Joshua Hayden Cunningham is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who is one-third of

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 s ...

band

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 (guitar, vocals) as well as Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocals). Their tour and recor ...

. Note: nlineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. His involvement with the Waifs has resulted in a total of four

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 ...

(ARIA)

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

wins, all in 2003 for '' Up All Night'' and ten further nominations. Cunningham has released five studio albums with The Waifs and co-writes songs with fellow members Donna Simpson and

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 ...

, including "Lighthouse", which was nominated for

ARIA Award for Single of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, 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 Austral ...

at the ARIA Music Awards of 2003. Cunningham has been a regular member of Missy Higgins's backing band, performed on her album ''On a Clear Night'' and appeared in her live shows. He has constructed some of the guitars he plays, both acoustic and electric.

Biography

Joshua Cunningham grew up on a farm in Moruya,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and picked up his first

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

in 1987. He met Donna and Vikki Simpson while the two sisters played gigs in Broome, in 1992. At the time, Cunningham played

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

in an all-male band. Donna Simpson described, on The Waifs' official website, how they met: Cunningham has been a member of The Waifs ever since. Josh Cunningham at WA Art Gallery 9 03 2017

Josh Cunningham at WA Art Gallery 9 03 2017

Discography

Solo studio albums

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. , - ,

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, ''The Song Club'' (with Felicity Urquhart) , Best Independent Country Album or EP ,

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual ceremony presented by

(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. ! , - ,

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, , ''The Song Club'' (with Felicity Urquhart), ,

ARIA Award for Best Country Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Country Album, 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 Indust ...

, , , , -

Country Music Awards of Australia

The

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

is an annual awards night held in January during the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

. Celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They commenced in 1973. ! , - , rowspan="4", 2022 , , Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham , , Group or Duo of the Year , , , , rowspan="4", , - , ''The Song Club'' , , Alt. Country Album of the Year , , , - , ''The Song Club'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , "Spare Parts" , , Video of the Year , , , - , 2023 , , "Bogswamp" (written by Josh Cunningham) – Recorded by Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham , , Heritage Song of the Year , , , , , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Josh Musicians from Western Australia Australian guitarists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)