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Voting opens for the 2026
QUEENSLAND MUSIC AWARDS
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS

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The Queensland Music Awards (QMAs) celebrate 20 years of cranking up the volume on the state’s best and brightest musicians when it returns to the Fortitude Music Hall stage on Wednesday 22 April 2026. The highly anticipated QMAs honour the best in blues, folk, pop, rock, jazz, hip-hop, country, electronic and more, as judged by a panel of over 100 Australian and international music industry professionals.

Fans and music lovers can also play a crucial role in boosting Queensland’s music industry by casting a vote in the 2026 QMAs People’s Choice Awards. Presented by The Music, online voting is now open across three hotly contested categories: Festival of the Year, Regional Venue of the Year and Metro Venue of the Year. Everyone who votes by 30 January has the chance to win a VIP QMAs experience, including premium seating, exclusive access and an unforgettable night celebrating Queensland music.

QMusic CEO Kris Stewart said the QMAs were vital to the fabric of not just Queensland but Australia’s music and live performance sectors.

“For two decades, the QMAs have shone a spotlight on the dedication and diversity of Queensland’s top musical talent, from the most promising emerging artists to established legends such as Amy Shark, Keith Urban and Thelma Plum,” Stewart said. “It is a great privilege to celebrate and share another year of incredible Queensland success stories across all facets of this sector, and to give music fans the opportunity to have their voices heard in the supremely popular People’s Choice Awards.”

Voting in the 2026 QMAs People’s Choice Awards closes at 11.59pm AEST on Friday 30 January 2026 here

2026 QMA Festival of the Year

• Gympie Music Muster
• The Ekka
• Savannah in the Round
• Whitsundays Songwriter Festival
• Maleny Music Festival
• Lasso Country Music Festival
• QLD Music Trails: The Reef – Between the Tides
• Tablelands Folk Festival
• QLD Music Trails: The Outback
• Agnes Blues Roots & Rock Festival
• Airlie Beach Festival of Music
• Sundown
• Clairvaux MacKillop College’s Battle of the ROCK Bands

2026 QMA Regional Venue of the Year

• Sandstone Point Hotel
• Tanks Arts Centre
• Miami Marketta
• Norton Music Factory
• Banshees Bar & Artspace
• Imperial Hotel Eumundi
• Den Devine
• The Presynct Venue & Bar
• Eatons Hill Hotel
• Mo’s Desert Clubhouse
2026 QMA Metro Venue of the Year
• Black Bear Lodge
• The Princess Theatre
• Crowbar Brisbane
• The Tivoli
• The Brightside
• The Triffid
• The Cave Inn
• Fortitude Music Hall
• The Junk Bar

For more information and updates about the 2026 QMAs, visit here

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About QUEENSLAND MUSIC AWARDS

Celebrating our brightest emerging artists and established legends, the Queensland Music Awards (QMAs) is an annual state-wide search for Queensland’s best new music. The Queensland Music Awards recognise the diverse people and places that make contemporary popular music an invaluable part of our state’s cultural heritage. With over 13,600 songs submitted since its inception in 2006 (then known as ‘QSong’), the QMAs are judged by more than 100 top music industry professionals from all over the country giving finalists and winners the opportunity to catapult their careers into national significance.

The QMAs have spotlighted and unearthed a pantheon of Queensland music greats, including Kate Miller Heidke, Bernard Fanning, Amy Shark, Sheppard, Violent Soho and The Kite String Tangle, to name a few. They’ve also recognised the chart-topping success of artists such as Keith Urban and The Veronicas and the lifelong contributions of the Bee Gees, Carol Lloyd, Ed Kuepper, and Grant McLennan.
Each year, Queensland music history is made with 30+ awards announced at a prestigious ceremony and the Song of the Year immortalised in a plaque on Fortitude Valley’s Walk of Fame in the Brunswick Street Mall.

About QMUSIC

QMusic is Queensland’s music industry development association. QMusic’s work is critical to the success of Queensland’s contemporary music economy. It is the only significant and established not-for-profit organisation in Queensland dedicated to delivering sector development and major music events including the Queensland Music Awards and BIGSOUND to stimulate and grow the state’s music sector.
The 2026 Queensland Music Awards is produced by QMusic, which is supported by the Queensland Government. QMusic acknowledges the many Traditional Custodian groups across what is now referred to as Queensland. We pay our respect to all elders: past and present. As a peak body, we also acknowledge the important role that music has played and continues to play on these lands since the very first sunrise.

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Follow QLD MUSIC AWARDS
Website – Instagram – Facebook – X

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Photo- @simonegormanclark

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