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 weekend australian
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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 latest offering The Reckoning received back-to-back nominations for Best Blues Work at the 2023 & 2024 Music Victoria Awards, a 4-STAR review in The Weekend 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. An enlivening experience that inhabits the after-dark realms of blues, jazz and rock 'n roll; this is Americana-noir.
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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 – National Celtic Folk Festival
2025 – Blissfest (USA)
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RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
2025 – 30A Songwriters Festival (USA), Whare Flat Folk Festival (NZ), Cygnet Folk Festival, Cobargo Folk Festival
2024 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (USA), Philadelphia Folk Festival (USA), Blissfest (USA), Master Musicians Festival (USA), Mile of Music (USA)
2024 – USA Summer & Fall Tours (x2)
2024 – UK Winter Tour
2024 – UK Americana Music Week OFFICIAL Showcase
2024 – Your Roots Are Showing OFFICIAL Showcase (Ireland)
​2023 – International Songwriting Competition Finalist (Top #10) – Best Video 'To The Edge'​
2023 – AmericanaFest OFFICIAL Showcase (USA)
2023 – UK Americana Music Week OFFICIAL Showcase
2023 – Folk Alliance International OFFICIAL Showcase (USA)
2023 – Music Victoria Awards Nominee – Best Blues Work
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)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
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'
2022 – Folk Alliance International OFFICIAL Showcase*Virtual
2021 – Folk Unlocked Showcase*Virtual
2020 – Folk Alliance International Showcase, New Orleans USA
2020 – Canadian Winter Tour
2019 – Folk Music Ontario Showcase, Toronto CANADA
2019 – Canadian Fall Tour
2019 – Folk Alliance International OFFICIAL Showcase, Montreal CANADA
2019 – Canadian Winter Tour
2017 – Triple j Unearthed Winner – Port Fairy Folk Festival Competition
2017 – New Zealand Tour
2016 – 'Drawing Circles' Double Album Release
2013 – Music Victoria Awards Nominee – Best Country Album for 'Black Crow'
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FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
2025 – 30A Songwriters Festival (USA), Whare Flat Folk Festival (NZ), Cygnet Folk Festival, Cobargo Folk Festival
2024 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (USA), Philadelphia Folk Festival (USA), Blissfest (USA), Master Musicians Festival (USA), Mile of Music (USA), Port Fairy Folk Festival, Matsumura Blues Festival, Folk Rhythm & Life
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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