Christine Anu is one of Australia’s most popular recording artists and performers of all time that uses her voice and reputation to spread a message of unity and hope. With 17 ARIA nominations, including the APRA AMCOS award-winning My Island Home and her platinum album Stylin’ Up, she has one of the country’s most enduring and recognisable voices.

Her acclaimed 27 year career spans across all forms of media including music, theatre, dance, film, television, radio, children’s entertainment, and one of the most influential keynote speakers. Her broad range of achievements include platinum selling solo albums, acting in Hollywood blockbusters such as Moulin Rouge and The Matrix - Reloaded, performing in the hit sell-out musicals Rent and Little Shop of Horrors, and featuring roles in high-profile TV shows The Alice and Outland. Over the years, Christine has been central to a number of memorable historic moments, with her performance of My Island Home at the Sydney 2000 Olympics Closing Ceremony a notable standout. Many Australian’s consider Christine’s My Island Home as the unofficial Australian National Anthem.

Christine has and will always be proud of her Torres Strait Islander heritage and at any given opportunity will use her public profile as a platform to advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and others from marginalised backgrounds. Anu is a prominent voice of multicultural Australia and in 2016 was appointed host of the Evenings ABC radio program and now presents her own national radio show on ABC Radio every Friday and Saturday.

When speaking to Anu about her proudest career moments, she speaks of becoming a mother to her two children and mentoring her now 18 year old daughter Zipporah as an entertainer in her own right. Christine and Zipporah have naturally taken the stage together and in 2019 they performed at the Women’s NRL Grand Final.

Mark Sholtez is an ARIA‑nominated and APRA award‑winning songwriter. He first came to national and international attention with his chart‑topping debut album Real Street (Verve/Universal), produced by legendary Grammy‑winning producer Tommy LiPuma (George Benson, Miles Davis, Barbra Streisand). The album earned Sholtez an APRA Award, an ARIA nomination, and the distinction of becoming the first Australian artist ever signed to the iconic Verve record label.

Sholtez’s follow‑up album, The Distance Between Two Truths (Warner Music), produced by multiple Grammy‑winner Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Herbie Hancock), brought his dedication to the craft of songwriting into sharper focus. Since then, his music has become increasingly hard to pin down to one genre, crossing musical borders to take in elements of 70’s pop, jazz, modern day Americana, and Laurel Canyon folk.

In addition to his own major label releases, Mark’s music has appeared in numerous international film and television productions including, Private Practice, Pretty Little Liars, Teen Wolf, Grim, and Packed to the Rafters, and has been recorded and performed by artists including Vika and Linda Bull, Troy Cassar-Daley, and Wendy Matthews.

Mark also has a Masters degree from Griffith University and a PhD from the University of Southern Queensland where he lectures in songwriting and music production, as well as teaching for the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Whitsunday Songwriter Festival and Residency Co-Founder

Francesca de Valence is a multi-award-winning songwriter, educator, and the founder of I Heart Songwriting Club, as well as the co-founder of the Whitsundays Songwriter Festival. With a vast catalogue of over 800 songs, including a remarkable 11-year streak of writing a song every week, Francesca’s work has been recorded and performed by renowned artists like Vika & Linda and Wendy Matthews. 

Francesca is a game-changer in the songwriting community, having contributed to the creation of 35,000 songs and transformed the lives of thousands of songwriters globally through her innovative songwriting programs. As a music industry mentor, she helps artists tour nationally, expand their audiences, and build sustainable careers. 

A passionate educator with postgraduate degrees in music and education, Francesca has taught at top-tier music universities and led workshops worldwide, in collaboration with organisations such as APRA AMCOS, the Irish Music Rights Organisation, and Folk Alliance International. 

She’s written a monthly column for Songwriting Magazine UK, produced a bi-weekly ABC Radio songwriting segment, and continues to facilitate workshops across the globe. Francesca also shares her expertise through her inspiring podcast, The Magic of Songwriting.

Whitsunday Songwriter Festival and Residency Co-founder

A woman in her creative prime, International Speaker, Concert Artist and prolific Songwriter Karen Jacobsen's timeless, cinematic, piano-driven songs have been licensed to US network television and she was called “hypnotic” by Harry Connick Jr. Her speaking voice unexpectedly ended up in a billion GPS and smartphone devices and as the original Australian voice of Siri leading to a professional speaking career, wide media coverage including being a clue in The New York Times crossword puzzle and as Author of two books.

Musical career highlights include sharing the stage with Norah Jones, Neil Sedaka, Jon English, Christopher Cross, Cyndi Lauper, national anthem performances at major sporting events - Madison Square Garden, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, Giants Stadium (80,000 in the crowd) and at Suncorp Stadium in Queensland for TriNations Rugby and State of Origin.

As composer, Karen’s AIR Award nominated pop-orchestral composition “Misogyny Opus” premiered in 2023 at the MECC Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre with musicians from the Queensland Symphony Orchestra with Karen as soloist, setting former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s iconic misogyny speech to music word for word. After 20 years in New York City as a passionate arts advocate she co-founded the Whitsundays Songwriter Festival and premiered her show “Ready for What I Came Here For” at Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2026.

Brad Butcher is a Central Queensland born singer songwriter and two time Golden Guitar winner at the Country Music Awards of Australia. Releasing six studio albums, he has shared the stage with Mark Seymour, Busby Marou, Bill Chambers and Pete Murray and received national and international songwriting awards.

