Warp’s Steve Beckett.
Meanwhile, experimental pop duo Let’s Eat Grandma have been confirmed as after-show DJs. No stranger to the AIM Awards, they took home the Best Sophomore Release award for their record “I’m All Ears” in 2018 and will be joining disco, soul, funk and hip-hop UK institution BBE Music, other AIM members and electro-pop sensation Georgia as part of the night’s entertainment. Various other surprise performances have also been lined up for the show.
Following a massive 35,000 public votes, nominees for the ‘Best Live Act’ award, in association with Songkick, can also now be revealed as AJ Tracey, Calpurnia, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Gerry Cinnamon and IDLES. With nearly half a million live shows performed already in 2019, the award celebrates the unstoppable energy and graft of those artists who have transfixed crowds around the world. The winner — the act with the most amount of votes — will be announced on the night of the awards. Previous winners have included Babymetal, Erasure and All Time Low.
Taken with their nomination for ‘UK Independent Breakthrough’, ‘International Breakthrough’, ‘Best [Difficult] Second Album’ and ‘Best Creative Packaging’ this means that IDLES are now in the running for a record-breaking 5 awards — the most a single act has received in one year since the Awards began 9 years ago.
As the ceremony draws nearer, the recipients of the Innovator and Indie Champion awards have also been revealed. Eleven Seven CEO and rock star manager Allen Kovac, whose dazzling career has seen him work with Mötley Crüe, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, and Blondie, will receive the Innovator Award, presented in association with Amazon Music. Meanwhile, Charles Caldas, CEO of global rights agency Merlin, has been named Indie Champion. In his 12 years as CEO, Merlin’s members — which embody more than 20,000 independent labels and distributors around the world — have grown to command over 12% of the digital recorded music market.
The ceremony will begin at 3 pm, with the live show and after-party running from 8:15pm-2am. Tickets to the ceremony, which include dinner, drinks receptions, and access to the exclusive live gig and after-party, can be purchased here: http://bit.ly/2KVqlONTickets to the live gig and after-party only are available here: http://bit.ly/2M4Brl9
Nominees
UK Independent Breakthrough (in association with YouTube Music)
International Breakthrough
Best Independent Track (in association with Facebook)
Best Independent Album (in association with Spotify)
Best [Difficult] Second Album
One To Watch (in association with BBC Music Introducing)
Best Small Label
Best Creative Packaging (in association with MCPS)
Best Independent Video (in association with Vevo)
Best Independent Label (in association with [PIAS])
PPL Award For Most Played New Independent Artist
Best Live Act (in association with Songkick)
Indie Champion
Innovator Award (in association with Amazon Music)
Outstanding Contribution to Music (in association with Merlin)
Pioneer Award (in association with Bucks Music Group)
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