The Waifs (originally styled as The WAiFS) are an Australian

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band formed in 1992 by sisters

Vikki Thorn Vikki Elizabeth Thorn (née Simpson, born c. 1974) is an Australian harmonica player, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter and one-third of the Australian folk rock band the Waifs. Her elder sister, Donna Simpson (musician), Donna Simpson, also p ...

(harmonica, guitar, vocals) and Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals) as well as

Josh Cunningham Joshua Hayden Cunningham is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who is one-third of folk rock band the Waifs. Note: nlineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition ...

(guitar, vocals). Their tour and recording band includes Ben Franz (bass), David Ross Macdonald (drums) and Tony Bourke (keyboard / piano). The band's 2003 album '' Up All Night'' reached the top five of the

Australian Albums 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 ...

, achieving double platinum status and winning four

ARIA 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 The music of Australia has ...

in October. Two further top five albums were issued, '' Sun Dirt Water'' in 2007 and ''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'' in 2011. The Waifs have three top 50 singles, "

London Still "London Still" is a single by the Australian folk-rock band The Waifs, coming from their album ''Up All Night (The Waifs album), Up All Night''. "London Still" was written by Donna Simpson. The single was nominated for several ARIA awards, inclu ...

" (2002), "

Bridal Train "Bridal Train" is a single by the Australian folk-rock band The Waifs, coming from their album '' A Brief History...''. ''Bridal Train'' was written by Vikki Thorn Vikki Elizabeth Thorn (née Simpson, born c. 1974) is an Australian harmonica p ...

" (2004) and " Sun Dirt Water". The band supported

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 ...

on his 2003 Australian tour and then his 2003 North American tour, including a gig at the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

. The Waifs founded the independent label

Jarrah Records Jarrah Records is an independent Australian record label which releases material by Western Australian-formed bands, John Butler Trio and The Waifs, and their members. In July 2002 the label was founded and co-owned by John Butler; The Waifs' ...

in July 2002, co-owned with fellow musician

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American performer *John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), British author and YouTuber *John Butler (born 1954), ...

and their common manager Phil Stevens, which handles their Australian releases.

History

1992–1996: Fisherman's daughters and a farmer's son

The Waifs formed in August 1992 in

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

, as a folk rock band. The Simpson sisters,

Donna Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People * Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), ...

and Vikki (now

), had formed a duo, Colours, in Albany to perform cover versions of

and the

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

at local pubs. Their father, Jimmy Simpson, was a seasonal salmon fisherman at Cosy Corner beach and had bought Donna her first guitar when she was 15. In February 1992, 20-year-old Donna and her 16-year-old sister Vikki headed off in a

Kombi van The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US), Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the G ...

to tour the state as Colours.

, a

Moruya Moruya is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4 ...

farmer's son, had started playing guitar in 1987, he was touring Australia playing bass guitar for a band. The Simpsons met 18-year-old Cunningham while Colours were playing

twelve-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...

in Broome. After a ten-minute jam session, Donna invited Cunningham to join Colours, Cunningham later recalled, "there was a connection that Donna felt that I felt as well ... it's always felt very much like a family to me and I felt instantly welcomed into that right from the very start". Upon return to Albany, Colours changed its name to "The Waifs" (initially styled as "The WAiFS") with Cunningham on guitars,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

and vocals, Donna on vocals, guitar and

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

and Vikki on vocals,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

and guitar. The Waifs used the Kombi van from 1992 to 1996 to travel to gigs across Australia.

1996–2000: First three albums

In February 1996, the Waifs relocated to Melbourne, recorded their debut, eponymous album, ''

The Waifs The Waifs (originally styled as The WAiFS) are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by sisters Vikki Thorn (harmonica, guitar, vocals) and Donna Simpson (musician), Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals) as well as Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocal ...

'', which was released in May by independent label Outside Music. The band co-produced it with Jen Anderson and

Mick Thomas Michael James Thomas (born 7 February 1960) is an Australian singer-songwriter, producer, guitarist and hotelier. Thomas was the founding mainstay of a folk rock group, Weddings Parties Anything (1984–1998), and leader of Mick Thomas and t ...

of folk rock band

Weddings Parties Anything Weddings, Parties, Anything. was an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1999. Their name came from The Clash song "Revolution Rock". Musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Austr ...

