Move. And be moved. Find your flow and go about each day to the rhythm of your own making. That’s the theme for Byron Bay singer, ukulele strummer and drummer Bobby Alu. It’s been a long-time musical mission for the tropical ambassador too.

Amidst smooth harmonies & rhythms inspired by a family lineage of Polynesian performance, Alu’s tunes have a way of sneaking into the subconscious, popping up as a reminder to take it slow, enjoy the ride. It’s the curator of calm’s way – deliver island-time vibes with gentle optimism rather than forceful instruction, and encourage the type of reflection best achieved in a hammock. Though it’s not all palm trees and daydreams – there’s a robust energy in Alu’s mastery of traditional Samoan log drums, and a vitality to his songwriting that nods to world, soul & pop intelligence.

After dedicating his world-class percussion skills to touring internationally with Xavier Rudd for five years, it was time for Alu to chart his own course again in 2018. He played 132 shows across 14 countries, supporting John Butler Trio (EU), Trevor Hall (EU/AU), UB40 (AU) and The Beautiful Girls (EU/AU) along the way. For the Gold Coast raised artist, performing and co-writing a song for the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony was a surreal homecoming. 2019 saw BIGSOUND showcases, a support tour across North America with Xavier and a national run opening for Busby Marou.

Following his Self-titled 2010 debut, the island-time intention of 2013’s Take It Slow, and the cruisy grooves of 2015’s Bay Sessions EP, Alu spent 2019 in the studio completing third album Flow, landing Double J feature album on release week and no.1 AIR 100% Independent Album Charts. ‘Move’, ‘Other Side’ and ‘Finally’ were added to ABC Local Radio and Double J, with ‘Move’ scoring a nomination for Best Blues&Roots song at the QLD Music Awards (2019), alongside ‘Dust’ in 2020. In 2020 Alu spent lockdown reimagining the songs from his debut self-titled album to create a 10-year anniversary reflection – Bobby Alu (2020).

With a reputation as a performer that leaves audiences feeling truly good in the heart, Bobby Alu continues to observe the ebb and flow of life while locking into his tried and always true grooves. There’s a fire that comes from the ability to hold a 20,000 strong festival crowd captive with beats, and when mixed with the love that comes from serenading your nearest and dearest with an instrument handed down from your mother, special moments always emerge.

Indie folk duo Charm of Finches from Melbourne, Australia, make haunted tunes about love, grief and whispering trees. Having grown up together, this sister duo has mastered the art of seamlessly pairing vocal harmonies with their many stringed instruments. Charm of Finches have enchanted many with their impressive musicianship and impeccable song writing, traversing melancholy and wonder in equal measure.

Winners of the Australian Folk Music Awards Best Folk Album (2022) and Music Victoria Best Folk Act (2021), their music has been nominated twice for the prestigious Australian Music Prize.

Their 2019 sophomore album Your Company won the 2020 Independent Music Awards’ Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album – the same award won by Martha Wainwright the previous year.

The sisters, Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes, released their third full length album WONDERFUL OBLIVION in October 2021 through New York-based label AntiFragile Music to critical acclaim. They have since toured the UK and Europe in Spring/Summer 2022 and are set to return in January 2023.

Ernest Aines is an Indie Folk singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. He has recently released the first three singles from his upcoming debut album “Spiral Bound”.
Ernest will showcase in person in February 2023 at the International Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City as an official showcase artist.

In 2022 Ernest and his band played at the huge Port Fairy Folk Festival and Floriade Nightfest in Canberra before appearing solo at The Rockhampton River Festival and the Basin Music Festival (Melbourne) with a few more festivals slated for 2023.

Over the past few years Ernest travelled widely, taking in the music scenes in Vancouver, Berlin and Japan. Last year Ernest was selected by Sounds Australia for the Global Music Match program which connected him most effectively to many other folk singer-songwriters around the world. Following this, he showcased for Sounds Australia as part of the online International Folk Alliance Conference, which yielded connections and interest that he will build upon on his international ventures in the upcoming 18 months.

Ernest’s previous debut EP “Already Found” was released in July 2109 and this contained several award winning songs such as “Rivermouth”, which took out the Apollo Bay Festival Song Award and reached the finals of the International Songwriting Competition. Recently his song “Heartwood” has scooped a few awards including an “Exceptional Merit” in the Australian Songwriters Awards and winning the City of Melbourne Songwriting Award in 2021.

