Fred Smith is one of Australia’s most distinctive singer-songwriters, a festival favourite known for his wit, storytelling and melody, and for a remarkable second life working in conflict zones. The Sydney Morning Herald’s Bruce Elder has called him “simply the best folk/country musician working in this country.”

Smith began in the late ’90s performing comic and satirical ballads, once described as “Noel Coward meets Loudon Wainwright.” Peace-monitoring work in war-torn Bougainville inspired Bagarap Empires, winner of the National Film and Sound Archive’s Best New Release award. Celebrated collaborations followed with Liz Frencham and the Spooky Men’s Chorale, whose Urban Sea Shanties won a second NFSA award.

Eighteen months in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province produced Dust of Uruzgan (2011), hailed by Trad & Now as “without doubt, a masterpiece” and compared to “I Was Only 19” and “Khe Sanh.” Lee Kernaghan covered its title track, and ABC’s Australian Story profiled his work. Acclaimed albums Home, Great (Rhythms’ No. 1 album of 2017) and Domestic followed.

In 2021 Smith worked on the evacuation of Kabul, chronicled in his memoir The Sparrows of Kabul and a stage show toured to more than 80 venues. He was named AFMA Solo Artist of the Year in 2022 and Canberra Artist of the Year in 2023. His latest album, Look, and stage show Domesticity earned five-star reviews at the Adelaide Fringe.