Kev Carmody Wins $60,000 Australia Council Award

One of Australia's most poetic, raw, evocative and brilliant songwriters, Kev Carmody, has today been awarded the most valuable individual music award our country has to offer – the Australia Council Don Banks Music Award – for his outstanding contribution to Australian music.

The award, which is given yearly to one artist over the age of 50 years, is open to artists of all disciplines, though recent years have seen the areas of classical and jazz music.

Carmody's music very much serves as a vessel for stories about his life, indigenous culture and historical themes with a political, religious and socially conscious bent. He began using music as a method of presenting essays when enrolled at the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education (now the University of Southern Queensland) instead of presenting his work in traditional essay form.

It was as a 42-year-old that he released his first album, Pillars Of Society, in 1988. It was quickly heralded as one of the finest protest albums to come from this country and to this day Carmody's songs cut deep; they're unpretentious, sometimes desolate, but never bitter or cantankerous.

His songs are important tales that speak of a shameful history and ought to be used to elicit change in the future.

In 2007, one of Carmody's dear friends and collaborators, Paul Kelly, put together a tribute album that saw some of our country's most renowned artists tackling Carmody's songs in a variety of ways. Cannot Buy My Soul featured everyone from Tex Perkins to Missy Higgins to The Drones to Archie Roach and in 2009 was the theme of a show produced for the Queensland Music Festival, featuring many of the acts as well as Carmody himself, performing to a sold out Brisbane Riverstage.

Chair of the Music Board of the Australia Council Matthew Hindson said that, as well as Carmody's brilliant songwriting, his approach to recording ought to be celebrated.

“Kev's music is an invaluable collection for the nation, but his contribution to music is greater than songs and stories,” Hindson said. “So much can be learned from his approach to recording. His favourite studio is a converted cold room and fruit packing shed, and if he's searching for a certain sound he'll often make the instrument to achieve it, creating unique and beautiful effects.”

Carmody will be presented with the award at the Brisbane Powerhouse at 6pm this evening.