Ernest’s release “Yellowstone” has been added to national broadcaster, ABC radio high rotation and the new Grassroots program highlighting the best new Australia music.

Review snippets:
Sleeping Bag studios, Canada – “the lyrical imagery is as sensational as the way he sings it” (Yellowstone)
Ark of Music – “truly authentic and expressive” (Already Found EP)
Ear to the Ground Blog – “music with soul and depth” (So Far)
Stereo Stickman U.K. – “musically sublime” (Rigged Games)

Ernest aims to play festivals in Canada and the UK following the release of his album in early 2023.

THEY MET. THEY FELL IN LOVE. THEY WROTE SONGS.
THEY FOUGHT. THEY MADE UP. THEY BROKE UP.
THEY WROTE SONGS.

At a time when for most it would be the end of a relationship, for Australian duo Falls it was just the beginning. After having spent every Wednesday night for two years playing at a little hotel in Sydney called the Hollywood, the unsigned duo took a leap of faith and headed to the U.S. for the first time to play SXSW. Just a few months later, songwriters Simon Rudston-Brown and Melinda Kirwin signed a record deal with Verve (UMG), moved to Los Angeles, and released their debut album Omaha.

Falls have spent the time since it’s release traversing the length and breadth of the United States, crossing continents, playing shows, and writing the songs that would become their new album Bodega Rose (due out in 2023).

Recorded with Grammy Award winning producer Joe Chiccarelli at iconic Sunset Sound Recorders in LA, and largely shaped by their love of Americana music, the songs on Bodega Rose elegantly capture both the thrill and the fallout of following through on a dream. Illustrating life on the road and the feeling one gets when you no-longer know where home is anymore.

Onstage, the connection between these two musicians is palpable, with their emotionally fueled live performances drawing rave reviews, the Sydney Morning Herald noting “their voices sit next to each other like they’ve been pouring from the same pot of tea for years”.

They are fast developing an impressive live resume, growing their sizable and loyal fanbase here in the United States and their native country Australia. Their songs have been featured in several national US ad campaigns for national brands and have also received prominent television syncs in the US and Australia.

Featured in Billboard Magazine’s “Tomorrow’s Hits” and recent winners of the International Songwriting Competition in the Americana category, with their intimate yet catchy Indie Folk/Americana and sweet vocal harmonies, Falls are quietly making a name for themselves in 2022.

PREVIOUSLY TOURED WITH:
The Lumineers, Of Monsters and Men, Passenger, Iron & Wine

FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES:
Bonnaroo, Firefly, Austin City Limits, Bumbershoot, Loufest, AmericanaFest, Sundance.

Jamie-Lee Dimes is an artist that transcends beyond the graves of 60s rock n roll.

A singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and artist with a global perspective – one that comes from her spending time living in Australia, New Zealand, New York City, Los Angeles, The California Desert, and Mexico, earning her a coveted slot as an official artist for Folk Alliance 2023, SXSW 2020, Canadian Music Week 2022 and 2021. In November 2021, the singer headlined Australia at the World Expo in November 2021, Expo 2020 Dubai, playing 30 shows in 7 days during Australian music month. Dimes was highly commended at the Queensland Music Awards in March 2022, for best song in Blues and Roots for her Song Sierra. Releasing her debut album ‘Hell and Heaven Come in Threes’ on November 5, 2021, under her own record label 1973 Records, the album, is a collection of hypnotic nostalgia rooted in folk Americana, blues, and roots music. Layered with slide, and lap steel guitars to echo the deep south, and her journeys living between countries and hemispheres, during her Saturn return. The album was considered for best Americana album at the 65th annual grammy awards in October 2022, with features including artist of the week on Triple J, music video of the week by Rolling Stone Australia, Tone Deaf, Industry Observer, American Songwriter, Lady Gunn Magazine, CMT, and Ditty TV. Her creative work was featured in New Zealand Fashion Week and British Vogue in 2021.

Working on new music for 2023, Jamie-Lee has been recording with Rohin Jones (The Middle East) on a song called Hell is Overrated, and some new songs written for an Album called New York, California, that will be released all as singles. In 2016, Dimes released a contrasting EP called Liminality inspired by her year at dance school in New York City, merging classical with melancholy inspired by trailblazing artists Kim Gordon, Cat Power, and Nick Cave. Followed by releasing two singles and touring North America (twice in one year), New Zealand, and Australia in 2019. Her next single is called Pour a Drink For You and will be released ahead of her US tour in February.