. Aside from producing, Anderson was a session musician for the album. Jason MacNeill of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described ''The Waifs'' as "a more than adequate stab at troubadour folk and acoustic pop ... In some instances, the band is guilty of what can be termed funk folk, a style all too often used with little to no benefit". The group commenced a year-long tour of Australia to support the album. Their second album, ''

Shelter Me ''Shelter Me'' is the second album by Australian folk band The Waifs, first released by Jarrah in March 1998. Track listing #"Heart Lies" (Cunningham) – 2:43 #"People Who Think They Can" (V. Simpson) – 3:15 #"Shelter Me" (Cunningham) – ...

'', was recorded in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

at Mixmasters Studios and, produced by the Waifs, it was released in March 1998. MacNeill felt it was " ructured in a cozy, country-like frame of harmonies and acoustic guitars, most of the album works all too well. A few songs, including the soulful "Time to Part", seem a bit askew from the others, but aren't annoying to the senses". Once again, the album was supported by a national tour. The band released its third album, '' Sink or Swim'', in June 2000. MacNeill states, "Abstaining from traditional folk for a more rural, quasi-country sound, the band rarely misses the mark, although "Love Serenade" is just satisfactory'. They had used David Ross Macdonald on drums and percussion – he became part of their touring band.

2001–2007: Chart success and ''Up All Night''

In 2001, the Waifs hired Phil Stevens as band manager – he also manages fellow West Australian musician

and the

John Butler Trio The John Butler Trio are an Australian roots/rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, an APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums, Gavin Shoesmith on bass and John Butler on vo ...

. The band started to play folk festivals in Canada and the United States. In August, the group made its first appearance at the

. The ''

Newport Daily News ''The Newport Daily News'' is a six-day daily newspaper serving Newport County, Rhode Island. It publishes in the mornings on weekdays (Monday through Friday) and in the morning on Saturdays. The ''Daily News'' was the state's largest family-owne ...

'' acclaimed them as "the darlings of

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

year's festival". In July 2002, the Waifs, Butler and Stevens founded the independent label

. The label was initially set up to issue both artists' material in North America, later it handled all their Australian releases. The growing international reputation of the Waifs led to the release of ''Sink or Swim'' in the US in 2002 by Jarrah Records. The Waifs first new work for Jarrah was a five-track EP, ''

'', which appeared in July and reached the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In October, ''London Still'' received two nominations at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2002 The 16th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were held on 15 October 2002 at the Sydney SuperDome. Awards ARIA Awards ''Winners highlighted in bold with nomi ...

for 'Best Independent Release' and 'Breakthrough Artist – Single'. The Waifs fourth album, ''Up All Night'', was released in January 2003 and debuted at No. 3. It was produced by The Waifs, Chris Thompson, Steven Schram. For the album and subsequent touring, Ben Franz played bass guitar and double bass, and dobro on the title track. The album was certified gold four weeks after release, went platinum in October 2003 and double platinum in February 2004. The ''Lighthouse'' EP was released in April 2003, which was their second Top 50 single. Vikki Simpson told ''

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 ...

'' in October that the album's success had taken the band by surprise, "We were nonchalant about releasing albums. We'd released three already and had learned not to put too much hope behind an album because you're usually disappointed. So it was a surprise, but we took it in our stride. It was all very exciting but it didn't seem real to us because it was such a new experience." The band supported Bob Dylan on his Australian tour in March. Dylan offered the group a support slot on his subsequent tour of North America, including a gig at the Newport Folk Festival. During the tour Donna met Ben Weaver, a United States singer-songwriter. They later married and have a son. In 2003, the band also participated in

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

, an Australian travelling

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2003 The 17th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards) were held on 21 October 2003 at the Sydney Superdome. The ceremony aired on Network Ten. Awards ''Winners highlighted in bold, with n ...

, the Waifs won in four categories, Best Roots and Blues Album, Best Independent Album, Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year from eight nominations. "Lighthouse" also reached No. 12 in the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2003 The 2003 Triple J Hottest 100, announced on 25 January 2004, was the eleventh such countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. As in previous years, a CD featuring 40 (not ne ...

