Full list of 2025 AIR Awards winners announced at star-studded Adelaide ceremony

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Image Credit: Lucy Partington Photography

The 2025 AIR Awards lit up Adelaide Town Hall on Thursday night with a star-studded celebration of Australia’s thriving independent music scene.

Presented with support from the South Australian Government through the Music Development Office, the night honoured outstanding achievements across a spectrum of genres and industry roles, with unforgettable live performances by nominees Parvyn, Queenie, Alice Ivy, and Emily Wurramara.

Returning to the stage as hosts were media personalities Dylan Lewis and Jessica Braithwaite, keeping the energy high as the awards rolled out.

Melbourne punk-rock favourites Amyl and the Sniffers cleaned up with three major wins, including Independent Album of the Year and Best Independent Rock Album or EP for Cartoon Darkness, alongside Independent Song of the Year for their explosive track U Should Not Be Doing That.

Dylan Lewis and Jessica Braithwaite, Lucy Partington Photography

Producer and electronic artist Alice Ivy also walked away with three awards, claiming Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album or EP and Independent Producer of the Year for Do What Makes You Happy, as well as Best Independent Dance/Electronica or Club Single for Do I Need To Know What Love Is? featuring Josh Teskey.

Making a huge impression was Miss Kaninna, who took home Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP for Kaninna and was also crowned Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year, presented by PPCA.

Meanwhile, David Bridie was recognised with the prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award, supported by Merlin, in honour of his work through Wantok Musik Foundation. Alongside the honour, he received a $5,000 cash prize to support his ongoing professional development.

Other notable winners included:

Good Morning – Best Independent Pop Album or EP for Good Morning Seven

Emma Donovan – Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP for Til My Song Is Done

Kasey Chambers – Best Independent Country Album or EP for Backbone (Mount Gambier, SA)

Parvyn – Best Independent Jazz Album or EP for Maujuda

Gut Health – Best Independent Punk Album or EP for Stiletto

The Amity Affliction – Best Independent Heavy Album or EP for Let The Ocean Take Me (Redux)

Electric Fields x Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – Best Independent Classical Album or EP for Live in Concert

Teeny Tiny Stevies – Best Independent Children’s Album or EP for The Green Album

This year also marked the introduction of a new industry category: Independent Mix, Studio or Mastering Engineer of the Year, which went to Nick Herrera for his work on Kaninna by Miss Kaninna.

Behind-the-scenes accolades celebrated the industry’s powerhouses, with Thinking Loud named Independent Publicity Team of the Year and The Annex and Ourness taking home Independent Marketing Team of the Year, both for their work on Royel Otis’s Pratts & Pain. The award for Independent Music Video of the Year went to Nick Rae and Jordan Ruyi Blanch for 3%’s Won’t Stop featuring Jessica Mauboy.

Independent Label of the Year was awarded to ABC Music, receiving a digital marketing campaign valued at $3,000 thanks to Moshtix.

AIR CEO Maria Amato praised the achievements of the independent music community, saying,
“Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients! It was a great night of celebration and recognition for our hard-working sector. We thank all our sponsors and are especially grateful to the South Australian Government through the Music Development Office for their continued support.”

Minister for Arts, Andrea Michaels, also acknowledged the significance of the event, stating,
“The Malinauskas Government is proud to host the wonderful artists and music businesses that make up the independent music sector on their night of nights. We congratulate tonight’s winners and nominees for excellence in their categories and look forward to seeing their continued success.”