Sunshine Coast Music Awards 2026 winners

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Sunshine Coast Music Awards 2026 winners: Che Burns, Katie Noonan and The Presynct

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Sunshine Coast Music Awards 2026 winners: Che Burns, Katie Noonan and The Presynct

June 7, 20268 min read

Che Burns with Xavier Rudd after winning Song of the Year for “Devil Like You” at the 2026 Sunshine Coast Music Awards. Photo: Supplied.

Che Burns has taken out Song of the Year for his track “Devil Like You” at the 2026 Sunshine Coast Music Awards with Xavier Rudd making a special appearance to present the award.

The Sunshine Coast music scene turned out in force on Sunday night as the second annual Sunshine Coast Music Awards sold out at Banana Bender Pub in Palmview.

Presented by the Sunshine Coast Music Industry Collective (SCMIC), the awards brought artists, venues, studios, industry workers, festival people, media and supporters into one room for a night that carried real weight for the local industry.

After a difficult year for Sunshine Coast live music, with the losses of Solbar and The Station still being felt across the scene, the night had a strong sense of people showing up for each other.

That showed in the room, with Katie Noonan collecting three awards and Australian Idol winner Marshall Hamburger taking home the Rising Star award.

Fake News, who were finalists for Artwork of the Year for their “Dead Set” album artwork, were among some of the best-dressed in the room, bringing the right amount of razzle-dazzle for a Sunday night on the Coast.

More photos from the 2026 Sunshine Coast Music Awards to come.

Xavier Rudd surprises Che Burns with Song of the Year award

The biggest late-night moment belonged to Che Burns, whose track “Devil Like You” was named Song of the Year.

Burns thanked SCMIC, members of the local music community, and media representatives.

“I’m completely self-produced, self-taught, so it goes to show, if you have a vision and a dream and you work hard enough, you can action it, and see it come to fruition, so thank you very much,” Burns said.

The award was presented by Xavier Rudd, giving the win a proper full-circle Sunny Coast moment, with one of the region’s most recognised musical exports handing over the night’s final major award.

Burns was one of five finalists in the category, alongside Alys Ffion for “Secret”, Buttermello for “Low”, Cora for “(boy)cott” and Jesse Taylor for “I Can Feel It”.

Katie Noonan takes home three awards

Katie Noonan posing proudly at home with her three SCMAs. Photo: Facebook.

Katie Noonan with her three awards (wood carvings of pinapples).

Katie Noonan was another major winner on the night, taking home Artist of the Year, Musician of the Year and Live Act of the Year.

The three-from-three result landed three weeks before the release of Noonan’s 30th studio album, Alone but all one, due out on June 26.

“Truly and deeply honoured to win 3 from 3 tonight at the Sunshine Coast Music Awards — Artist of the Year, Live Act of the Year, Musician of the Year,” Noonan wrote after the awards.

Noonan described 2026 as her “30th year of this wild, beautiful and challenging life sharing stories and sounds”, and thanked her community on Gubbi Gubbi Country, along with the volunteers, musicians, punters, venues, agents, promoters, festivals, designers and producers who keep the local music ecosystem alive.

“As always thank you so much for giving my notes a home,” she wrote.

She also gave a shout-out to the Eumundi School of Music alumni in the room, saying she was proud to see so many of them “being awesome”.

The Presynct wins Venue of the Year

Che Burns with Xavier Rudd after winning Song of the Year at the 2026 Sunshine Coast Music Awards.

One of the room’s biggest local wins went to The Presynct, with the Nambour venue named Venue of the Year.

The win felt especially significant for owners Rusty Nyman and Cherry Nyman, whose small Ann Street venue has become one of the most active, character-filled rooms on the Sunshine Coast live music circuit, consistently backing original local music each week.

Yama-Nui wins again

Yama-Nui Recording Studio continued its strong run, taking out Recording Studio of the Year for the second year in a row.

The repeat win recognised the studio’s ongoing role in the local recording landscape, and pointed to the infrastructure behind the songs, releases and artists that make up the wider Sunshine Coast music story.

A tight-knit Sunshine Coast music community

The 2026 awards marked the second year of the SCMAs, following last year’s inaugural event at The Station.

The crowd included artists, managers, venue operators, studio owners, festival workers, sponsors, presenters, media and the local music people who keep showing up whether there is a spotlight on them or not.

Presenters across the night included AYLA, Minnie Marks, Shannon Carroll, Andrea Kirwin, Dan Nebe from Musicare / Project Olympus, Kristie Ellis from QMusic, and other special guests.

Amanda Jackes from Woodford Folk Festival / Woodfordia was also among the broader Queensland industry presence in the room, adding to the sense that the awards are starting to sit inside a wider state music conversation.

Local hosts and live performances

Chris Cobb helped warm up the night of nights, setting the tone early before the awards moved through speeches, live performances and a steady run of winners.

The evening was hosted by SCMIC chair Melissa O’Bryan, who made a pit stop from overseas tour duties with Betty Taylor to help steer the event alongside SCMIC vice chair and ABC Sunshine Coast presenter Sarah Howells, who bedazzled the room in a handmade denim jacket printed with silhouettes of local music stars.

Performers across the night included the Gubbi Gubbi Dance Troupe, Chris Cobb, Cora, The Phosphenes, 8 Ball Aitken and Buttermello.

Buttermello (pictured) closed the night with a beautiful rendition of Coldplay’s “Yellow”, which YELO will (with absolutely no evidence beyond hope and timing) forever assume was for us.