Shane Howard (original) (raw)

Howard is one of Australia's most influential songwriters who combines a deep understanding of poetic and musical folk traditions and captures something essential of the spirit of Australia in words and music. Nevertheless, his songs have a global reach and explore universal themes.
Aziz Choudry, Montreal

This is the official site of Shane Howard, Australian singer/songwriter, musician, artist, producer and author.

Howard has refined his art with fourteen solo albums, three 'Goanna' albums, two books and a stable of great production credits, that have established him as a significant contributor to Australian folklore.

His anthemic song, 'Solid Rock', from the album, Spirit of Place (1982), recorded with his band 'Goanna', was written after a moving experience at an inma at Uluru in 1981. It has since passed into folklore and the Australian psyche. He pushed on, beyond commercial success, tirelessly pursuing an artist’s journey, in order to make sense of the story of a ‘whitefella’ in an Aboriginal country.
His songs have been recorded by numerous artists as diverse as Ireland's Mary Black and Australia's John Farnham and Troy Cassar-Daley. He has spent much of his musical life working with Aboriginal musicians, as well as touring Ireland and forging Irish-Australian connections. Shane has been a producer for the Pigram Brothers, Street Warriors, Mary Black, Archie Roach and the soundtrack for the Jimmy Chi musical, Corrugation Road. In 2000 he was awarded a Fellowship by the Music Fund of the Australia Council in acknowledgement of his contribution to Australian musical life over many years. In 2016 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts as a singer, songwriter and guitarist, to the recording industry, and to Indigenous musicians. In 2023, in the wake of the failure of the national referendum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament , Howard returned his Member of the Order of Australia. In 2018 he was awarded the Australian Americana Honours Award.

Howard released his fourteenth solo album, ‘Dark Matter’ in 2020

In 2022, his legendary band, Goanna, embarked on an extensive national tour, paying homage to their classic Spirit of Place album and reigniting the Goanna spirit that championed Aboriginal rights and environmental justice in the 1980’s.

Howard is a respected senior statesman in Australia who continues to work as a poet, musician, writer, singer, producer and mentor.

He is currently writing his autobiography.