BIOGRAPHY


Photo by Robin Sellick

2009 Golden Guitar winners Hamish and Lachlan Davidson "are nothing short of sensational and are taking the Australian country music scene by storm" according to Australian bluegrass pioneer Trevor Warner.

The brothers grew up in the rural Victorian town of Yinnar. Raised in a musical family, they started playing music from a young age.

These young men have built a reputation as being two of Australia’s hottest bluegrass exponents - multi instrumentalists on banjo, fiddle, mandolin and great entertainers with an enormous respect for the traditions of the genre.

Both Hamish and Lachlan are graduates of the Australian Country Music College. In 2003 they won Country Entertainer of the Year at the Tamworth. Also that year, they were Runner Up in the Grand Final of the National University Band Competition, at which Hamish won Best Overall Musician. At the 2008 Australian Bluegrass Championships Lachlan won Mandolin Championship and Hamish picked the Horizon Award. In 2009 Lachlan won the mandolin champs again and Hamish won the banjo champs for the first time.

BORN TO PLAY is the latest album from these bluegrass brothers and it is the third album Mark Thornton (ex Jerry Reed band) has produced for them in Madison Tennessee. However, this album comes with a twist. Hamish and Lachlan decided with this album to showcase their ability to slip comfortably in and out of different musical genres, including bluegrass, country, gypsy, swing and celtic music. Guest musicians appearing on the album are Bryan Sutton, Randy Kohrs, Kevin Grant, Kenny Malone, BJ Cherryholmes, Skip Cherryholmes, Cia Cherryholmes, Pat Bergeson, Jeff Taylor, Larry Marrs and Jerry Salley.

Their self-titled album (2008) featured a duet with Australian bluegrass pioneer Trev Warner. RAISED ON THE ROAD, won 2007 Independent Country Album of the Year in Tamworth.

The boys have toured extensively throughout every state of Australia and the southern states of America. Their band represented Australia at the IBMA International Bluegrass Fanfest in the USA in both 2004, 2007 and 2008.

In the last few years the Davidson Brothers have gained a lot of momentum in the country music industry. Hamish and Lachlan do many recording sessions and regulary perform live on national television. Highlights include Hey, Hey Its Saturday, The Panel, Good Morning Australia and playing on The Man From Snowy River soundtrack. The pair have toured with Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Kernaghan and shared the stage with superstars such as Tommy Emmanuel, Kasey Chambers and Jimmy Barnes.

After a total of six nominations in the Australian Country Music Awards since 2004 (aka the Golden Guitars), the Davidson Brothers finally won their first Golden Guitar in 2009 for Best Instrumental (Left Hand Drive). At this point in their career Hamish was 25 years old and Lachlan was 24. They also won Best Instrumental in the Independent Australian Country Music Awards (aka TIARA Awards) in 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2009. They also won a TIARA Award in 2007 for ALBUM OF THE YEAR with Raised On The Road.


Photo by Robin Sellick

Hamish and Lachlan were selected out of 4400 entrants in Australasia as one of the winners of the 2005 Nescafe Big Break and a $5000 youth cash grant. A few months on, the boys won a 2006 Golden Fiddle Award in Tamworth for Best Band Featuring a Fiddler.

Just before Christmas in 2006 Hamish traveled to the Middle East with Matt Scullion, Cass Eager, Gary Bradbury and Dick Smith to entertain the troops.

Lachlan visited Nashville Tennessee in September 2008 to meet with the board members of the International Bluegrass Association to talk about how they can raise the awareness of bluegrass music in Australia.

