Halfway is a rock band from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia. the group have released eight studio albums, most recently ''On the Ghostline, with Hands of Lightning'', released in August 2022. Previous to this the band released, ''Restless Dream'' (2021), which was a collaboration between Halfway and

Aboriginal Australian elder Australian Aboriginal elders are highly respected people within Australia and their respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An Elder has been defined as "someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and l ...

Bob Weatherall Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

History

Halfway was formed in 2000 by John Busby, Elwin Hawtin, Ben Johnson and Chris Dale in Windsor,

. The lineup was later rounded out with the addition of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

-born brothers Noel Fitzpatrick (pedal steel) and Liam Fitzpatrick (banjo/mandolin). Three of the bands founding members, John Busby, Elwin Hawtin and Chris Dale all originally hail from the Central Queensland town of

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

. Halfway's debut album ''Farewell to the Fainthearted'' was released in 2003 to warm critical acclaim. The band toured nationally, and their single "Patience Back" received high rotation airplay on

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 ...

. ''Farewell to the Fainthearted'' was included in

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...

's Top 10 albums of 2003. In September 2006, Halfway released their second studio album, ''Remember the River''. It was recorded by

Wayne Connolly Wayne Paul Connolly is an Australian musician, record producer and audio engineer. From 1991 to 1997 Connolly provided lead guitar and vocals in guitar pop group the Welcome Mat, with whom he released two studio albums. In 1994, he formed Kniev ...

( The Vines, Josh Pyke, You Am I) the album saw

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Hist ...

frontman

Rob Younger Rob Younger (born Robert Kent Younger) is an Australian rock musician, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He is a founding mainstay of the punk rock group, Radio Birdman, and a pioneer of the local independent music scene. Radio Birdman, forme ...

in the producer's chair. The album received much acclaim from critics, and generated interest in Europe and the UK, where it received airplay on BBC Radio. ''Remember the River'' was included in

's Top 10 albums of 2006. In 2008, the band's core songwriting duo (Busby and Dale) were the recipients of one of Australia's most prestigious songwriting awards – The Grant McLennan Fellowship. The selection panel included members of the Go-Betweens, the McLennan family and Arts Queensland. 2009 saw the band recruit former Go-Betweens frontman Robert Forster to produce their third album. After months of rehearsal under Forster's guidance, a new LP was recorded, entitled ''An Outpost of Promise''. In 2010, the band added

John Willsteed John Willsteed is an Australian musician and sound designer. As a musician, he is best known as a member of the Brisbane band The Go-Betweens, in which he played bass guitar from 1987–1989, most notably on the album ''16 Lovers Lane''. As a s ...

(ex-

The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout it ...

) on guitar, and Luke Peacock on keyboards. In February 2014, Halfway released their fourth album, ''Any Old Love'', which was again produced by Forster. At the AIR Awards of 2014, the album won Best Independent Country Album. In 2015, the song "Dulcify" from ''Any Old Love'' won "Song of the Year" & "Best Country Song" at the Queensland Music Awards. The band's fifth studio album, ''The Golden Halfway Record'', was released in April 2016. 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 Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, by lauded producer Mark Nevers (

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

Bonnie Prince Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

, George Jones), the album was met with a series of five star reviews. 2018 saw the release of the band's sixth album ''Rain Lover.'' Produced by Mark Nevers and Halfway, ''Rain Lover’s'' central narrative is based around the life of John Busby's father. It is a story of big dreams, conflict and addiction with songs that include real people and characters from the Central Queensland town of

in the 1960s-1980s. The album received a 5-star review in The Australian newspaper on the week of release. In 2021 the band released their seventh album, ''Restless Dream'', a collaboration with Kamilaroi elder Bob Weatherall and

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

player William Barton. The record's central themes are based around the work of Weatherall in the repatriation of Aboriginal remains from museums and institutions around the world. The album was nominated in the

2021 ARIA Music Awards The 2021 ARIA Music Awards are the 35th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) and consist of a series of awards, including the 2021 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA H ...

for Best World Music Album. The band's eighth studio album, ''On the Ghostline, with Hands of Lightning'' was released in August 2022 which was recorded by Yanto Browning and produced and mixed by

Malcolm Burn Malcolm Burn (born October 4, 1960) is a Canadian-born music producer, recording engineer and musician. Emmylou Harris's ''Red Dirt Girl'', produced by Burn, won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 2001 Grammys. Biography Born in Cornwall, Ontar ...

(

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

, Patti Smith & The Neville Brothers) at La Maison Bleu Studio,

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, NY. Tony Moore wrote in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'': "Ghost nets floating lost at sea are the core image as the band trap the power of memories and sing of Australian dreams and triumphs".

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Awards and nominations

ARIA Awards

The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards celebrating the Australian music industry.

APRA Awards APRA Awards may refer to one of two awards ceremonies: APRA Awards (Australia) APRA Awards (New Zealand) The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association ...

The APRA music awards in Australia are an annual awards ceremony celebrating excellence in contemporary music.

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

AIR Awards of 2011 The AIR Awards of 2011 (or Jägermeister Independent Awards of 2011) is the sixth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Melbourn ...

, ''An Outpost Of Promise'' , Best Independent Country Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2014 , ''Any Old Love'' , Best Independent Country Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2017 , ''The Golden Halfway Record'' , Best Independent Country Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2018 , ''Live at the Triffid'' , Best Independent Country Album , , - , AIR Awards of 2019 , ''Rain Lover'' , Best Independent Country Album , , -

Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship

The Grant McLennan Fellowship is a $25,000 award given to a Queensland contemporary music songwriter or songwriting duo with exceptional talent. Named in honour of Go-Betweens co-songwriter and front man, Grant McLennan. The prize money is used to travel to a choice of one of his three favourite cities, Berlin, London or New York, to further their song writing craft and experience by travelling overseas. , - , 2007, , John Busby & Chris Dale , , GMMF , , , - , 2008, , John Busby & Chris Dale , , GMMF , ,

Queensland Music Awards

The

Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (commonly known as QMA and known as the Q Song Awards from 2006 to 2010) are annual awards celebrating Queensland's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006. Each year, the QMA Song of the Year is immortalised in a ...

(previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. The winner of the 'Song of the Year' award receives a bronze plaque on the Fortitude Valley Mall / Musical Walk of Fame in Brisbane. , - , rowspan="2",

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, rowspan="2", "Dulcify" , Song of the Year , , - , Country Song of the Year , , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, "Three in and There’s Nothing But the Stars" , Country Song of the Year ,

The Triffid - Queensland Album of the Year

'The Triffid - Queensland Album of the Year' is an annual award that is presented to a Queensland band or musical act for the best album of the year. The winner is selected from five nominees and they the spine of their album art painted on the 'Triffid Wall'. , - , 2016, , Halfway - The Golden Halfway Record , , Qld Album of the Year , ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halfway (band) Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups from Brisbane Australian alternative country groups