First and foremost, I am a husband to Amanda and father to Levi and Isla. Amanda and I met in Austin, Texas back in 2013 when I lived there. Amanda hails from Michigan, me from Australia. Our cultures are very different, but we have always had a great bond. Our first child Levi was born in Texas. We moved back to Australia shortly after and had Isla. We made a home on the Gold Coast and love it here!
I began my musical journey through my father Terry, a multi-instrumentalist and professional singer. Growing up there was always music around, either blaring from the family stereo or performed by someone around the house. Towards the end of high school, I began writing my own songs, which in 2004 led me to The Queensland Conservatorium to complete a Bachelor of Popular Music.
I performed as a singer/songwriter for years, I even had the same manager as Amy Shark for short time. I performed all over the east coast of Australia, releasing an independent EP. Things started to feel a little stale after a couple of years so I moved to Melbourne. There I started performing a lot more covers in pubs and eventually weddings, corporate events, and parties. During my time in Melbourne, I also went back to university to study Film and TV. This also led to some great opportunities like hosting Television segments for Gillette! They sent me all over the country for a year.
After witnessing a very tragic accident while on holiday with some friends, where a young man lost his life, I started questioning my purpose and made some drastic life decisions. I created a bucket list, sold everything I owned, and moved to New York. Some highlights of my year there include being an extra on the film The Wolf of Wall Street and running the NYC marathon. I was performing around the city and landed a job performing and booking gigs for a large wedding/event band agency. They put me in charge of setting up a new branch of the company in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Once again I was on a plane by myself on a new adventure! Austin Texas became my home for the next 4 years. This is where my musical and personal life really started to blossom. I played hundreds of gigs, met great people, and got married! I still hold that city and the memories I created there very close to my heart.
On top of performing stacks for private events (sometimes 4 a week), I also started my own original band called First Year on Earth (You can find on Spotify). We recorded an EP and a full-length album, played a bunch in Texas, and did a mini tour of the states. The highlight was receiving 2 invitations to perform at the famed Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. That season of my life was wonderful, but it was coming to an end when my first child came along. Amanda and I decided on a more stable lifestyle. We moved back to Australia, I completed my Masters in Teaching and landed a job at a private school on the Gold Coast. I’m now going into my 5th year of teaching!
I have kept up with performing music. Not so much my own music but tons of events. Until recently I did all my performing through wedding music agencies (like the one I worked for in the US). I learned a lot and played with exceptional musicians, but now I’m cutting out the middleman and doing most of the booking myself.
I’d love to opportunity to chat with you more about how I can bring your event to life :-)
Some additional career highlights:
2009 Awarded Gold Coast Entertainer of the Year.
2010 Performed to 20,000 people as part of the pre-game entertainment at Skilled Stadium Queensland.
2013–2017 Recorded two albums and performed original music all over America. Highlights include two tours of the Mid- West, sold out shows and glowing album reviews.
2016 - Invited to perform to a sold out audience at the famed Bluebird Cafe in Nashville (Famous from the TV show ‘Nashville’) twice.
2010–2023 Performed at hundreds of weddings and private events as lead singer/band leader and master of ceremonies.
