The Queensland Music Awards (or QMA’s to the locals!) are back for 2024 and this year JMC is proud to see three of its staff members and one student on the list of finalists! Shining brightly like the stars they are, Brisbane Entertainment Management and Music lecturers Hayley Marsten, Melody Moko and Dale Prinsse, plus Master of Creative Industries student Briana Ives, are all in the running for this year’s QMA's! In a diverse range of categories and musical styles, it’s so awesome to see members of our JMC community walking (singing?) the talk and doing their thing for Australia’s music scene. 

Read about and listen to these award-worthy finalists below!

Hayley Marsten - ‘Getting Better’ (Girlhood, 2023)


The sweeping introduction to Entertainment Management lecturer Hayley’s second studio album Girlhood, ‘Getting Better’ was written the day before Hayley headed to Airlock Studios to do a big day of band tracking. The theme of the song, much like the rest of the album, surrounds Hayley’s personal experiences dealing with mental health. Speaking to Countrytown, she explains “a lot of this album is very introspective and came from me going back to therapy in 2020, which was the best thing I ever did for myself. But part of that experience was feeling like I was cured and never needed to return and then being knocked right back to square one”.

Sensitive, powerful and straight-up catchy, it’s easy to see why ‘Getting Better’ is a top contender for QLD’s best country song for 2024. Congratulations Hayley! Here’s some more of what the critics had to say about Girlhood…

“Marsten has created an album of immense beauty with Girlhood. It has a soundscape that never follows a standard path - country, pop, rock, synthpop and more all weave seamlessly together - and has something for everyone. As beautiful as the music is, where it really excels is lyrically. The stories told in the song are raw, honest, vulnerable and empowering, as well as universal and relatable. Marsten has a real talent to write songs that hit you right in the soul and Girlhood is sure to quickly become your new favourite album”.

— Jett Tattersall from Women in Pop

“With her second album, Girlhood, Hayley Marsten has created something that is both moment and movement, and an excellent piece of work as well. It is about self-conception and misconception, about power and powerlessness and the fortitude forged by both. Mostly it’s a great ball of wondrousness, a collection of infectious songs". 

— Sophie Hamley from Sunburnt Country Music

Melody Moko -  Jesus Year (Suburban Dream, 2023)


JMC Music lecturer Melody’s song ‘Jesus Year’, taken from her third album Suburban Dream, has caused quite a stir with its release both in Australia and abroad this past year. Exploring the theme of post-natal depression following the birth of Moko's third child, ‘Jesus Year’s’ original music video was banned on one major US television network for scenes that included fake blood (controversy!). The scenes in question were replaced by footage from elsewhere in the clip to get the show back on the road much to the shock of Melody and her team. Speaking to the online blog The Music, she explains that her creative team “wanted to make a powerful visual message to support the track, which is a song about rebirth after a mental health crisis, so in including 'that scene,' we believe we were representing the intensity of how that situation feels". 

Melody is no stranger to QMA success, taking home awards previously for her album Two Kids and A Radio (which also received a Golden Guitar Award and a nomination for the prestigious Australian Music Prize!). Congratulations once again Melody, how lucky are we to have a talented mentor like you!

Caligula’s Horse (Dale Prinsse)- Golem (Charcoal Ghost, 2024)

Entertainment Management and Music lecturer Dale Prinsse is a lighting designer, audio engineer, tour manager, videographer, photographer, Ph.D. candidate and bassist in the legendary Brissy band Caligula’s Horse, who today are finalists in the Heavy Music section of the QMA’s for their track ‘Golem’! The first single from their sixth studio album Charcoal Grace, ‘Golem’ examines the weight of expectation throughout the times of the global pandemic. It’s a heavy song with an emphasis on riffs and driving rhythms, a beautiful balance of emotion and ferocity. 

This isn’t the first time Caligula’s Horse has received QMA recognition, with their track 'Marigold' taking out the same award back in 2016. With a solid decade in the scene cementing the band as Brisbane prog metal royalty, it’s easy to see why Caligula’s Horse is back in the spotlight with a new body of work driven by the universal lived experience of surviving the hardship of COVID times.

Aubrielle (Briana Ives)- Paige's Triumph (Cinema, Too Theme)

Aubrielle is the artist moniker used by Brisbane Master of Creative Industries student Briana Ives, who is today announced as a QMA finalist for her composition work for the Australian short film Cinema, Too, ‘Paige's Triumph’. The screen composer, performing artist, songwriter and music producer from Meanjin combines pop sensibilities, atmospheric orchestras, heavy drums, and electronic elements into her creations, making them perfect for setting atmospheres and telling stories.

Congratulations Briana on this incredible achievement- we can't wait to see the many paths of your lustrous career unfold!

JMC wishes the best of luck to Hayley and Melody and offers a huge congratulations to all of the nominees in this year’s Queensland Music Awards!