. The '' Bridal Train EP'' was released in March 2004 and made the Australian Top 50 singles charts in April. The title track tells the story of the Simpsons' grandmother, a

war-bride War brides are women who married military personnel from other countries in times of war or during military occupations, a practice that occurred in great frequency during World War I and World War II. Among the largest and best documented examp ...

of a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

sailor, Bob Cain. She boarded the "Bridal Train" from Perth to Sydney and then travelled to San Francisco to be with her husband. Thorn won the USA Songwriting Competition for "Bridal Train". The Waifs released a double live album, '' A Brief History...'', in November which debuted in the top thirty of the Australian album charts. A month after the Asian 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the Waifs joined a cast of Australian artists to perform at the

WaveAid WaveAid was a fund raising concert held on Saturday, 29 January 2005, as a means for raising funds for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known as the Boxing Day tsunami. It was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground and broadcast on ...

concert in January 2005 in Sydney to raise funds for the relief effort. Later in 2005, they indicated that they had no immediate plans for another album, "We won't be going into the studio any time soon. Our collective focus is too outside of music and career right now to put out an album."

2007–2011: ''Sun, Dirt, Water'' to ''Temptation''

The Waif's fifth studio album, '' Sun Dirt Water'', was released in September 2007. It debuted and peaked at No. 2. Vikki had written the title song, " Sun Dirt Water", after meeting her husband. By 2007, Vikki had married Matt Thorn, lived on a farm in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and had two children. The Waifs performed across Australia in September and October on the SunDirtWater Tour. It started in Broome, and ended at Legs 11, a concert for breast cancer research. In November, the group announced a collaboration with label mates, John Butler Trio, for the Union of Soul Tour in January – February 2008. The tour had five concerts, with shows in various Western Australian cities,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range. ...

, Swan Valley, and two gigs at the

Fremantle Arts Centre The Fremantle Arts Centre is a multi-arts organisation based in a historic building complex on Ord Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. The heritage-listed building complex was built using convict labour between 1861 and 1868 and was used ...

. A second live album, ''Live from the Union of Soul'' was issued in January 2009, which peaked into the top 50. During 2009, Simpson and Weaver were divorced. The group released their sixth studio album, ''

'', in March 2011, which peaked at No. 3. It was recorded late in 2010 in a basement studio in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

over ten days. Once again, they used the rhythm section of Franz and Macdonald. Simpson had attended rehab at Hazelden Treatment Center in Minnesota in 2008 for her alcohol addiction and wrote the album track, "Just Like Me", about her experience. As from March 2011, Thorn lives in Utah with her husband Matt and two sons, Simpson in Minneapolis with her son, Cunningham in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

with his wife Jackie, Macdonald in Canada and Franz in Australia. While in Australia, Cunningham recorded his debut solo album, ''Into Tomorrow''.

Members

Current members

* Joshua Cunningham — guitars, vocals,

(1992–present) * Donna Simpson — vocals, acoustic guitar (1992–present) * Vikki Thorn (née Simpson) — vocals,

, acoustic guitar (1992–present)

Auxiliary members

* Ben Franz – electric bass, double bass, dobro (2001–present) * David Ross Macdonald — drums, percussion (1998–present)

Former auxiliary members

* Mikel Azpiroz – keyboards (2009) * Jen Anderson – violin (1996, 1998)

Discography

* ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998) * '' Sink or Swim'' (2000) * '' Up All Night'' (2003) * '' Sun Dirt Water'' (2007) * ''Temptation'' (2011) * ''Beautiful You'' (2015) * ''Ironbark'' (2017)

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

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. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , rowspan="2" ,

AIR Awards of 2008 The AIR Awards of 2008 is the third annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Corner Hotel, in Melbourne, Australia on 24 November 2008 to recognise ...

, themselves , Best Independent Artists , , - , '' Sun Dirt Water'' , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2009 The AIR Awards of 2009 is the fourth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards and Jagermeister AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Forum Theatre, in Melbourne, Australia ...

, ''Live from the Union of the Soul'' , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2017 The AIR Awards of 2017 is the eleventh annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Queen's Theatre Adelaide, Australia on 27 July 2017. This is the first ...