Catch Jamie-Lee Dimes as an official artist for Folk Alliance Conference 2023, playing 9:15-9:45 at the Perishing, Kansas City. This will be Jamie-Lee Dimes’ first American showcase since the pandemic hit in March 2020, when her SXSW 2020 official showcase was canceled after traveling to Texas from Australia ahead of the festival to rehearse.

Nigel Wearne is an Australian singer-songwriter, luthier, poet and gleaner. Equipped with personally handcrafted instruments, he melds finger-style guitar, ‘up’-hammer banjo, piano and honest storytelling. Gleaning diverse influence from Tom Waits, Joe Henry and Gillian Welch, he tells stories of forgotten rebels, wandering poets and true tales of Australian history. Nigel has toured Australia, New Zealand and Canada and he’s performed at a long list of music festivals, including the Port Fairy Folk Festival, Adelaide Fringe and Queenscliff Music Festival.

His sophomore album, ‘Black Crow’ garnered wide critical acclaim including a 4-star review in Rolling Stone, a nomination for Best Country Album at the Music Victoria Awards and it debuted at #1 on the AMRAP Charts. A storyteller at heart, Nigel paints lyrical pictures with “the narrative-fuelled prose of Paul Kelly” – Beat Magazine. “One of Australia’s emerging songwriters” – Tone Deaf. “Warmth flecked with grit… beauty awaits” – 4 Stars, Rolling Stone.

Nigel’s upcoming album ‘The Reckoning’ is set for release in early 2023.

AT FOLK ALLIANCE NIGEL IS LOOKING FOR…
Label representation
UK booking agent
Festival bookings for 2023 and 2024

UPCOMING TOURS
2023 – UK – Winter & Spring, CANADA – Winter & Fall, USA – Spring & Fall
2024 – UK – Spring & Fall, CANADA – Summer, USA – Fall

RECENT CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2021 – Folk Unlocked Showcase *Virtual
2020 – Folk Alliance Showcase
2020 – Canadian Tour – Winter
2019 – Folk Music Ontario Showcase
2019 – Canadian Tours – Winter & Fall
2019 – Folk Alliance OFFICIAL Showcase
2017 – Triple j Unearthed Winner – Port Fairy Folk Festival Competition
2017 – New Zealand Tour

With the sentimentality of 70’s inspired harmonies, Australian four piece ‘Epic Folk’ band The Heart Collectors have graced stages around the world, accomplishing three international tours and releasing four studio albums. Picked as one of the ‘Top Bands To See’ at SXSW (The Austin Statesman), this independent group have found creative ways of staying connected throughout the 2020-21 lockdowns and the cancellation of their USA and UK tours.

The Hearts released their latest album Time To Say I Love You (2020) one single a fortnight, featured on Spotify with The Guardians “Australian Music for Isolated Times”. In August 2020, The Hearts were selected to be 1 of 12 Australian artists for the Premier Event Global Music Match – a world wide initiative to connect musicians and industry in the face of COVID-19 restrictions.

Carrying the momentum in 2021, they joined Folk Alliance International (FAI) for ‘Folk Unlocked’ Showcases, ‘ISOL-AID Unlocked’, and were considered as one of “the outstanding groups of the week” by John Platt, founder of New Folk Initiative.

As a part of FAI’s ‘Artists In (Their) Residence’ programme, The Hearts were commissioned to cowrite a song about the effects of COVID-19 with Native American singer/songwriter Charly Lowry, titled ‘Navigating to Hope’. The project’s aim – to raise awareness for the Village Fund charity.

As possibilities opened for touring in Australia again, The Hearts embarked on a Statewide tour of Tasmania in January/February 2021 to sold out audiences. In May, they showcased in Canadian Music Week as Official Artists, picked as one of the Top 10 international acts to see by FEMMUSIC.

With the advent of further lockdowns and restrictions in Australia, The Hearts returned to virtual performances and house concerts in the second half of 2021. Capitalising on new connections from the FAI conference – they performed with NB House Concerts, Arhaven House Concerts (at North West Regional Folk Alliance) and more.

