Marlene Cummins and the Saltwater Band

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains names and photos of those who have died.

National Indigenous Music Awards – NIMA Hall of Fame 2026

The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) are recognised as one of Australia’s most prominent music awards. Established in 2004, they have been celebrating Indigenous music for over two decades.

The NIMAs showcase the rich musical landscape of Australia and highlight First Nations music coming from all corners of the country. The awards bring together emerging acts who are yet to make their mark on the world alongside those who have achieved international acclaim, such as Gurrumul & Jessica Mauboy.

Held annually under the stars at Darwin’s historic Amphitheatre, the NIMAs bring audiences together from all over Australia to applaud the winners, enjoy the performances and soak up the ambiance of a night for music lovers of all ages and cultures. Musicians such as Yothu Yindi, Gurrumul, The Tableland Drifters, Warren H. Williams and Sammy Butcher have performed and won awards in past years.

The National Indigenous Music Awards Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of artists including Kutcha Edwards, Vic Simms, Archie Roach, Jimmy Little and Roger Knox. The Australian Music Vault is proud to honour the 2026 inductees, Marlene Cummins and the Saltwater Band.

Marlene Cummins

Marlene Cummins is a renowned singer, saxophonist, songwriter and activist and is considered Australia's foremost Indigenous blues performer. A proud Guguyelandji and Woppaburra woman, she weaves her own story of resilience through her distinctive blues music and has performed for over 40 years at festivals, events, and clubs across Australia.

Born in the southwest Queensland town of Cunnamulla, Cummins moved to Winton where she spent most of her childhood, growing up surrounded by music and the influence of her talented multi-instrumentalist father, Darcy Cummins. She took up the saxophone at an early age, moving to Adelaide to study at the Centre of Aboriginal Studies in Music in 1981. In the mid 1990s she attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston where she refined her skills as a blues saxophonist and songwriter.

Cummins grew up under the cloud of the Aboriginal Protection Act of the 1950s and 60s and was raised in a politically aware family. At the centre of the Aboriginal rights movement in the 1970s she became the first recruit of the Australian Black Panther Party in 1971. Her time as a Panther and her career as a musician was later captured in Rachel Perkin’s documentary, Black Panther Woman. The film’s premier coincided with the release of her first full length album Koori Woman Blues in 2014.

A regular broadcaster on Koori Radio with her renowned blues show, ‘Marloo’s Blues’, Cummins won Broadcaster of the Year at the 2009 Deadly Awards. Performing for over two decades, Marlene continues to present a biographical journey through her music, drawing on political, social and personal stories from her own life. At the heart of this body of work sits the stirring blues anthem, ‘Koori Woman’ which she dedicates to Aboriginal women everywhere.

Saltwater Band

The Saltwater Band are widely celebrated as one of the Northern Territory’s most iconic and loved musical acts. Hailing from Galiwin’ku on remote Elcho Island, off the coast of north-east Arnhem Land, they pioneered a vibrant blend of reggae, ska and traditional Yolngu music. Led by charismatic frontman Manuel Dhurrkay and famously featuring the late Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, the band’s original lineup also included Joshua Dhurrkay, Andrew Yunupingu, Barra’kuwuy Yunupingu, Jonathon Yunupingu, Adrian Garrawitja and Lloyd Garrawitja.

The band’s debut album, Gapu Damurrun, was recorded as part of a mobile recording project at Mt Bundy Station near Adelaide River and released in 1999. It went on to sell 10,000 copies, setting a major record for an independent Northern Territory act, on the way to career sales exceeding 30,000 copies across their catalogue. Their second album, Djarridjarri, followed in 2004 and received a Deadly Award for Album Release of the Year along with an ARIA Award nomination for Best World Music Album. A third album, Malk, was recorded in 2009 before members went their separate ways, allowing Gurrumul to focus on his solo career.

Over the years, the band toured extensively, performing at major events including the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and, alongside Gurrumul, for HRH Queen Elizabeth II in Sydney. They also rewrote their song ‘Arafura Sea’ as the ‘Arafura Anthem’ for the opening ceremony of the Arafura Games, performed with Jessica Mauboy. Saltwater has played main stages at major festivals including WOMADelaide, Darwin Festival, Cairns Festival and Byron Bay Blues Festival, and headlined the Sandtracks Tour in both 2010 and 2017. They performed at Overture to Peace in 2019, an ANZAC gala alongside Human Nature and Marina Prior at TIO Stadium, and toured internationally through Makassar, Indonesia, and New Caledonia.

Saltwater Band’s unmistakable sound endures for a new generation as Future Saltwater, merging original members with their children and performing regularly at festivals around the country.