Leah Flanagan

Leah Flanagan performing live 2015

Background information
Occupation| Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)| Vocals, guitar

Musical artist

Leah Flanagan is an Australian singer-songwriter and arts administrator from Darwin, Northern Territory. based in Sydney. She has released several albums and has toured Australia with her music and as a part of festival ensembles.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Flanagan identifies as Indigenous Australian due to her Aboriginal (Alyawarre) heritage.[1][2]

She studied classical music at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide.[3]

## Music career

[edit]

Flanagan has released several albums and has toured Australia with her music and as a part of festival ensembles.[4][5][6] She has collaborated with Sinéad O'Connor, Meshell Ndegeocello, poet Sam Wagan Watson,[7] The Black Arm Band,[8] Paul Kelly and Ursula Yovich, and recorded a duet with Marlon Williams of Archie Roach’s "I’ve Lied".[4]

From 2009 to 2011, Flanagan performed in the productions Murundak, Hidden Republic, and Dirtsong with the touring company The Black Arm Band[8] at many major festivals across Australia. Her performances in this period included one at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

In 2010 she appeared at the Melbourne International Arts Festival's production Seven Songs To Leave Behind with John Cale, Rickie Lee Jones, Snead O'Connor, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Gurrumul with Black Arm Band members Ursula Yovich, Dan Sultan, and Shellie Morris.[9]

Flanagan was invited by Deborah Conway to be part of her Song Trails project for the 2009 and 2011 Queensland Music Festivals, which led to her collaborating with Australian artists Peter Farnan (Boom Crash Opera), Robert Forster (The Go-Betweens) and Rebecca Barnard (Rebecca's Empire) to deliver a series of workshops and to perform concerts across regional Queensland.[10]

Flanagan composed a show entitled Midnight Muses, based on the work of Brisbane poet Samuel Wagan Watson, for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2011.[11] It later appeared at the 2013 Sydney Festival.[12]

Flanagan in 2012

She was invited to perform as a featured soloist in the first Australian production of Leonard Bernstein's MASS at the 2012 Adelaide Festival.[13]

In late 2015 Flanagan was invited by Archie Roach to record a duet of his song "I've Lied" with Marlon Williams for the 25th Anniversary release of Charcoal Lane. Rolling Stone Australia gave the anniversary album four-and-a-half stars.[4]

In 2017 she featured in 1967: Music in the Key of Yes alongside Dan Sultan, Adalita, Thelma Plum, and Ursula Yovich, as part of the Sydney Festival. The show celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Australian referendum through song.[14]

## Arts administration

[edit]

In December 2019 Flanagan was appointed as national manager of the APRA AMCOS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Music Office.[1][2]

In January 2020 Flanagan was appointed First Nations export producer at Sounds Australia. The role entails attending key international events such as SXSW, The Great Escape Festival, Folk Alliance International, and WOMEX, as well as establishing an international bursary program for Indigenous artists. Her first assignment in the role was attending the International Indigenous Music Summit[a] in New Orleans, United States.[1][16]

## Television appearances

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Flanagan has appeared on the Australian TV music quiz shows Spicks & Specks and RocKwiz; on the latter performing Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding in a duet with composer David Bridie.[17] Faboriginal and RocKwiz.[18]

She has also appeared on the light comedy sports programme Marngrook Footy Show, performing a version of Stevie Wonder's For Once in My Life.[citation needed]

## Collaborations and projects

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* Mission Songs Project[19]
* Buried Country[5]
* Black Arm Band[8]
* 1967: Music in the Key of Yes[14]
* Exiles[7]
* Seven Songs To Leave Behind[9]
* Midnight Muses[11]
* MASS[13]
* Liberty Songs[20]
* Songtrails[10]

## Discography

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### Studio albums

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List of studio albums, with selected details  Title  | Album details

|

Leah Flanagan
(as Leah Flanagan Band)  |

* Released: 2008
* Label: Leah Flanagan
* Formats: CD, Digital download

Nirvana Nights |

* Released: 2010[21]
* Label: Leah Flanagan, Vitamin
* Formats: CD, Digital download

Saudades |

* Released: 16 September 2016[22]
* Label: Leah Flanagan
* Formats: Digital download, streaming, Vinyl

Oceanic Sessions |

* Released: November 2017[23]
* Label: Leah Flanagan
* Formats: CD+Digital download, streaming

Colour By Number |

* Released: 16 October 2020[24]
* Label: Leah Flanagan, Small Change Records
* Formats: Digital download, streaming, Vinyl

### Extended plays

[edit]

List of EPs, with selected details  Title  | EP details

|

Live at the Bella Union |

* Released: May 2017[25]
* Label: Leah Flanagan
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

## Awards and nominations

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### National Indigenous Music Awards

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The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA) recognise contributions to the Northern Territory music industry. They commenced in 2004.

Year  | Nominee / work  | Award  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2021 | Colour by Number | Album of the Year  | Nominated  | [26][27]

## Footnotes

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1. ^ Name per website.[15]

## References

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1. ^ a b c Brandle, Lars (21 January 2020). "Sounds Australia expands team with Leah Flanagan & Larry Heath". The Music Network. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
2. ^ a b "Leah Flanagan appointed National Manager of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office". APRA AMCOS. 20 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020.
3. ^ "Leah Flanagan, 2014". National Film and Sound Archive. 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
4. ^ a b c Rolling Stone Australia – Album Review: Archie Roach – Charcoal Lane (25th Anniversary Edition )
5. ^ a b Buried Country – Home
6. ^ Leah Flanagan's new album Saudades: from Portugal without love
7. ^ a b Exile Concert – Bio
8. ^ a b c "Home". blackarmband.com.au.
9. ^ a b Nocookies | The Australian
10. ^ a b Making Song Trails in north Queensland – ABC North Qld – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
11. ^ a b Leah Flanagan – Midnight Muses | ArtsHub Australia
12. ^ Leah Flanagan Live at Sydney Festival – The Live Set – ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
13. ^ a b Adelaide Festival // Mass
14. ^ a b Harmon, Steph (26 October 2016). "Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, an adult ball pit and nude dancers headline Sydney festival 2017". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
15. ^ "Home". International Indigenous Music Summit. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
16. ^ "Fast tracking Australian music success globally". Sounds Australia. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
17. ^ LEAH FLANAGAN ON SPICKS & SPECKS Pt 1 – YouTube
18. ^ Leah Flanagan – Rockwiz – Youtube
19. ^ Mission Songs Project – Contemporary Indigenous Songs from the 20th Century
20. ^ Get down and get festive in Darwin – ABC Darwin – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
21. ^ "Nirvana Nights by Leah Flanagan". bandcamp. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
22. ^ "Saudades by Leah Flanagan". Apple Music AU. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
23. ^ "OCEANIC SESSIONS by Leah Flanagan". bandcamp. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
24. ^ "Colour By Number by Leah Flanagan". Apple Music AU. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
25. ^ "Live at the Bella Unionby Leah Flanagan". bandcamp. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
26. ^ Cashmere, Paul (8 July 2021). "NIMA Nominees Revealed". noise11. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
27. ^ "The Kid LAROI, JK-47 lead National Indigenous Music Award winners". ABC. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.

## External links

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* Official website
* Black Arm Band bio (archived March 2012)

Authority control databases: Artists |

* MusicBrainz

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*[Ref.]: Reference