CARDIFF MUSIC AWARDS 2019 | LIVE REPORT

CARDIFF MUSIC AWARDS 2019 | LIVE REPORT

Tramshed, Cardiff, Fri 29 Mar

The Tramshed opened its doors to the fourth Cardiff Music Awards, supporting and celebrating the diverse music scene of Wales’ capital city. Over 23 categories, awards extended from Best Group to Best Independent Venue and for the second time, an award for Outstanding Contribution Of The Year.

Brilliantly hosted by DJ duo GRL TLK, who also celebrated taking home the award for Best DJs, and with performances from Chroma, Madi, Mace, Hana2k [above] and DJ Jaffa, it was a night of dancing and celebration for everyone involved. Amongst hundreds of nominees, Sŵn Festival took home two awards for Line-up Of The Year and Best Festival for their contribution in bringing artists like Drenge to Cardiff’s venues. Blue Honey took home Best Club Night whilst Clwb Ifor Bach nabbed the most awards of the night for Best Independent Venue, Promoter Of The Year and Best Regional Promoter.

There was a special award of the evening: Outstanding Contribution of the Year, presented for the first time at last year’s ceremony. This year it was awarded to Daniel Minty [above, photographing Liz Hunt of The Moon] for leading the campaign to save Gwdihŵ and Guildford Crescent. Minty, who also won the award for Best Music Press, has lead demonstrations, petitions and letters of protest to save the area from demolition. While developers withdrew their plans to demolish the buildings last week, the fight is not over, as Minty noted in a powerful and extensive speech, and music lovers across the city must be prepared to continue the fight.

It came as no surprise when alt-rock trio Chroma won Best Single and Best Music Video for their most recent release Girl’s Talk, a relatable track about surviving the modern world as a woman. They closed the night with a jaw dropping performance, captivating the entire room with their outlandish lyrics and frontwoman Katie’s fascinating stage presence.

Congratulations to everyone that was nominated and took home an award; moreover, Cardiff’s music scene wouldn’t be complete without each person who puts on events, buy tickets and shows up.

words SARAH MORGAN photos HANNAH TOTTLE [top] / NADINE BALLANTYNE [bottom]