Acts and venues in the spotlight for awards

WITH the nominees for this year’s Music Victoria awards announced last week, a bevy of Ballarat artists and venues are in the running for the national nod.

Live music venue Volta is one of two local spots to be up for an MV award, in the Best Regional Venue or Presenter (Over 50 gigs) category.

Volta was previously up for the same title in 2020, but with time passed since the venue’s establishment that same year, programmer Lachy Anderson said their current nomination feels more validating.

“We were nominated during COVID but it was still so fresh and we hadn’t had a full year of running shows at full capacity,” he said.

“Actually having a full year of shows, putting on live music for the community and bringing in national and international acts to Ballarat, it now feels like a validating feeling.

“We would do over 120 shows a year. We aim to do two to three a week for 50 weeks a year.”

Following the release of her third album earlier this year, artist Kate Lucas, who performs as Coda Chroma, is up for the Best Regional Act award.

Another live space, Minerva Ballaarat, located within the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, is a nominee in the Best Regional Venue or Presenter (Under 50 gigs) category.

Mr Anderson said the number of Ballarat-based nominees highlights the versatility of the local music scene.

“It shows having a strong live music scene is important for the Ballarat community and to the growth of the local music scene,” he said.

“Ballarat’s always been such a creative town, so to be able to facilitate people’s dreams and aspirations, it’s a special feeling to play a small part in that.”

Voting is open until 12pm on Friday 13 October.