A huge congratulations to Joan & The Giants, Siobhan Cotchin, and South Summit, and to all the talented finalists who brought their A-game to the comp
Before we celebrate the amazing Needle In the Hay (NITH) finalists and winners at The Lady Hampshire in Sydney on July 12th, let’s take a peek at the awesome prize haul they’re taking home!
A giant shoutout to Zenith, Neumann, and Fender and to all our incredible prize partners for making this all possible. Get ready for some serious gear envy as we reveal the gear awarded to the top three NITH winners and finalists for 2024.
First Prize – Joan & The Giants
Joan & the Giants, an alternative pop band formed in Perth, WA in 2019, comprises vocalist Grace Newton-Wordsworth, Nyul Nyul guitarist Aaron Birch, drummer Riley Sutton, and bassist Liam Olsen. Their recent successes includes winning multiple WA Music Awards in 2023 and performing at prestigious events like BIGSOUND and supporting acts like P!NK and Tones & I at Optus Stadium.
Their single, ‘Born in the Wrong Time,’ resonated deeply with our judges, earning them a decisive first place finish in the 2024 NITH competition.
“We are so overjoyed to win Needle in the Hay this year. With all the applicants and so many talented bands around Australia, this news truly came as a shock to us and we’re just so grateful to the judges and everyone involved. Also just want to mention how proud we are of WA music, as the top 3 songs were all Western Australian artists and that’s pretty amazing. We’re feeling very proud of our little song at the moment and also want to shout out our friend and producer Dylan Ollivierre who helped co-write and bring this song to life. Thank you very much Needle in the Hay!” Joan & The Giants
Joan & The Giants are taking home:
- 250 copies of your winning song immortalized on 7″ vinyl thanks to Zenith Records
- Neumann Special Anniversary Edition TLM 103 Microphone
- A Fender Player Stratocaster
- AIAIAI speakers and case
- AKAI MPC One+
- Colortone Pedal lo fi
- $1000 Brixton voucher
- DrAlienSmith Capsule8 mic.
- Mojave MA-50BLK microphone
- Rhodes V8 and V Virtual Instrument
- GForce — eleven plugins and five packs
- IK Multimedia – Total Studio 4 MAX plus Pianoverse
- Expressive E – Osmose
- Soundtoys 5 Bundle
- Inter-Harmonics | Geophon Kit
- Baby Audio plugins pack
- Grover Allman‘s customized picks
- A limited edition bottle of the original Kraken Rum, plus a case of each Kraken Caribbean Punch, Kraken & Dry, and the Kraken Black Mojito.
- Two cases of Heaps Normal beer and some killer merch!
Second Prize – Siobhan Cotchin
- $200 Brixton voucher
- Neumann NDH30 studio reference headphones
- Dr Alien Smith‘s Dirt Box
- Colortone Pedal Spring
- Teenage Engineering K.O. II
- Inter-Harmonics| Geophon Kits
- Rhodes V8 and V Virtual Instrument
- Baby Audio plugins pack
- 2 cases each of Kraken and Cola, plus the new Kraken Caribbean Punch
- A case of Heaps Normal‘s renowned beer
- Sony XG500 X-Series Portable Wireless Speaker
Third prize – South Summit
- $200 Brixton voucher
- IK Multimedia | Total Studio 4 MAX + Pianoverse downloads + 1 pair of iLoud Micro Monitors
- Inter-Harmonics| Geophon Kits
- Colortone Pedal Roundhouse
- Rhodes V8 and V Virtual Instrument
- Baby Audio plugins pack
- 2 cases each of Kraken and Cola, plus the new Kraken Caribbean Punch
- A case of Heaps Normal’s delicious beer
A huge round of applause for the remaining NITH finalists! Chela, Radio Free Alice, Agum, Juice Webster, Yung Milla, Jarabi Band, and Lottie McLeod – each of you scores a well-deserved $200 Brixton voucher, a Baby Audio plugins pack and a couple of sweet Dendy vouchers.