In January 2022 The Heart Collectors showcased for Believe in Music Global Livestream at the NAMM Conference, California. Followed by Official Virtual Showcases at Folk Alliance Conference in May 2021. Out of restrictions, The Heart Collectors returned to live performances mid 2022, with a sold out east coast tour.

The Heart Collectors will be returning to the US in February to officially showcase at FAI’s 2023 conference in Kansas City, followed by a tour of Europe.

Camille Trail is a 24 year old singer, songwriter and cattle farmer from Central Queensland. She’s the only artist that Shane Nicholson has produced who paid for the project by selling a couple of bulls. Her debut album River Of Sins, a sultry melting pot of country, folk, blues and gospel, was released in August 2021 to high critical praise. Andrew McMillen wrote in The Australian that “River of Sins announces the 22-year-old Central Queensland singer-songwriter as one of the nation’s most striking new voices” . Camille received a nomination in the Best New Talent category at the 2022 Golden Guitar Awards and in the Country category at the 2022 Queensland Music Awards.

“River of Sins announces the 22-year-old Central Queensland singer-songwriter as one of the nation’s most striking new voices.”( Andrew McMillen, The Australian)

“It’s pretty obvious that the 22-year-old Trail is something very special. The sonic palate is varied, nuanced and never remotely dull. Then there’s Trail’s voice which is sublime. And of course, at the end of the day it’s all about the songs – and Trail is a perceptive wordsmith.” (Stuart Coupe, Capital News)

2023 Port Fairy Folk Festival artist, Irish singer-songwriter Gallie, was born in Dublin city, Ireland. Picking up the guitar in his early teens, helped him navigate ‘the streets’, something he now reflects on as having provided him with a wealth of material for songs and stories that he continues to draw from. Music critics have compared him to the best—Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison and Wilco—but for Gallie he has his own singular style, both in song writing and the rhythmic sense of his songwriting craft. His friends call it the “Gallie groove”.

His debut album “The Occoquan River” received wide praise in Australia, Ireland and the USA.

ABC’s Radio National’s Inside Sleeve broadcaster, Paul Gough said “One of the outstanding releases this year….’The Occoquan River’ is brilliant.”

“Sublime lyrics, tremendous melodies, sung by a singer with a voice that is both soulful and incredibly expressive…..One of my favourite records of 2015 by an artist from any country” – Micheal Park, The International Americana Show, Fm Radio, New York City

Gallie’s music is captivating from the get-go; his performance can move from a lonesome whistling entrance sounding like a miner in the Klondike, through to a wild folk guitar crescendo, and gorgeous baritone voice giving the grittiest performance of his life. A natural storyteller, and gifted songwriter, every performance is different, sprinkled between the songs are stories about growing up in Dublin, his travels on the road, the people he has met, the loves lost and found. The stories are sometimes comical, sometimes tragic but always heartfelt. It’s this passion that Gallie brings to his performances and songwriting that will continue to bring him to an international stage, alluring listeners of all creeds to sit up and take notice.

His musical career has seen him support an impressive line-up of international acts— Glen Hansard and The Frames, Damien Rice, Lisa Hannigan, KT Tunstall, Glen Tilbrook, Squeeze, Newton Faulkner, & he has shared the stage with eminent acts such as Santana, Chris Isaak and Jimmy Cliff. Such is the strength of Gallie’s song writing, Tom Waits nominated him as a finalist in the “International Song Contest”. Australian stalwart singer-songwriter, Steve Pigram, recorded one of Gallie’s songs which he titled “Walking Blues”, it is titled “Look Away” on Gallie’s Occoquan River Album.

There’s a buzz about Great Aunt – theirs is a joyous and eclectic approach to making music.

Together, songwriter/instrumentalists Megan Bird and Chelsea Allen draw inspiration from the traditions of old-time, bluegrass and gospel music, and their diverse backgrounds in punk and jazz, to craft modern musical stories. The instrumentation and arrangements are bare and bold: using only various combinations of mandolin, guitar, or resonator with double bass and percussion, and the elegant voices of Bird and Allen in harmony.

The duo has delighted audiences at some of Australia’s finest music and arts festivals, including Woodford Folk Festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Deni Ute Muster, Yackandandah Folk Festival, Healesville Music Festival amongst others.

Listen, and you’ll hear tales of joy and grief, whiskey and wine, gratitude and purpose-seeking.

