He's played for Prime Ministers, Aboriginal Elders and Environmental campaigners, from concert halls to protest sites and remote campfires. He's been a guest artist for Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, James Taylor and Carole King among others.
His iconic song, ‘Solid Rock, Sacred Ground’, lit a fire for the rights of Aboriginal people in Australia nearly 40 years ago that hasn't gone out. It’s been recorded and performed, many times in the ensuing years and translated into several Aboriginal Languages.
He was the founding member of the legendary Australian band Goanna, founding member and a driving force behind the Black Arm Band,
He has released fourteen solo albums, four albums with Goanna and has produced albums for many other artists: Archie Roach, The Pigram Brothers, Mary Black, etc, His songs have been recorded and performed by Joan Baez, Mary Black, Troy Cassar Daley, John Farnham and Lene Siel (Denmark), Jessica Mauboy, Missy Higgins and more.
He was awarded a Fellowship by the Australia Council for the Arts in 2000, was an Australian representative at the 2000 North American Folk Alliance convention and is a life member of the Australian Folk Alliance.
He was named artist of the Year for the 2005 Port Fairy Folk Festival,
In 2012 he released a book of his lyrics and a children’s book of the song, ‘Solid Rock-Puli Kunpungka’, working with senior Anangu to translate the song into Pitjantjatjara. He also marked the thirtieth anniversary of ‘Solid Rock’, by convening a concert at Uluru, in partnership with the Mutitjulu Community, joined by Archie Roach, John Butler, Dan Sultan, Amy Saunders (Tiddas), and others.
In 2016 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts as a singer, songwriter and guitarist to the recording industry, and to Indigenous musicians. (The OAM medal was returned in 2023, in the wake of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum result)
In 2016 he was Artistic Director and Co-Producer of the sold out & critically acclaimed Australian-Irish live musical production, ‘Exile, Songs & Tales of Irish Australia’.
In 2018 ‘Solid Rock’ was identified by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia as one of the ‘essential sounds that helped define Australian history and culture’ and was added to the NFSA ‘Sound Of Australia’ Collection. In 2018 he was awarded the Australian Americana Honors Award.
In 2022 Howard and his legendary band, Goanna, embarked on an extensive national tour, paying homage to their classic Spirit of Place album and reigniting the Goanna spirit that championed Aboriginal rights and environmental justice in the 1980’s, featuring performances at ‘WOMADelaide’and also as special guests for ‘Midnight Oil’.
In 2022 he was named as an Ambassador for ‘Childrens Ground’, a First Nations run organisation working to make real and lasting change for First Nations people.
In 2023 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Deakin University and named as an Ambassador for Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) - a national charity assisting people in our most marginalised communities to gain vital language, literacy and communication skills.
Howard is a respected senior statesman in Australia who continues to work as a poet, musician, writer, singer, producer and mentor. He is currently writing his autobiography
Picture by Darren Donlen