{"id":19812,"date":"2026-07-28T12:06:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T07:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=19812"},"modified":"2026-07-28T12:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T07:06:46","slug":"marlene-cummins-and-saltwater-band-enter-the-nimas-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=19812","title":{"rendered":"Marlene Cummins and Saltwater Band Enter the NIMAs Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/t\/nimas\/\">The National Indigenous Music Awards<\/a> (NIMAs) have named blues musician Marlene Cummins and Elcho Island\u2019s Saltwater Band as the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees, ahead of the ceremony in Darwin next month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-related-artists \/\/ lrv-u-margin-tb-1 lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl-max lrv-u-align-items-center lrv-u-margin-l-00@desktop-xl a-glue@desktop-xl lrv-a-glue--t-0 lrv-a-glue--l-0 u-margin-t-29px@desktop u-margin-t-250@mobile-max u-margin-lr-auto@desktop-xl-max u-max-width-400@desktop-xl-max u-width-100p@mobile-max u-max-width-80@desktop-xl\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-u-color-white a-font-primary-fancy-m lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-text-align-center a-article-related-module-title lrv-u-padding-tb-050\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<div class=\"a-article-related-module-wrap lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl lrv-u-flex-grow-1 u-width-100p\">\n<div class=\"o-card lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl-max u-align-items-center lrv-u-position-relative u-flex-basis-100p lrv-u-padding-b-075\">\n<div class=\"o-card__image-wrap lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column u-width-80 u-width-160@mobile-max lrv-a-glue-parent lrv-u-flex-shrink-0\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-height-100p\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/billboard\/\" class=\"c-lazy-image__link lrv-a-unstyle-link\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-crop-1x1 lrv-u-height-100p\" style=\"\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"\" width=\"\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"o-indicator lrv-a-glue a-glue--b-n050 lrv-a-glue--r-0 a-glue--t-auto a-glue--l-0 lrv-u-margin-lr-auto u-pointer-events-none lrv-u-background-color-brand-primary lrv-u-border-radius-50p u-width-20 u-height-20 a-icon-related-artist lrv-a-icon-after\"><\/p>\n<p>\t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p class=\"c-tagline  a-font-secondary-fancy-xxxs@desktop-xl a-font-secondary-fancy-s@desktop-xl-max lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-color-black u-padding-t-13 lrv-u-padding-b-2 lrv-u-margin-tb-00 lrv-u-text-align-center lrv-u-border-t-1 lrv-u-border-color-black lrv-u-width-100p\">See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tCummins \u2014 a Guguyelandji woman on her father\u2019s side and Woppaburra on her mother\u2019s \u2014 is regarded as one of Australia\u2019s leading Indigenous female blues voices. Born in Cunnamulla, Queensland, she studied saxophone and songwriting at Boston\u2019s Berklee College of Music and has worked across music, broadcasting, activism, dance and acting. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHer career has included award-winning radio work, the documentary <em>Black Panther Woman<\/em>, which chronicled her own history within the Australian Black Panther movement, and the song \u201cKoori Woman,\u201d written as a dedication to Indigenous women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSaltwater Band, from Galiwin\u2019ku on Elcho Island, are recognised for a catalogue that threaded traditional song through reggae and ska-influenced pop, sung mostly in Yol\u014bu languages. The band\u2019s most prominent member was the late Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, already a Hall of Fame inductee \u2014 inducted by fellow founding member Manuel Dhurrkay \u2014 who went on to become the most commercially successful Aboriginal Australian musician in history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBefore co-founding Saltwater Band, Yunupingu played in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/yothu-yindis-mandawuy-yunupingu-dies-at-56-1565597\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1565597\">Yothu Yindi<\/a>, the internationally recognised group behind the landmark 1991 single \u201cTreaty.\u201d His solo debut <em>Gurrumul<\/em> (2008) reached No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and won two ARIA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/t\/awards\/\" id=\"auto-tag_awards\" data-tag=\"awards\">Awards<\/a>, and he sold an estimated half a million records worldwide before his death in 2017 at 46. Saltwater Band earned multiple NIMAs and Deadly Awards across their career, with their album <em>Djarridjarri<\/em> nominated for the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album in 2004.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe 2026 NIMAs take place at Darwin Amphitheater in Garramilla\/Darwin on Saturday, Aug. 8, hosted by Rob Collins and Leila Gurruwiwi. The performance lineup features <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/baker-boy-drifting-clouds-2026-nimas-shortlist-1236291446\/\">Baker Boy<\/a>, Electric Fields, BIG NOTER, Stiff Gins, Bumpy, Casii Williams, South Summit and Zipporah, with more to be announced. The night\u2019s Artist of the Year nominees include 3%, Baker Boy, Birdz and Fred Leone, Bumpy, Jem Cassar-Daley, Miss Kaninna and South Summit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAhead of the ceremony, the Blak Loud Showcase \u2014 presented by Amazon Music Australia and Awesome Blak \u2014 will serve as the unofficial opening night at Darwin\u2019s Bustard Town on Aug. 7, featuring South Summit, Zipporah and Casii Williams. Free RSVPs are available through the NIMA website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) have named blues musician Marlene Cummins and Elcho Island\u2019s Saltwater Band as the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees, ahead of the ceremony in Darwin next month. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Cummins \u2014 a Guguyelandji woman on her father\u2019s side and Woppaburra on her mother\u2019s \u2014 is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Marlene-Cummins-e1785219807846.jpg?w=750","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}