Boy & Bear are an Australian

indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...

band formed in 2009, consisting of David Hosking (vocals and guitar), Killian Gavin (vocals and guitar),

Tim Hart Tim Hart (9 January 1948 – 24 December 2009) was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Early years Tim Hart was born in Lincoln, England, but moved to St ...

(drums and vocals), Jonathan Hart (vocals, banjo, mandolin and keyboards), and David Symes (bass). The band has released two EPs and four studio albums. The first two albums, '' Moonfire'' (August 2011) and '' Harlequin Dream'' (August 2013), reached the top ten of the Australian albums chart. Their third album, '' Limit of Love'', was released on 9 October 2015, in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada, and on 30 October in the UK and Europe. On 27 September 2019, after a four-year break, they released their long-awaited fourth studio album, '' Suck on Light''.

History

2009–2010: Formation

Boy & Bear was formed in 2009 in Sydney, beginning as a solo project for singer-songwriter Dave Hosking. In February 2009, Hosking uploaded a track, "The Storm", to the '' Unearthed'' program on radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

, and it became a featured song at the station. Hosking met Killian Gavin, who was a singer-songwriter and guitarist in Ovell, and the pair started jamming together. Tim Hart, from another university band, Wintersound, joined as a drummer and singer-songwriter. Then they expanded with Hart's brother Jon (ex-Wintersound) on keyboard, vocals, mandolin and banjo and Jake Tarasenko (ex-Tripartisan Approach) on bass guitar. All five had fronted their own groups and became friends after regularly sharing the stage at gigs. Their songwriting usually has Hosking strumming chords on a guitar, Gavin writing the hooks, and the Hart brothers providing backing vocal lyrics, keyboard parts and drum lines. On 21 October, they issued an independent single, "Mexican Mavis", which was a featured song for the "Next Crop '09" segment on Triple J. In November 2009, the band described its style as "a combination of drivey indie folk and choral harmonies". Aside from Triple J, the band received national airplay on NovaFM. The group signed with

Island Records Australia Island Records Australia is an Australian record label that was launched in 2007 by Michael Taylor (now serving as managing director, Universal Music Australia). It is part of the Universal Music Group and is the Australian variant of Island R ...

, Note: A free, open-source original online document for this reference does not exist. In this case, the original is from Pandora Archive and was preserved there on 11 June 2010. and in 2013, they signed internationally with Nettwerk. After winning the 2009 ''Unearthed'' competition, they gained a performance spot at

Homebake Homebake was an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup (with the occasional artist from New Zealand). The festival was first held on 3 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New Sou ...

in December. They later toured Australia backing

Angus and Julia Stone Angus & Julia Stone are an Australian folk and indie pop group, formed in 2006 by brother and sister Angus and Julia Stone. Angus & Julia Stone have released five studio albums: ''A Book Like This'' (2007), '' Down the Way'' (2010), ''Angus & ...

and

Hungry Kids of Hungary Hungry Kids of Hungary (often shortened to HKOH) were an Australian four-piece indie pop band from Brisbane, Queensland. The band consisted of Dean McGrath (lead vocals, guitar), Kane Mazlin (lead vocals, keys), Ben Dalton (bass guitar, vocals) ...

. In 2010, they toured the UK supporting

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit A ...

and

Alessi's Ark Alessi's Ark is the musical project of Alessi Laurent-Marke (born 30 June 1990), an English singer-songwriter. Career Named after the Italian design company, Alessi Laurent-Marke grew up in Hammersmith, London where her father, Alan Marke, is ...

, and later supported

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, key ...

on their Australian tour. They also featured on

Passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

's album 'Flight of the Crow'. In May Boy & Bear released their debut extended play, ''With Emperor Antarctica'', which peaked at No. 63 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. In the same year, they recorded the song "

Fall at Your Feet "Fall at Your Feet" is a 1991 song by Crowded House, from their 1991 album, ''Woodface''. It is the only single from ''Woodface'' to be written solely by the group's leader Neil Finn, who co-wrote all other singles from the album with his brothe ...

" for ''

He Will Have His Way ''He Will Have His Way'' is a compilation album featuring male Australian and New Zealand musicians performing songs written by Neil Finn and Tim Finn (The Finn Brothers), who are best known as members of Split Enz and Crowded House. It was r ...

'', a tribute album to singer-songwriter brothers Tim and

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

. Boy & Bear's version of "Fall at Your Feet" was listed at No. 5 on the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2010 The 2010 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced and played on Australia Day, 26 January 2011. It is the eighteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. Voting commenced at ...

. Another of their tracks, "Rabbit Song", was placed at No. 45. In November 2010 their cover of "Fall at Your Feet" peaked at No. 34 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In April 2011, their early single "Mexican Mavis" was featured on US TV series '' 90210'', season three

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...

"Nerdy Little Secrets".

2011–2012: ''Moonfire''

On 5 August 2011, Boy & Bear released their debut album '' Moonfire''. It was recorded in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee with producer,

Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

and reached No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. During that year, single " Feeding Line" debuted at No. 49. In December, Moonfire finished third in the Triple J album poll of 2011. It also reached platinum sales. On the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2011 The 2011 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on Australia Day 26 January 2012. It is the nineteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. Voting commenced on 14 December ...

Boy & Bear were listed three times, with "Part Time Believer" and "Milk & Sticks" at No. 50 and No. 49, respectively, while " Feeding Line" reached No. 4. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2011 The 25th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were a series of award ceremonies which included the 2011 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fi ...