Jhana is that rare combination of a musician who has a deep understanding of roots music and yet brings an entirely original perspective with her songwriting, mandolin playing, and fearless arrangement ideas. While her album Darkest Night shows her ability to live comfortably in the neo-traditional bluegrass world, her new EP Passing Shadow pushes those elements even further towards her own, completely compelling sound; rooted in her own experience, and reflective of the contemporary folk, rock sounds of Australia.

With a voice described as both ferocious and sweet, and a percussive guitar style, Lisa Richards writes songs of longing, loss, love and hope. Songs steeped in musical expressiveness and lyrical succinctness, borrowing from the traditions of folk, blues and jazz with her feet firmly planted in her own musical corner of the world. Driven by a desire to be seen, to understand the world and the human condition and to share what she sees with others.

Lisa says, “The world is a cornucopia of stories, all waiting to be told. The personal, the universal, the visible and the invisible. That’s what humans have always done, collected and told stories”.

As the 8th child of a concert pianist and a psychiatrist, Lisa has a life story that could grace the silver screen. Her childhood in Townsville was “wild and unsupervised” with sexual abuse and drug use laying the foundation for a tumultuous early life. As soon as she could, Lisa got in her car and left her hometown. She has busked acapella in Kings Cross, Sydney, hung out with Debbie Harry at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and played CBGB’s in NYC. She continued to move further and further afield, living in The USA for 22 years, before returning home to Australia many years later.

Her songs have appeared on compilations, sharing the track list with heavyweights including Adele, Nina Simone and Corinne Bailey Rae. She’s performed at The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, Merlefest, SXSW and CMJ.

Her 4th album, “Mad Mad Love,” was produced and co-written with Tim Bright (who co-wrote the Scrubs TV theme song) and downloaded over 80,000 times.

Her release, “A Light from the Other Side,” saw the song “Water” added to National rotation on ABC Radio in Australia.

The 7th album “I got a Story”, was recorded in Woodstock NY and Brooklyn NY with producer, multi-instrumentalist composer Tim Bright with support from ArtsACT.

Album number 8, “Waiting to Fly”, was recorded at home with global musical support and ArtsACT funding support during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 released November 4, 2022

Minor Gold are the new Australian based, Americana duo featuring highly acclaimed, ARIA nominated artists Tracy McNeil & Dan Parsons. Minor Gold is the first official official glimpse of this new bonafide songwriting team.

Showcasing a stunning vocal blend, deft guitar playing and classic songcraft, audiences are transported down the hedonistic highway atop early 70’s grooves, the daydream haze of 60’s folk, and the power and romance of 80’s pop – Music for all time.

Living in a van whilst touring the country in early 2020, Parsons and McNeil hightailed it out of Victoria and up to Queensland in two days, just in time to avoid being trapped for the Winter as the first lockdown occurred. Subsequently, the duo wrote their forthcoming debut album whilst holed up in the land of palm trees and perfect weather.

Recorded in Brisbane, with engineer/producer Hugh Middleton the track was captured live, with Parsons laying down percussion and bass to delve further into 70’s cosmic Americana territory.

If their debut single Mona Lisa, released in October 2022, is anything to go by, the pair are cruising towards exciting things ahead. The track garnered wide critical praise and was added to National High Rotation on Double J and ABC Country in Australia.

MINOR GOLD will lead the troubadour, van-life once again, hitting the open road in Australia and beyond in 2023. In February the pair head to Kansas City to showcase at Folk Alliance International before returning to Australia to make their debut, live Australian performance at Port Fairy Folk Festival in March, followed by a National Australian Tour.

“The strength of the songwriting, the performances, and the indeterminate perfection of how these two artists’ voices lock in together through the entire song are enough to hit right where the emotions live inside us.”

Nick Vulture’s music is raw and full of grit and emotion. His songs are deeply personal and they tell a truth that is universal. Nick will take you on a journey from start to finish. He is influenced by artists such as John Prine, Conor Oberst, Phoebe Bridgers, Frightened Rabbit and Justin Townes Earle. Nick’s 2022 album Dust Off The Trails charted nationally (AMRAP) for 5 weeks and locally in Adelaide for 6 weeks. He has been nominated for national and state awards in 2022 and is also planning a tour of Europe in 2023. Nick is also an ambassador for Tasman Guitars, runs a boutique record label (Wait & See Records) and curates local original music events for the Port Noarlunga Arts Centre.