Time of your life with fergus james
Hailing from Armidale NSW, Fergus James’ story started like that of any other country town kid – playing footy, hanging out with mates and helping his dad on the farm. That was until his life catapulted in a new direction – one that most only dream of. From receiving his first guitar at 12 years old to releasing his debut single Golden Age and touring with Ed Sheeran on his Divide tour six years later, Fergus has had an exciting and fast-paced introduction to the music industry.
Fergus James is a singer / songwriter born and raised in Armidale NSW. From starting high school in his hometown to being accepted into Newtown’s School of Performing Arts, Fergus reached for the stars. He knew what he wanted and he went for it. But it was a chance encounter with Justin Timberlake that took his life in a whole new direction.
1999 – The family farm, Armidale
Starting his journey on the family farm in Armidale, Fergus’ family knew from a young age that he was destined to forge his own path.
“Mum and dad always knew I had some kind of artistic streak and I probably wouldn’t follow in dad’s footsteps and become a farmer – they realised from a young age that wasn’t me. They used to catch me singing all the time in front of the mirror with Bruce Springsteen blasting from the iPod dock, or I’d be out filming and making documentaries.”
2009 – Armidale
Fast forward to one Christmas morning in 2009 where he was given a gift he didn’t realise would change his life forever.
“I was given my first guitar as a Christmas gift when I was 10 years old. I asked for a Playstation – mum got me a guitar. It sounds bad now, but I was upset about it at the time. I wasn’t allowed to play video games or anything so I learned the guitar instead.”
2010 – 2013 – Armidale High School, Armidale
Starting high school in 2010, Fergus began learning guitar slowly and taking lessons with local music teacher, Stephen Tafra.
“I just started high school and began listening to the music I genuinely wanted to listen to – it wasn’t just what my parents were playing on the radio anymore, and I started to learn how to play those songs on the guitar. I listened to a lot of Passenger, Chet Faker and Vance Joy and then I’d try and learn the songs I liked. That inevitably snowballed into me writing songs that sounded like them. So I started writing my own songs when I was around 12 or 13 years old.”
2014 – The Armidale Eisteddfod, Armidale
The next pivotal moment in Fergus’ journey happened at the Armidale Eisteddfod. For those of you who don’t know, the Eisteddfod is a right of passage for any young person from the New England North West interested in performing arts, and has been the hallmark of many a creative career.
“When I was in Year 8, there was a singer/songwriter competition at the Eisteddfod. All the kids who entered were a lot older than me – I think there were some who were even in Year 12. But I won that competition. It was the first time I realised that maybe what I was doing wasn’t a hobby anymore. It was also around that time I saw an advertisement for the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney – I asked mum and dad and we chatted about the potential of me moving there. They eventually said yes.”
2016 – Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, Sydney
At 16 years old, Fergus moved to Sydney to continue his studies and was introduced to a whole new way of life. From a small country town where school-age creative talent is usually met with mockery from peers, to being in a new environment where the school quad regularly represented a scene from High School Musical, Fergus was finding his groove.
“I went to an interim school in Sydney before Newtown, but a majority of my schooling was completed at the School of Performing Arts and that’s where I finished Year 11 and 12. I was only interested in the music subjects, but I had to do dance, drama and arts as part of the curriculum, which was interesting. Being around like-minded people really helped – there weren’t many songwriters there at the time, so I kind of just went for it.”
2017 – Sydney to Melbourne and back again
A single moment in Year 12 saw Fergus’ life change in one fell swoop. His hard work was beginning to pay off – and we weren’t the only ones to notice…
“In 2017, Justin Timberlake came to the school and that’s when things really kicked off. He was doing a promo tour for the Trolls film and decided to pop into the school to listen to some of the songwriters. He reacted very warmly to the song I’d written and the video went semi-viral in Australia. I started getting labels, managers and publishers ringing me to ask what I was doing.
“I ended up signing a management deal while doing my HSC. I was going to Melbourne twice a month and remember being in a session finishing a song. While the producer was working on it, I was reading my chemistry textbook just trying to stay on top of everything. I signed the deal with Mushroom and started to work with producers and other songwriters to get some songs together.”
2018 – Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, BOOM!
In a blinding flash, Fergus had gone from a teenager with a passion for music and songwriting to a rising star touring with Ed Sheeran.
“Once I finished Year 12, I toured with Ed Sheeran on his Divide tour. It was a really explosive start to my music career, everything happened so quickly. I had 10 songs recorded but nothing released yet. My managers sent Ed a few demos and I ended up landing the opening leg for his stadium shows in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. I’d never played a show before – the most I’d done was play at The Armidale Club a few times and I did a few small gigs in bars and cafes in Sydney. On tour, I played for 22,000 people in Brisbane. I just got up there and gave it a crack because I figured I had nothing to lose. It sounds dumb, but stadium gigs are so much easier than smaller gigs. I’m playing straight into my ears, I can’t hear anything and the crowd is so far away. Whereas with a smaller gig, the crowd is right there, 50-100 people in a cramped room. That’s far more intimate and can often be harder.”
2019 – Byron Bay
In late 2019, after winning the triple j Unearthed competition, Fergus was set to open the stage for one of Australia’s best-known festivals.
“I opened for Splendour in the Grass and played on the main stage there. That same year I supported Meg Mac on her whole tour – a lot happened in those first two years. Looking back now, it was absolutely incredible, and something I’m still grateful for today.”
2020 – 2021 – Sydney
It was 2020 – the first year any of us had heard of COVID-19 and, unfortunately, the pandemic slammed the brakes on Fergus’ music career. He found himself at odds for the first time in two years.
“Reflecting on it now, I realise that COVID-19 really affected me. I’ve had to stop and start a lot. There was a lot going on before the lockdown and everything just got pushed to the back – the momentum stopped. Once things came back to normal, I found it hard to find that momentum again.”
2022 – Sydney to Armidale
Trying to find our feet again after two years of the world turning upside down was hard work for the best of us, and Fergus’ journey was no different. He began experimenting with different sounds which lead to the release of his latest EP, A Slow Separation. Coming home was just the medicine he needed and this year, Fergus began working on finding his rhythm again.
“Last year, I released music that felt authentic at the time but, in hindsight, I don’t think it was 100 per cent me. I was living in Sydney and I ended up coming back to Armidale to stop and take a bit of time to think.
“Since then, I’ve been doing a lot more singer/songwriter music and it’s much closer to what I was doing before I left Armidale. It’s still anthemic pop music but more in the acoustic guitar singer/songwriter direction – I feel a lot clearer in what I want to produce. I’ve got a few songs in the bag now, so I’m going to release more songs, line up a tour and get things started again. My goal is to make every part of it – my music and my social media – more authentically me. I’m more interested now in making music and presenting myself exactly as I am. It shouldn’t be a shock to people when they meet me.”