"The Davidson Brothers’ fast-tracking music career is a combination of passion, energy, respect for tradition, and destiny . . . Two young blokes with all the energy and drive of their generation and an innate ability to transpose that energy to a younger audience . . . the spontaneity of youth and some excellent self-penned songs . . . And then of course there is the supreme musicianship." - Capital News Magazine

"The Davidson Brothers are the best young Blue Grass pickers we have seen for a long while in Australia and a very exciting live act!!" - Troy Cassar-Daley

AWARDS

GOLDEN GUITAR AWARDS
Australian Country Music Awards
WINNER - Instrumental, Fox on the Freeway (2010)
WINNER - Instrumental, Left Hand Drive (2009)
Finalist - Group/Duo, A Showman's Life (2010)
Finalist - Group/Duo, Long Distance Love Affair (2009)
Finalist - Vocal Collaboration with Trev Warner, Blue Mountain Home (2009)
Finalist - Instrumental, Scrub Turkey (2007)
Finalist - Instrumental, Hunter Valley Breakdown (2005)
Finalist - Instrumental, Orange Blossom Special (2004)

Australian Bluegrass Championships (Tamworth, NSW)
Winner - Lachlan, MANDOLIN Champion (2010, 2009, 2008)
Winner - Hamish, BANJO Champion (2009)
Winner - Hamish, Horizon Award; Best Overall (2008)
Winner - Hamish, FIDDLE Champion (2000)

Golden Fiddle Awards (Tamworth, NSW)
Winner - Best Band Featuring a Fiddler (2010)
Winner - Best Composition, Tipsy Gypsy (2008)
Winner - Best Band Featuring a Fiddler (2008)
Judges Commendation - Best Composition, Mojo (2007)
Winner - Best Band Featuring a Fiddler (2006)

TIARA AWARDS (Tamworth Independent Artist Recognition Awards)
Winner - Best Instrumental, Left Hand Drive (2009)
Finalist - Group or Duo, Long Distance Love Affair (2009)
Winner - Album of the Year, RAISED ON THE ROAD (2007)
Winner - Best Instrumental, Scrub Turkey (2007)
Winner - Best Instrumental, Hunter Valley Breakdown (2005)
Winner - Best Instrumental, Orange Blossom Special (2004)

Victorian Country Music Awards
 Winner - Bluegrass, Born to Play (2010)
 Winner - Best Victorian Group or Duo, City Life (2009)
 Winner - Victorian Entertainer of the Year (2009)
 Winner - Best Instrumental, Left Hand Drive (2009)
 Winner - Bluegrass, Just To Get To You (2009)
 Winner - Bluegrass, Don't Turn Me Down (2007)

NESCAFE BIG BREAK (Australia & New Zealand)
Winner (2005)

TREV AWARDS (Tertiary Recreation and Entertainment Victoria Awards)
Winner - Best New Act (2003)

National University Band Competition
Winner - Hamish, Best Overall Musician (2003)
Runner Up - National Final (2003)
Winner - Victorian State Final (2003)
Winner - RMIT, Final (2003)
Winner - RMIT, Heat 1 (2003)

Tamworth Country Music Festival (NSW)
Winner - Open Aristocrat Country Entertainer of the Year (2003)
Winner - K-Mart Jazzer Smith Memorial Talent Quest, Open Division (2002)
Winner - Junior Aristocrat Country Entertainer of the Year (1999)
Winner - Junior Golden Swaggie (with Ailsa Davidson; 1999)

Whittlesea Country Music Festival (VIC)
Overall Winner - Whittlesea Country Music Talent Search (2003)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

FESTIVAL APPEARANCES
IBMA Fanfest - Louisville, Kentucky USA
Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Festival - Rosine, Kentucky USA
Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival - Conway, Missouri USA
Tri-State Bluegrass Festival - Kendallville, Indiana USA
Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival - Bean Blossom, Indiana USA
Port Fairy Folk Festival - VIC
Woodford Music Festival - QLD
National Folk Festival - Canberra ACT
Redlands Bay Bluegrass Festival - QLD
Tamworth Country Music Festival - NSW
Tennessee Fall Homecoming - Norris, Tennessee USA
Ya Gubi World Music Festival - Hervey Bay QLD
Gympie Country Music Muster - QLD
Harrietville Bluegrass Convention - VIC
Apollo Bay Music Festival - VIC
Ausgrass Bluegrass Festival - ACT

TELEVISION APPEARANCES
Spicks & Specks
Good Morning Australia
Hey, Hey It's Saturday
The Panel
Burke's Backyard
Carols By Candlelight
Nu Country
Cruisin' The Country
CMAA Golden Guitar Awards
It Takes Two