The 2025 American Apparel Rolling Stone Australia Awards winners unveiled
The 2025 American Apparel Rolling Stone Australia Awards winners have been announced.
The announcement:
The winners of the 2025 American Apparel Rolling Stone Australia Awards have been unveiled at an exclusive event in Sydney on Wednesday night – with Amyl and the Sniffers, 3%, Thelma Plum and Dom Dolla all taking home prestigious gongs.
In addition, the annual event crowned Aussie rock legends ICEHOUSE as ‘Icons’ with the Rolling Stone Icon Award. The alternative rock powerhouses now join the likes of Tina Arena and Crowded House, who have previously had the honour bestowed upon them.
Adam Hyde, whose solo project is known as Keli Holiday, was selected by Rolling Stone AU/NZ readers as the Readers’ Choice Awards recipient, amongst a highly contested field including Crowded House, Delta Goodren, G Flip, Thelma Plum, The Rions, Radio Free Alice, SPEED, Pond and Gut Health.
Keli Holiday said: “I think right now music is devalued more than ever, but Rolling Stone continues to make it more valuable through culture and community, and shit like this tonight. If you’re having a good time, make some noise for Rolling Stone!”
The annual Rolling Stone Australia Awards took place at Sydney’s Ivy on Wednesday, April 9th. The celebration of the best and brightest in Australia’s music scene was hosted by Nic Kelly, a passionate advocate for Australian music and musicians, and host of SCA’s The Hot Hits with Nic & Loren, which plays across the Hit Network on weeknights.
The crowd of musicians, media, industry executives and lucky music fans were treated to performances from Rolling Stone Icons ICEHOUSE, Best New Artist Nominee Becca Hatch, and award recipients 3%.
In addition to performing, hip-hop supergroup 3% took out the Best New Artist Category, topping off an incredible 12 months for the First Nations collective. Their recent successes have included the release of their debut album Kill the Dead, which earned them ARIA Award wins for Best Hip-Hop/ Rap Release and Best Cover Art, as well as a rare five-star review from Rolling Stone AU/NZ magazine.
Best LP/EP went to current Rolling Stone AU/NZ cover stars and rising global sensations Amyl and the Sniffers for Cartoon Darkness, which also recently placed #1 on Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s list of Best Australian Albums released in 2024. The Melbourne punk-rock standouts also took home the Best Live Act award.
In a recorded video, Amy Taylor from Amyl & The Sniffers said: “Rolling Stone, we’re super happy to hear we’ve won Best Live Act at your awards! But we’re also pretty pissed that we can’t be there because we’re on tour in America.”
Best Single, meanwhile, went to Gamilaraay woman, musician and creator, Thelma Plum, for ‘Freckles’, from her sophomore album, I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back. Plum received two nominations at the recent Queensland Music Awards (QMA) and will perform at Dark Mofo 2025 in June.
And finally, The Rolling Stone Global Award – judged by Rolling Stone’s global staff to acknowledge the Australian act that has made impressive international strides – went to Dom Dolla. The international powerhouse won Best New Artist at last year’s ceremony. He had a record-breaking run in Australia last year, followed by a debut residency in Ibiza, and two sold-out shows at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
Dom Dolla said: “I’m absolutely shattered I can’t be there tonight to accept the Global Award, but very fitting considering the title of the award that I’m touring in America. Thank you so much for considering me and for the award!”
While presenting the Rolling Stone Icons Award to Icehouse, Richard Wilkins said: “There was a time when there was a band doing the rounds that were described as the highest earning unsigned act in the country, and they were called Flowers. We couldn’t help ourselves but fall in love with them, and all that changed when Flowers became ICEHOUSE and they went on to have massive hits all over the world. They are one of the greatest bands ever to come out of this great southern land.”
In accepting the award, Iva Davies from ICEHOUSE, said: “Thank you very much indeed, an amazing thanks to Rolling Stone, incredibly unexpected, I have to say. I’ll name one person here tonight, the co-founder of Flowers and Icehouse bass player, Keith Walsh. Also, all the former members of the crew, and a special shout out to the man who put this all together, our production manager who has been working with us since 1986 – Mr Larry Ponting. Thanks for having us here.”
Neil Griffiths, editor-in-chief at Rolling Stone Australia, said the night was a great success, noting: “Tonight was a fantastic celebration of Australian music and the remarkable artists this country produces. All our nominees have been doing their bit to showcase the strength of Australian music on a global stage, and this was our opportunity to give something back.
“Watching ICEHOUSE be crowned a Rolling Stone Icon was a special moment, well-deserved recognition for one of the best and most consistent rock bands Australia has ever seen. Equally exciting was seeing rising star Becca Hatch absolutely own the stage, proving the future of Australian music is in safe hands.
“I’d like to extend a massive congratulations to all of our winners!”.
Host Nic Kelly added: “What a night for the music industry! It was a privilege to be part of the American Apparel Rolling Stone Awards this evening — a fantastic gathering of the artists, music workers and industry at large, and an evening that reminded us what matters most — the music we make. The emerging and established artists who picked up awards and performed this evening are a vital part of keeping Australian culture vibrant, and they will continue to drive our community and industry forward. Congratulations to all the winners and Rolling Stone Australia for an amazing show!”
The 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards were supported by headline partner American Apparel, as well as returning sponsors Shure and JMC Academy.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s average issue readership in Australia reached 232,000 for the 12 months to December 2024, according to the latest Roy Morgan Australian Magazine Readership Report. This places the local print edition of Rolling Stone ahead of staple titles like Harper’s Bazaar, Who, Belle, Australian Traveller, New Scientist and Money Magazine.
Vinyl Media’s network of premium brands now surpasses 160 million monthly page views and reaches 10 million unique Australian users per month across its top 50 sites, plus more through the Playwire network, cementing its position as Australia’s largest creator of premium youth content and events.
2025 American Apparel Rolling Stone Australia Awards Winners:
Rolling Stone Icon Award
ICEHOUSE – WINNERBest Single
Thelma Plum – ‘Freckles’ – WINNER
Amyl and the Sniffers – ‘U Should Not Be Doing That’
Empire of the Sun – ‘Changes’
Dom Dolla – ‘girl$’
CYRIL – ‘Stumblin’ in’
Baker Boy – ‘KING’Best New Artist
3% – WINNER
CYRIL
Becca Hatch
Mia Wray
Gut Health
9livesBest LP/EP
Amyl and the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness – WINNER
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Inhale/Exhale
Lime Cordiale – Enough of the Sweet Talk
Missy Higgins – The Second Act
Amy Shark – Sunday Sadness
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Wild GodBest Live Act
Amyl and the Sniffers – WINNER
Confidence Man
Tones and I
Dom Dolla
Parkway Drive
Teen Jesus and the Jean TeasersReaders’ Choice
Keli Holiday – WINNER
Radio Free Alice
Thelma Plum
SPEED
Pond
Gut Health
G Flip
The Rions
Delta Goodrem
Crowded HouseRolling Stone Global Award
Dom Dolla – WINNER
Kylie Minogue
Amyl and the Sniffers
Confidence Man
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Empire of the Sun
Source: Sound Story
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topics
2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards
Adam Hyde
Amyl and the Sniffers
Dom Dolla
ICEHOUSE
Keli Holiday
Neil Griffiths
Nic Kelly
Rolling Stone AU/NZ
Thelma Plum
