The 22nd annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) are shaping up to be great entertainment with Australian performers, Amy Meredith, Michael Paynter and The Potbelleez all performing at the event in Melbourne in a couple of weeks. DJs Havana Brown and Special Ed will play through to the end of the night at this year’s ACRAs, which will be held at the Crown in Melbourne on Saturday, October 16.
The Australian performers will be joined by one of the winners of this year’s New Artists 2 Radio (NA2R) initiative, Sydney band, Radio Ink, and Brisbane band, The Smart. The NA2R aims to identify the next big thing for Australian commercial radio.
Hosts for the night are Roy and HG, from the drive-time program, The Life, on the Triple M Network.
Organised by Commercial Radio Australia, on behalf of the radio industry, the ACRAs include 33 categories, which cover all areas of radio broadcasting including news, talk, sport, music and entertainment.
This year there is a new category, Best New Digital Radio Format, which recognises the growth and development of digital radio in Australia. The Best New Digital Radio Format category is for any new formats on DAB+ only stations which show excellent use of the new features, like scrolling text and graphics.
A number of radio personalities will present awards, including Hamish and Andy from Austereo, Hughesy and Kate from Nova 100, the ailing Derryn Hinch from Fairfax Radio, 2GB’s Ray Hadley, Brig and Lehmo from Mix 101.1, Jono and Dano from GOLD 104 (Melbourne) and Dan and Ken from Southern Cross Media.
International guest, and co-creator of Twitter, Dom Sagallo, who is the keynote speaker at the national radio conference the day before the Awards, will also present a gong.
A feature of the Awards is the Hall of Fame, which acknowledges a lifelong commitment to the Australian radio industry. Inductees have included Neil Mitchell, Frank Hyde, Rod Muir, John Laws, Bob Rogers and Paul Thompson. Hall of Fame recipients are nominated by industry colleagues and decided by a high level judging committee.
The ACRAs is the gala event of the radio industry’s calendar, attracting radio personalities and stars from around Australia.