The 10 finalists for the 2024 Taite Music Prize have been announced with those vying for the $12,500 prize money including past contenders and winners in a line-up notable for its female dominance.
As well as solo singer-songwriter finalists Ebony Lamb, Erny Belle, and Vera Ellen, among the bands which have made the cut are the mixed-gender groups Dick Move, Tiny Ruins and Mermaidens, all outfits with women frontlines and lead voices.
The line-up includes one past winner of the prize – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO)– but there’s another past winner under a different guise. Tom Scott’s jazz-fuelled hip-hop project Avantdale Bowling Club won the Taite in 2019; this year, the reunion second album by Scott’s earlier crew Home Brew, whose debut was a finalist in 2013, is the only hip-hop contender. Having been nominated three times for albums by @peace and been part of groups to have made the cut seven times, Scott is now the leading Taite finalist.
It’s the fourth time in the finals for the US-based UMO which won the prize in 2012 with its debut album. Also, now a four-time finalist, but with no wins yet, is Tiny Ruins, the group centred on the songwriting of singer-guitarist Hollie Fullbrook.
Making the 2024 finalist list this year means it’s two years in a row for Belle, and it’s a second nomination for Flying Nun label mate Ellen.
Among this year’s newcomers are South Auckland Polynesian metal band Shepherds Reign.
The prize is judged solely on artistic merit, without regard for sales or record-label ties and the winner will be announced on April 23.
The full list of finalists is:
Dick Move – Wet (1:12 Records)
Ebony Lamb – Ebony Lamb (Slow Time Records)
Erny Belle – Not Your Cupid (Flying Nun Records)
Home Brew – Run It Back (Years Gone By)
Mermaidens –- Mermaidens (Independent)
Shepherds Reign – Ala Mai (Golden Robot Records)
Tiny Ruins – Ceremony (Ursa Minor)
Tom Lark – Brave Star (Winegum Records)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – V (Jagjaguwar Records)
Vera Ellen - Ideal Home Noise (Flying Nun Records)
The winner will be decided by a judging panel of musicians, journalists and music industry figures. The Taite Music Prize will also award the annual Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award, NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award, IMNZ Classic Record and the Independent Spirit Award.
