Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd is a socially-progressive folk singer, activist, and multi-instrumentalist from southeastern Australia. Born in Torquay, Victoria, on May 29, 1978, he grew up playing multiple instruments and even turned his mother's vacuum cleaner into a makeshift didgeridoo as a child. After performing in the short-lived band Xavier and the Hum, he launched a solo career and released his independent debut, To Let, in 2002. After singing with Universal Music Australia, he made his major-label debut with 2004's Solace — a platinum-selling, ARIA-nominated album whose songs were entirely written, performed, and produced by Xavier Rudd — and earned a reputation as a genre-bending musician whose work combined contemporary and aboriginal influences into a uniquely global sound. 2005's Food in the Belly and 2007's White Moth both earned gold certifications in Australia, with White Moth also peaking at Number 6 on the ARIA charts. Xavier Rudd remained a Top 10 hitmaker for more than a dozen years in his home country, where 2008's Dark Shades of Blue climbed to Number 5, 2010's Koonyum Sun peaked at Number 6, and 2012's Spirit Bird charted at a career-high Number 2. Continuing to evolve his eclectic style, he collaborated with a 10-piece band of world musicians on the reggae-influenced Nanna, which was released in 2015, then returned to his "one-man band" sound with 2018's Storm Boy.