Australian music’s independent sector was celebrated this week, with the winners of the annual AIR Awards revealed at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, VIC. Put together by the Australian Independent Record Labels Association, the AIR Awards honour local artists who choose to release their music on independent labels, from artist-owned releases to nation-wide companies. Performances on the night included Grafton Primary and The Getaway Plan, as well as a combined song by the Drones and Martha Wainwright.

Rounding up a huge year by landing even more trophies on the night was blind indigenous singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who was awarded Best Independent Album, Best Australian Independent Blues/Roots Album and Best New Independent Artist for his debut solo effort, Gurrumul. Sydney collective The Herd were the other big winners of the night, taking out Best Independent Artist and Best Independent Urban/Hip Hop Album for their LP, Summerland. Other winners included Melbourne rockers Eddy Current Suppression Ring (Best Independent Hard Rock/Punk Album for Primary Colours), The Getaway Plan (Best Independent Single/EP for “Where The City Meets The Sea”), Tina Harrod (Best Australian Independent Jazz Album for “Worksongs”), Peret Mako (Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album, The Devil Is In The Detail) and Bec Willis (Best Independent Country Album, for her self-titled debut).