The hosts, nominees and top five for Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year have been announced for the centenary edition of the 2026 APRA Music Awards, to be held on Wednesday, April 29 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
This year’s Song of the Year top five features three previous winners from across the musical spectrum. 2025 winners Amyl and the Sniffers are nominated for the playfully controversial Jerkin’, which is also up for Most Performed Rock Work; multi-award-winner Paul Kelly, with nephew and first-time nominee Dan Kelly, for Rita Wrote A Letter, the long-awaited follow up to How to Make Gravy; and two-time-winner Kevin Parker for Tame Impala’s slacker-rock hit Loser.
Heavy music is again being recognised at this years awards, with the keenly sought after Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Work a feature of the nnight. This years nominess are The Amity Affliction, Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Parkway Drive and Make Them Suffer. HEAVY sent out short Q & A’s to all bands, with todays focus being Thornhill as vocalist Jacob Charlton sends his replies.
Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Work
Title: nerv
Artist: Thornhill
Written by: Jacob Charlton/Benjamin Maida/Ethan McCann/Nicholas Sjogren/Samuel Bassal
Published by: Concord Music Publishing ANZ
HEAVY: You are one of five nominees for the 2026 Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Work APRA Music Award. What does it mean for your band to be nominated?
JACOB: Just really stoked to be on the radar for stuff like this, especially with this roster of bands.
HEAVY: The hard rock/metal category is still relatively new. How important is it to the Australian music industry, and especially bands from these genres to have this recognition?
JACOB: It honestly helps the mainstream acknowledge how strong our heavy scene really is— and cool to have so many peers at the forefront of that.
HEAVY: This year celebrates 100 years of APRA. Where do you see Australian hard rock and heavy metal in 10 years?
JACOB: Maybe at the peak of where it’s going now … .we’re in a prodigious time for a new wave of heavy music to flood through and see an entirely new generation of bands making fresh stuff all around you, I hope it sparks more growth in the genre in those years.
HEAVY: If you had to pick one band nominated other than yourself to win the Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Work Award, who would it be and why?
JACOB: OG everyday, extremely hardworking band with an enormous range of talent/also some of our closest friends!! Their live performance is such a mood, crazy energy paired with such a steeze it doesn’t feel difficult for them at all and we were blessed to see it every night on our world tour together.
HEAVY: Will you have a speech prepared or are you planning to wing it if your name gets called out on the night?
JACOB: Unfortunately we’re not in the country so we’ll just be waiting by the phone.
HEAVY: What’s the rest of 2026 look like for Thornhill?
JACOB: We are touring for 2 months straight across the US & Canada, UK and Europe and then bunkering down to assess this next record. We’re also lucky enough to do a run with Avenged Sevenfold in our own country, a really cool opportunity to get in front of more people in Australia and play some bucket list venues!!
Thnx for having me x
