Josh Cunningham

Josh Cunningham
Birth name	Joshua Hayden Cunningham
Origin	Moruya, New South Wales
Genres	Folk rock
Occupation(s)	Guitarist Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar Ukulele Mandolin Dobro Banjo
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Jarrah Records ABC Music
Website	www.joshcunningham.com

Joshua Hayden Cunningham ^[1] is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a founding member of folk rock band The Waifs, ^[2] and one-half of folk/country duo Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham. Collectively, Cunningham has been awarded four ARIA Awards, three CMAA Golden Guitar Awards, one AIR Award, and was inducted into the Australian Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 2017.

Cunningham was also a member of Missy Higgins's backing band for the first three years of her career, and performed on her album On a Clear Night.

He has constructed some of the guitars he plays, both acoustic and electric.

Early Life

Cunningham grew up on a farm in Moruya, New South Wales. His family were poor and lived in a one-room shack without power or modern conveniences, and yet he describes a loving and secure upbringing that taught him the value of what is truly important in life .

"Many would use the word 'underprivileged' to describe the way I grew up, but I regard it as a privilege – more and more as I've gotten older." ^[3]

At the age of 13, he was inspired to pick up the guitar after seeing Michael J Fox's (aka Marty McFly) spirited rendition of Johnny B Goode in the 1985 movie "Back to The Future".

Career

The Waifs [1992 - Current]

Cunningham met Donna and Vikki Simpson while the two sisters played gigs in Broome, in 1992. At the time, Cunningham was playing bass guitar in an all-male band. Donna Simpson described, on The Waifs' official website, how they met:

"We jammed for about 10 minutes and I asked him to join the band and he said "ok"... Just like that, and we became The Waifs."

In 2003, they became an "overnight sensation" when they picked up four ARIA awards for their album Up All Night and had radio success with several of the tracks from that album including "London Still" and "Lighthouse Man".

The Waifs have opened for and shared stages with many high-profile artists along the way, most notably being personally invited by Bob Dylan to join him for over thirty shows in the US in 2003.

Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham (2000 - Present)

In 2020 Cunningham teamed up in music and in life with Australian country music star Felicity Urquhart. Their ARIA and 4 times Golden Guitar-nominated debut album The Song Club, blended Cunningham's signature folk/roots sound with Felicity's country leanings and established the duo as a potent musical force.

Described by The Australian's Phil Stafford as "Australia's firstcouple of folk-country," Urquhart and Cunningham topped the pool at the 2024 Golden Guitar Awards for both nominations (six) and wins (three) for their follow up album Birdsong, released in September 2023.. ^{[4] [5]}

In Perth at the WA Art Gallery, March 2017

Discography

Solo studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		AUS [6]
Into Tomorrow	Release date: 2011 Label: Format: CD, DD	—
The Song Club (with Felicity Urquhart)	Release date: 7 May 2021 Label: ABC Music/Universal Music (3595271) Format: CD, DD, streaming	77
Birdsong (with Felicity Urquhart)	Released: 29 September 2023 [7] Label: ABC Music/Universal Music Format: CD, digital	—

Awards and nominations

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.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2022 [8] [9]	The Song Club (with Felicity Urquhart)	Best Independent Country Album or EP	Won

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual ceremony presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	The Song Club (with Felicity Urquhart)	Best Country Album	Nominated	[10] [11]

Country Music Awards of Australia

The Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They commenced in 1973.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2022	Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham	Group or Duo of the Year	Nominated	[12]
	The Song Club	Alt. Country Album of the Year	Nominated
	The Song Club	Album of the Year	Nominated
	"Spare Parts"	Video of the Year	Nominated
2023	"Bogswamp" (written by Josh Cunningham) – Recorded by Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham	Heritage Song of the Year	Nominated	[13]
2024	Birdsong (with Felicity Urquhart)	Album of the Year	Nominated	[4] [5] [14]
	Birdsong (with Felicity Urquhart)	Traditional County Album of the Year	Won
	"Size Up" (with Felicity Urquhart)	Single of the Year	Won
	"Size Up" (with Felicity Urquhart)	Song of the Year	Won
	"Size Up" (with Felicity Urquhart) (dir. Duncan Toombs & The Filmery)	Video of the Year	Nominated
	Josh Cunningham & Felicity Urquhart	Group or Duo of the Year	Nominated

References

1. ""Highway One" at ASCAP ACE Title Search". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Retrieved 18 February 2010.
2. Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara; Paul McHenry (2002) [1987]. "Waifs, The". The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN   1-86503-891-1. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2010. Note: [online] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.
3. Cunningham, Josh (24 August 2023). "Size Up". Josh Cunningham. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
4. "Toyota 52nd Golden Guitar Awards". TCMF. 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
5. "Nominees Announced for the 52nd Country Music Awards". TCMF. 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
6. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 17 May 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1628. Australian Recording Industry Association. 17 May 2021. p. 6.
7. "Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham 'Birdsong'". ABC. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
8. "Nominees Announced For AIR Independent Music Awards 2022". musicfeeds. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
9. Tyler Jenke (5 August 2022). "Genesis Owusu Wins Big At The 2022 AIR Awards". MusicFeeds . Retrieved 6 August 2022.
10. Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network . Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
11. Gbogbo, Mawunyo (24 November 2021). "You could dub this year's awards the Hip Hop and R'n'B ARIAs". ABC News . Retrieved 25 November 2021.
12. "Toyota Golden Guitar award nominees announced for event's 50th year". On with the Show. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
13. "Tamworth Toyota Golden Guitar Award Nominees Announced". The Music . 22 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
14. "Brad Cox, The Wolfe Brothers Win Big At The 2024 Golden Guitar Awards". Kix Country. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.