Sinead Burgess Is Australian Arts Council 2019 Grant Recipient

The Australian Arts Council has announced their 2019 Grant recipient, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Sinead Burgess. In its third year, the Nashville Songwriters Residency Program allows Australian songwriters the opportunity to immerse themselves in the local music scene for three months focusing on their creative career.

Mentored by producer/chart-topping songwriter Mark Moffatt, the program promotes creative and business networking, the development of writing skills, opportunities to connect with other artists and songwriters to collaborate, and recording opportunities.

“I have watched Sinead’s growth from young major label signing to the sure footed and confident singer/songwriter she is today,” Moffatt said. “The residency grant gives her the opportunity to spend time integrating into the Nashville writing community, and I look forward to seeing some great collaborations emerge as she moves toward her next record.”

Burgess has had plenty of success in the past few years, from her 22-date UK tour debut with British country act The Shires, to her independent album release Damaged Goods, which reached #3 on the UK iTunes Country Album Chart, #6 on the Australian iTunes Country Album Chart and impacted the Top 200 in the US. Burgess self produced Damaged Goods, wrote every song on the record, and played the bulk of the instruments. She will hit the road this fall with performances at festivals including Americana Fest in Nashville and the C2C Festival in Sydney.

“It is such an honor to be chosen for this year’s Nashville residency grant,” Burgess said. “This will play a pivotal role in progressing my career as a writer and artist in Nashville, as it allows me the financial freedom to make the next crucial steps happen much sooner than I would have been able to make alone. I am incredibly excited to work hard through this period and utilize every opportunity here in Nashville that the ‘Australian Council for the Arts’ have given me!”