The first time Grace heard Hugh sing, he was standing on a table in a packed bush community hall, his boots between half-drunk bottles, bringing the crowd to their feet with songs he had penned with members of Fleetwood Mac, Midnight Oil, INXS, The Angels… Artists Keith Urban, Lou Rawls, and many others. Since Hugh’s return from Nashville, 10,000 people of all ages have bought tickets to Hugh’s iconic Seelands Hall Live Show, and since he encountered Grace (and her exceptional voice), the songwriting pair have racked up thousands of k’s on Australia’s highways and backroads. Rounding out the trio, Hugh’s childhood piano- rescued from retirement in a suburban living room back in 2014.
Grace and Hugh aim to shine a spotlight on the rich vein of musical culture and storytelling that runs deep through our communities. The pair write songs capturing the true Australian stories they encounter in their travels, bringing them to life in performance with local, often unheralded musicians.
The success of their international award-winning music documentary ‘Up Armidale Road’, and subsequent 75 date tour across Australia has proven their knack for connecting not just musicians but whole communities in these volatile times of fire, flood and pandemic. The ‘Up Armidale Road’ Project has been recognised by international academic and government bodies alike for its contribution to building social capital and resilience in rural and regional Australia. The pair have worked closely with philanthropic and NFP organisations such as the FRRR, Yulgilbar Foundation (The Myer Family), Red Cross Australia, Rural Adversity Mental Health Program, St Vincent de Paul Society, Farmgate and countless local government organisations in order to connect people via music and storytelling. On top of a 50 date tour with the FRRR, in partnership with the Rural Fire Service Association, Grace and Hugh toured to 22 flood and fire affected communities in 2023, celebrating the volunteers working to keep rural communities safe.
Songwriter, performer, storyteller and filmmaker Hugh Scott Murray has played thousands of shows across Australia, the United States and Europe, racking up a haul of international songwriting credits, and scoring a number of documentaries for ABC and BBC World. He is the founder and leader of ‘The Big Ol’ Bus Band’ which tours with up to fifteen musicians and dancers at any one time. Check out Grace and Hugh with ‘The Big Ol Bus Band’ in their headline spot at the Manly Jazz Festival 2023.
Grace grew up in a small town in Northern Rivers, taking up violin at the age of 5 as a form of physical therapy for her cerebral palsy. At the age of 6 she dramatically informed her music teacher that the violin was not for her… putting it down for good (and for the good of everyone's ears). Her savvy teacher suggested she try singing instead, and Grace has since forged a career -and a way of life- out of performing and penning world class songs. Off the back of their music documentary ‘Up Armidale Road’, alongside Hugh, Grace co-produced, promoted, performed and sourced funding for their recent 60 date screening and live music tour to disaster-affected communities throughout Australia. During the film’s production she also added the titles of filmmaker, screen composer, cinematographer, producer and presenter to her resume.
In recognition of Up Armidale Road’s success, in 2023 Grace was invited to Canberra, to share Grace and Hugh’s experiences making the film and tour with policy-makers, for Regional Arts Australia’s 80 Year Anniversary Artlands Symposium.
Grace and Hugh share an interest in how Australia hears itself… and how the world hears Australia. In their travels they’ve encountered a rich musical culture, untapped and largely unaccounted for in the charts. Hugh’s format has allowed the pair to get in amongst it, with ever-surprising results.