, ''Beautiful You'' , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2018 The AIR Awards of 2018 is the twelfth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Queen's Theatre Adelaide, Australia on Thursday 26 July 2017. In 2018, ...

, ''Ironbark'' , Best Independent Blues and Roots Album , , -

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". , - ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, , "

" (

, Donna Simpson,

) , , Song of the Year , , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, , "Lighthouse" (Josh Cunningham) , , Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2",

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , "Stay" (Josh Cunningham, Donna Simpson, Vikki Thorn, Brett Canning) , , Blues & Roots Work of the Year , , , - , " Sun Dirt Water" (Josh Cunningham, Donna Simpson, Vikki Thorn) , , Blues & Roots Work of the Year , , , - ,

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 ...

, , "Falling" (Josh Cunningham, Donna Simpson, Vikki Thorn) , , Blues & Roots Work of the Year , , , - ,

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 ...

, , "6000 Miles" , , Song of the Year , ,

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 a set of annual ceremonies presented by

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), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. The Waifs have won four awards from nineteen nominations. , - , rowspan="2",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , rowspan="2", ''

'' , ,

ARIA Award for Best Independent Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Independent Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording ...

, , , - , ,

ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single The ARIA Music Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1989 through to 2009 and 2011. This, and the ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Album was merged in 2012 t ...

, , , - , rowspan="8",

, , rowspan="5", '' Up All Night'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , , Best Blues & Roots Album , , , - , , Best Group , , , - , ,

, , , - , , Breakthrough Artist – Album , , , - , rowspan="2", Chris Thompson for '' Up All Night'' , , Engineer of the Year, , , - , Producer of the Year , , , - , "Lighthouse" , , Single of the Year , , , - ,

, , ''

'' , , Best Independent Release , , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, , '' A Brief History...'' , , Best Independent Release , , , - , ''A Brief History...'' , , Best Blues & Roots Album , , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , '' Sun Dirt Water'' , , Best Blues & Roots Album , , , - ,

, , ''Live from the Union of Soul'' , , Best Blues & Roots Album , , , - ,

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 ...

, , ''Temptation'' , , Best Blues & Roots Album , , , - , rowspan="3" ,

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="3", ''Beautiful You'' , , Best Blues & Roots Album , , , - , Engineer Of The Year , , , - , Producer Of The Year , , , -

Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame

The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters. , - , 2017 , themselves , Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame ,

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 2019 The National Live Music Awards of 2019 are the 4th annual National Live Music Awards. The nominations were announced on 22 October 2020 and the awards ceremony was held on 4 December 2020. For the first time ever, all State and Territory catego ...

, The Waifs , Live Country Act of the Year , , -

WAM Song of the Year

The

WAM Song of the Year WAM was originally formed as the Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Inc. (WARMIA) in 1985, with its main aim to develop and run annual awards recognising achievements within the music industry in Western Australia. WAM first receiv ...

was formed by the Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Inc. (WARMIA) in 1985, with its main aim to develop and run annual awards recognising achievements within the music industry in Western Australia. (wins only) , - , 2007 , "Sun Dirt Water" , Professional Song of the Year , , -

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The

West Australian Music Industry Awards The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). The WAMi Awards are Western Aust ...

are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985. , - , 2006 , , Ben Franz (The Waifs) , , Best Bassist , , , - , 2011 , , The Waifs , , Hall of Fame , , , - , 2017 , , The Waifs , , Most Popular Act , ,

Other awards

, - , 2005 , , Rob Bygott (Bard Films) for "

" , , West Australian Screen Awards, Best Music Video , , , - , rowspan="3", 2006 , , rowspan="2",

for "

"USA Songwriting Competition
2006 Results
. , , USA Songwriting Competition, Folk Category First Prize , , , - , , USA Songwriting Competition, Overall First Prize , , , -

References

External links

* *
The Waifs
''Rolling Stone'' page
Spoonfed UK Article about Shepherd Bush Empire ShowUSA Songwriting Competition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waifs, The Musical groups established in 1992 Australian rock music groups Australian folk music groups ARIA Award winners Western Australian musical groups