Glenn Skuthorpe
With six highly-regarded albums and music featured in movies and documentaries such as The Emu Runner and John Pilger’s Utopia, Nhunggabarra, Kooma man and international touring singer-songwriter Glenn Skuthorpe is a powerful lyricist and composer who gives voice to those whose stories must be heard. A compelling performer whose playing style is captivating, engaging audiences in the stories behind his journeys. Glenn has performed on stages big and small with some living legends in his long career including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Steve Earle, Tex Perkins, Kev Carmody, Archie Roach, Rory McLeod, Michelle Shocked, Buddy Miller and Mary Gauthier. With his seventh album on the way and a string of highly successful tours (Port Fairy Folk Fest, Adelaide Fringe, Byron Bay Blues Fest, Woodford, Broome Saltwater Festival, Cygnet, Calgary and Edmonton Folk Festivals) prepare for an infusion of genres with vibes of urban street blues to open plains and wide open skies.
Testimonials
‘Glenn Skuthorpe’s music sings this country. When I hear his words and hear what he has to say, it’s this country singing back to us. I’ve never heard anyone articulate our struggle and our stories better than this man. it’s not just the man there, it’s the spirits that come out of this country, it’s the essence of what we are and it’s the essence of what it is to be an Australian person, if you want to be a real Australian come and stain yourself with the blood of us and our people, because this man, he sings it - his songs mean something.’
‘Skuthorpe is a songwriter who allows his songs to suggest their musical context… he presents an almost Van Morrison rocker in ‘See My World’, a swaggering folk-rock ‘Nothing To Give’; the Cajun, accordion-driven Mellancampesque ‘Small Change’; a dash of country waltz in ‘Frozen River’ and some driving shuffle meets TexMex in ‘Boat On The Wild Ocean’… delivered with understated, sometimes foreboding passion…and some great, unshakeable melodies.’
'Skuthorpe has no interest in “new country” or “country pop”. He has his own sound, his own style and he is more than happy to exploit what he does well. He writes strong, emotional, story telling lyrics and backs them up with a tight band and tight guitar sound. This album should be on turntables the world over. Blues, Cajun, Rock, Roots music all combined by one incredibly talented and extremely hardworking musician.
‘See My World a fittingly accomplished, fourteen-track-long distillation of Skuthorpe's considerable talents and innate connection to the sounds and expanses of this broad, burnt land. As a Nhunggabarra, Kooma, Muruwari man, Skuthorpe's ties to Australia and Australiana run deeper than most, and his evocative compositions come polished off with a sincere reverence for the styles of the '60s and '70s that lends his work a broader timelessness and accessibility that is extraordinarily difficult to deny.’
‘Glenn Skuthorpe’s music is like an out-of-heart experience, a sad-gentle wind that lifts you up, allows you to soar, to coast, to feel the power of the truth carry you along with honest lyrics and heavenly licks – knowing that when you return to your heart: everything will be different.’
‘I’ve followed Glenn’s song writing for a while now. There’s a woody texture and earthiness in his voice and a flick in his guitar playing that appeals to me and an observation in his lyric that makes him an artist worth considering. Highly recommended.’
‘Glenn’s strong and weather-beaten voice rings true…this man is a poet.’
‘…a style that is earthy, Australian and very much his own,’
‘With heartfelt lyrics and melancholy Celtic air you can almost smell the acrid smoke from a hundred campfires and see the blood staining the wattle.’