BIO
AUSTRALIAN SINGER-SONGWRITER
LUTHIER & TRUTH SEEKER
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"warmth flecked with grit...beauty awaits"
rolling stone
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"the arranging chutzpuh of Ennio Morricone, vocal swagger of Van Morrison and dark spirituality and intelligence of Nick Cave"​​ the australian
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<<< 2025 TELLURIDE BLUES CHALLENGE WINNER >>>​
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Nigel Wearne saunters after dark in the music of the night, blending blues, jazz and Americana-noir. Hailing from Gunditjmara country in the deep south of Australia, he's a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist with diverse influences such as Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones. A deep thinker and truth seeker with a penchant for all things peculiar, he sings of human frailty, grace and the cosmos; songwriting that cuts to the bone.
Nigel has toured Australia, New Zealand, the US, UK and Canada and he's performed at a long list of festivals including Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (USA), MerleFest (USA), 30A Songwriters Festival (USA), Philadelphia Folk Festival (USA), Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion (USA), Cambridge Folk Festival (UK) and the Adelaide Guitar Festival (Australia).
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 Australia's AMRAP Charts. His 2023 album The Reckoning received back-to-back nominations for Best Blues Work at the 2023 & 2024 Music Victoria Awards and a 4-STAR review in The Australian and had two songs selected as finalists (top #10) in the International Songwriting Competition.
Rollicking, rumbling, sneering and reflective, The Reckoning is a full band explosion of songs, stories and musical mayhem; Gretsch electric guitar, horns, reeds, Hammond organ, drums and bass. All the while, Wearne's crooning, cutting, monolithic vocal keeps lyricism and poetry at the forefront. Think after dark jazz club meets Ennio Morricone with a dose of soul and rock 'n roll.
2025 marks a return to his roots as a folk songwriter with his latest album The Lone Reckoning, released October 17. A raw, emotive, stripped back rendition of his 2023 award-nominated album The Reckoning. ​
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"intoxicating New Orleans-tinged Americana... a bit of Waits, some Early James and C.W. Stoneking" POST TO WIRE
"tailor made for fans of Tom Waits... with fire and brimstone lyrics that recall Nick Cave" RHYTHMS MAGAZINE
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Check out Nigel's luthier work HERE.
UPCOMING ACTIVITY
2025 – SoundTracks Festival
2025 – Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival
2026 – Telluride Blues & Brews Festival (USA)
2025/26 – More festivals to be announced, stay tuned!
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RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
2025 – Telluride Blues Challenge Winner (USA)
2025 – USA Winter & Summer (incl. Canada) Tours (x2)
2025 – Clonakilty Intl. Guitar Festival (Ireland), 30A Songwriters Festival (USA), Blissfest (USA), Whare Flat Folk Festival (NZ), Cygnet Folk Festival
2024 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (USA), Philadelphia Folk Festival (USA), Blissfest (USA), Master Musicians Festival (USA), Port Fairy Folk Festival
2024 – USA Summer & Fall Tours (x2)
2024 – UK Winter Tour (x1)
2024 – UK Americana Music Week OFFICIAL Showcase
2024 – Your Roots Are Showing OFFICIAL Showcase (Ireland)​
2023 – Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion (USA), MerleFest (USA), Old Settlers Music Festival (USA), Mile of Music (USA), Cambridge Folk Festival (UK)
2023 – USA Spring, Summer & Fall Tours (x3)
2023 – UK Winter & Summer Tours (x2)
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AWARDS
2025 – Telluride Blues Challenge Winner (USA)
2024 – Music Victoria Awards Nominee – Best Blues Work for 'The Reckoning'
2023 – International Songwriting Competition Finalist (Top #10) – Best Video 'To The Edge'​
2023 – Music Victoria Awards Nominee – Best Blues Work for 'The Reckoning'
2022 – International Songwriting Competition Finalist (Top #10) – Best Video 'Black Behind The Blue'
2022 – Music Victoria Awards Nominee – Best Folk Work for 'Above The Bit'
2022 – Australian Folk Music Awards Finalist – Contemporary Album of The Year for 'Above The Bit'
2017 – Triple j Unearthed Winner – Port Fairy Folk Festival Competition
2013 – Music Victoria Awards Nominee – Best Country Album for 'Black Crow'
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OFFICIAL SHOWCASES
2024 – UK Americana Music Week OFFICIAL Showcase
2024 – Your Roots Are Showing OFFICIAL Showcase (Ireland)​
2023 – AmericanaFest OFFICIAL Showcase (USA)
2023 – UK Americana Music Week OFFICIAL Showcase
2023 – Folk Alliance International OFFICIAL Showcase (USA)
2022 – Folk Alliance International OFFICIAL Showcase*Virtual
2019 – Folk Alliance International OFFICIAL Showcase, Montreal CANADA
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FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
2025 – Clonakilty Intl. Guitar Festival (Ireland), 30A Songwriters Festival (USA), Blissfest (USA), Whare Flat Folk Festival (NZ), Cygnet Folk Festival
2024 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (USA), Philadelphia Folk Festival (USA), Master Musicians Festival (USA), Mile of Music (USA), Port Fairy Folk Festival
2023 – Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion (USA), Cambridge Folk Festival (UK), MerleFest (USA), Mile of Music (USA), Old Settlers Music Festival (USA)
2022 – Adelaide Guitar Festival, Cobargo Folk Festival, The River Folk Festival, Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival
2021 – Port Fairy Folk Festival March Concert Series
2020 – Cygnet Folk Festival, Blue Skies Music Festival (CANADA)*Virtual
2019 – Troubadour Festival (CANADA), Maldon Folk Festival, Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival
2018 – Port Fairy Folk Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Wintermoon Festival, The River Folk Festival, Bendigo Blues & Roots Festival, 2 Worlds
2017 – Illawarra Folk Festival, Birregurra Festival, Blackwood Festival, Surrey Hills Music Festival
2016 – Adelaide Fringe Festival, Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival, Nightjar Festival, Wallaby Creek Festival, Tablelands Folk Festival
2015 – Blackwood Festival, Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival, Happy Wanderer Festival, Mount Beauty Music Festival, Yackandandah Folk Festival
2014 – Cygnet Folk Festival, Majors Creek Festival, Fleurieu Folk Festival, Newstead Live! Music Festival, Boolarra Folk Festival, Blackwood Festival
2013 – Wallaby Creek Festival, Wirrina Bluegrass Festival, Kingston Harvest Festival, Kyneton Music Festival, Avoca Music Festival, Fiddlehead Festival
2012 – Port Fairy Folk Festival, Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival, Black Mountain Unplugged, JamGrass Music Festival, Folk, Rhythm & Life
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