Boy & Bear won in five categories: Breakthrough Artist – Single for "Feeding Line"; and Album of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist – Album and Best Adult Alternative Release for ''Moonfire''. The following year, the band received an ARIA nomination for Best Group. In October 2012, it was announced that the original bass-guitarist Jake Tarasenko had left the band 'to pursue other interests'. He was replaced by David Symes, who had previously worked as a session musician for

The Sleepy Jackson The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist ...

Sarah Blasko Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow (born 23 September 1976), known professionally as Sarah Blasko, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. From April 2002, Blasko developed her solo career after fronting Sydney-based band, Acqui ...

and

Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...

. The group also announced that they had started work on a follow-up album.

2013–2014: ''Harlequin Dream''

Boy & Bear released their second album on 16 August 2013, titled '' Harlequin Dream''. It debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts. Its release was preceded by the lead single " Southern Sun", a song which paid homage to

Richard Clapton Richard Clapton (born 18 May 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are " Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and "I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top&n ...

's relaxed 1970s steel guitar sound. In 2013 Boy & Bear were nominated for three ARIA awards including, Best Group, Best Rock Album and Producer of the Year with Wayne Connolly. The album was also nominated for a J Award and was ranked #7 in triple j's Top 10 Albums of 2013 poll in the same year. From ''Harlequin Dreams release until the end of 2014, Boy & Bear completed three international tours, covering AUS/NZ/US/CAN/UK/EU and totalling 168 shows. Boy & Bear received an ARIA nomination in 2014 for Best Australia Live Act. The album went Platinum in 2016.

2015–2017: ''Limit of Love''

From April to May 2015 Boy & Bear teamed up with producer

Ethan Johns Ethan Thomas Robert Johns (born 1969 in Merton, London, England) is an English record producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Johns has worked with artists including Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Paul McCartney, Ray LaMo ...

(

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

) at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio in the UK to record their third album. The album was recorded live and straight to tape, with virtually no overdubs. On 13 August the band announced the album and its lead single "Walk the Wire", which was added to high rotation on triple j. '' Limit of Love'' was released on 9 October 2015 in Australia debuting at #1 on the ARIA charts, New Zealand, North America and Canada and will be available from 30 October in the United Kingdom and Europe. The album was certified Gold in Australia in 2018.

2018–2019: ''Suck on Light''

In July 2018 the band began posting pictures of them in a recording studio for their fourth album. The band's fourth album, '' Suck on Light'', was released on 27 September 2019. Produced by the band and Collin Dupuis at Nashville's Southern Ground Studios, and mixed in part by mixer Tom Elmhirst, the 12-track album includes the singles "Hold Your Nerve", "Work of Art" and "Telescope".

2020: ''At Golden Retriever Studios''

In April 2020, Boy & Bear announced the release of their forthcoming acoustic album titled ''At Golden Retriever Studios'', set for release in September 2020. The band said "When we tour the USA we often get asked to perform our songs acoustically when we are on the radio... It gave us the idea to record a selection of acoustic tracks and present them as an album."

2022: "State of Flight" & "Just to Be Kind"

On 8 April 2022, Boy & Bear released "State of Flight", their first single since 2019, and their first released independently. Throughout June and July 2022, the group celebrated the 10 year anniversary celebration of their album, ''Moonfire'' with an extensive national and regional tour. On 23 September 2022, Boy & Bear released "Just to Be Kind".

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

Notes

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". Boy & Bear have been nominated for one award. , - , rowspan="2",

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , Boy & Bear (Killian Gavin, Jonathon Hart, Timothy Hart, David Hosking, Jacob Tarasenko) , , Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year , , , - , "Feeding Line" (Killian Gavin, Jonathon Hart, Timothy Hart, David Hosking, Jacob Tarasenko) , , Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , "Harlequin Dream" (Killian Gavin, Jonathon Hart, Timothy Hart, David Hosking) , , rowspan="2", Song of the Year , , , - , "Southern Sun" (Killian Gavin, Jonathon Hart, Timothy Hart, David Hosking) , ,

ARIA Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are presented annually from 1987 by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA). In 2011 Boy & Bear won five awards from seven nominations. The group performed their leading single, "Feeding Line", at the awards ceremony.ARIA Awards 2011 at Allphones Arena begins with battle of the red carpet
– news.com.au – Retrieved 28 November 2011. They received further nominations in 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2016. , - , rowspan="7",

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , rowspan="2", "Feeding Line" , , Single of the Year , , , - , Breakthrough Artist – Single , , , - , rowspan="4", '' Moonfire'' , ,

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

, , , - , Best Group , , , - , Breakthrough Artist – Album , , , - , Best Adult Alternative Album , , , - , ''Moonfire'' –

, , Producer of the Year , , , - ,

, , "Big Man" , , Best Group , , , - , rowspan="3",

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , rowspan="3", '' Harlequin Dream'' , , Best Group , , , - ,

Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...

, , , - , Producer of the Year , , , - ,

, , ''National Tour'' , , Best Australian Live Act , , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , '' Limit of Love'' , , Best Rock Album , ,

Australian Music Prize

The

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005. , - , 2011 , ''Moonfire'' , Australian Music Prize , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

J Awards of 2013 The J Award of 2013 is the ninth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. The announcement comes at the culmination of Ausmusic Month (November). For the sixth and final year, ...

, ''Harlequin Dream'' , Australian Album of the Year , , - ,

J Awards of 2015 The J Award of 2015 is the eleventh annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio statio ...

, "Walk the Wire" , Australian Video of the Year ,

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

National Live Music Awards of 2016 The National Live Music Awards of 2016 are the inaugural National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of ...

, themselves , International Live Achievement (Group) ,

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy And Bear APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian indie pop groups Australian indie rock groups Australian indie folk groups Musical groups established in 2009 Musical groups from Sydney Nettwerk Music Group artists Island Records artists