Portsmouth Music Awards shine light on “heart and soul of the city” with glorious ceremony

The Portsmouth Music Awards at the Guildhall last night was the first-of-its-kind and aimed to showcase musicians across a variety of genres. Over 60 nominees under 16 categories all gathered together under one roof.

Event creator and organiser Matt Stevens, known under his rap name Blessed, told The News: “Portsmouth has so much creativity and talent within it, it needs to have a light shone on it. Local music to me is the heart and the soul of the city.”

Categories covered a diverse range of genres from country to hip hop. Prominent music venues in the city were also honoured. Mr Stevens said the support for the event was monumental.

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He said: “The Portsmouth mentality is everyone knows each other, everyone looks out for each other and we all prop each other up. Everyone comes together and celebrates one another’s successes. More power to everyone from Portsmouth becoming successful because if one of us eats everyone eats.”

Mr Stevens, alongside his team at Word of Mouth, collaborated with local sponsors such as music charity Music Fusion, the Hive and The Guildhall Trust to make the night happen. The night was about celebrating grassroots music, something Mr Stevens thinks the government should support more.

He added: “it’s tough out there, especially for venues. They’re the unsung heroes of the music industry. I’d like to see more people going out to gigs and backing independent artists, see more Portsmouth-based artists topping the charts.”

The organiser hopes to learn from the black-tie ceremony and make it bigger and better in the future by drumming up more sponsors. The team received over 1,000 nominations and more than 3,000 public votes, with judges deciding the winners. Artists such as Crystal Tides, Baby Said and Amba Tremain were nominated, alongside venues including The Wedgewood Rooms and The Loft in Albert Road.

Ms Tremain, who rose to fame after a glorious performance on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent – where she got four yesses – won the Portsmouth Voice award. Speaking before the event, she said: “It was a massive thing to be nominated. I was honoured because I have got such a great connection with so many musicians, venues and artists in Portsmouth. I have had so much love and support from people. My biggest achievement is being recognised by the community.”

The show was opened by the band Do You Get It, with a composition of Persian melodies and Latin percussions. Ms Tremain brought the house down by singing A Little Help From My Friends by The Beatles.

The up-and-coming Jack Child also ripped up the stage with his electric guitar and original music. Several emotional speeches were given on stage from award winners and dignitaries, with council leader Steve Pitt being moved to tears while handing out the Legacy Award to Geoffrey Priestley, manager of The Wedgewood Rooms.

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Singer Tash Hills was shocked to win the People’s Choice award and gave tributes to her fellow nominees. She said: “I feel amazing, over the moon genuinely. I didn’t think I would get it. It feels incredible that people voted. I think the event is brilliant and I hope more people invest in it, we are really lucky in Portsmouth.”

Indie rock band Crystal Tides, who were the most nominated act, won Album of the Year accolade. Bass guitar player George Regan said: “A night like this makes you feel recognised. We have worked really hard for a long time and no one cared and now it feels like people care.”

S O Simple, who won the RnB/Dancehall/Afrobeat/Reggae award, said: “It feels great to win from your town that you represent, everyone needs something like this in their town.”

Rock band Baby Said, consisting of sisters Veronica and Jess Pal, won the Song of the Year accolade for Mouth Shut. They have previously performed on American TV channel Fox 7 and various BBC shows. Veronica said: “We have never been nominated for anything ever but it was so cool we won.”

Portsmouth Music Award winners

Album of the Year

Crystal Tides - The Middle

Acoustic/Country/Folk

Megan Linford

Pop

Guilt Trippin’

Producer

Tim Greaves

Recording Studio

Casemates Recording Studio, Hilsea

Indie/Rock/Alt/Metal

Harvey J Dodgson

Dance/Electronic / DnB

Kyro

Song of the year

Baby Said – Mouth Shut

Local Music Venue

The Wedgewood Rooms, Albert Road, Southsea

People's Choice

Tash Hills

Hip-Hop/Rap/Drill/Grime

Sam O'D

Live Event/Initiative

Open Ya Mouth

Young (Under 18)

Coast

RnB/Dancehall/Afrobeat/Reggae

S O Simple

Portsmouth Voice

Amba Tremain

Legacy Award

Geoff Priestley