Butcher has earned recognition as an independent artist who has crafted a unique style mixing the working class grit of Springsteen and the tender expression of Ray LaMontagne. Touring Australia extensively and the United States multiple times, he has showcased at Nashville’s premier Americana Fest, Toronto’s NXNE Festival and multiple times at the Country Music Awards of Australia.

In 2024, Butcher auditioned for the thirteenth series of The Voice Australia. All four coaches turned their chairs, expressing interest in working with him. Ultimately, he chose to be on LeAnn Rimes' team. Butcher won the battle round, but Rimes opted to take him through as a duo with challenger Tori Darke. The attention from the show has increased demand for Brad’s live performances throughout Australia and we are incredibly proud to welcome him to the Whitsundays Songwriter Festival as one of our region’s own.

Zipporah Corser-Anu has performance running through her veins hailing from true entertainment royalty. A proud Samu and Suy woman from Saibai Island, Zipporah seamlessly blends dance and vocals, and maintains a deep connection to her cultural roots in her performances.

In 2025 Zipporah delivered a showstopping performance at the Queensland Music Awards, heralding her arrival in front of her peers.

With a devotion to the arts, Zipporah was a 2019 NRL Youth Ambassador, and since 2015 has performed as a dancer in the the NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company Schools Spectacular, including as a featured artist in 2019. Zipporah has been in multiple theatre productions including Harvest Rain’s Hairspray Big Fat Arena Spectacular in QLD, NSW and SA, Insite Arts’ Saltbush Tours, children’s show Corka Bubs and Adelaide Festival/Stephen Page’s: Baleen Moondjan. Her versatility has seen Zipporah also work as a choreographer and radio host on Triple J. Her desire to promote her strong cultural background and educate others is always part of her performance. 

Currently working on new music set to release in 2025, Zipporah is a huge talent and an artist we are excited to bring to the Whitsundays.

Crowned the winner of The Voice Season 9 under the guidance of Kelly Rowland, Chris Sebastian captured the attention of Australians nationwide in performance after spine-tingling performance. As a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter, he is the epitome of a complete artist.

Touring with American vocal group Pentatonix, recording in Los Angeles, sharing the spotlight with world-renowned artists and commanding sold-out headline shows, Chris also tours with dynamic Aussie electronic duo Peking Duk.

Charting at number 1 in the Independent Australia Music Charts with the single “I found You”. "Hard to Get to Love” received 1.3 million plays on Commercial radio and was the 2nd most added song to Australian radio playlists in 2021. With a number 1 single in Germany the song "One in a Billion" was sung and co-written by Belgium singer Ian Thomas.

Festival co-founders Karen Jacobsen and Francesca de Valence say: “We are very excited to announce Chris Sebastian as part of our stellar 2025 line-up of professional songwriters. Chris’ international experience and high stakes artistry will serve as an inspiration to local songwriters attending our workshop, and we know Whitsundays audiences are in for a magical experience when he takes the stage at our Concert and Conversation event.”

An Australian musical treasure, Wendy Matthews has an expressive voice that never fails to move those who hear it. Her music is an unhurried journey of clean melodies, infectious energy and simple grace. In an age where uber-production techniques are thought to be hip, and cynicism an attribute, Wendy has proven that commitment to beauty is still not only valid but applauded by the public ear, her music now in more than 1 million homes in Australia with all her albums having multi-platinum status. Wendy has an immense talent and capacity to capture and define a diverse range of styles from every genre and makes them her own; from jazz to blues, from rock to gospel, from soul to outright infectious pop and then of course, there are the beautiful ballads.

Born in Montreal Canada, Wendy joined her first band and left home as a teenager, busking her way across the USA to Los Angeles. Wendy became an in-demand session singer, appearing on many commercial jingles and backing vocals. She has worked with Jimmy Barnes, Tim Finn, Richard Clapton, Icehouse, Kate Ceberano, Rockmelons, and Peter Blakeley.

Her solo debut album Émigré (Double Platinum) earned Wendy Best Female Artist and Best Debut Single (for Token Angels) at the 1990 ARIA Awards. In 1992 Wendy received the ARIA for Best Female Artist and Best Single and in 1993, Best Female Artist. Wendy was also voted Best Female Singer in the 1990 Rolling Stone Reader’s Poll. The Day You Went Away was the ‘highest selling single’ of 1993 and the ‘single of the year’.

Jude York is the fast rising Australian star, whose self-produced pop delicacies are already leaving fans captivated and begging for more. 

Growing up rurally with an opera-singer mother and jingle-writer father, there was little else for Jude to do but create his own musical world. In 2022, Jude debuted with a unique cult-favourite performance in Australia’s national round for Eurovision, before releasing viral hits, ‘Mr Porcelain’ and ‘Cashew.’ With breathtaking vulnerability, Jude quickly garnered a fanbase of like minded misfits, a community solidified by seeing him live on tour throughout Europe supporting Dean Lewis and later on his own headline tour of Australia. 

Now with 6 million streams on his first mixtape, a Queensland Music Award under his belt and Jude’s latest sensation, ‘Monaco’ climbing the international charts and amassing a staggering 1 million streams in its first week, a new era is on the horizon for the pop star-in-the-making.

From a four chair turn and final of The Voice Australia to America’s Got Talent to performing at Eurovision, Johnny Manuel thrills audiences with his artistry.

Discovering the joy of performance and musicianship in the church choir in Flint Michigan, at the age of ten he had recorded his first demo; a cover of Run DMC’s ‘It’s Like That’ and had a recording contract at 14 with Warner Records, touring with NSync and Jessica Simpson along the way.

Recently honored to perform for United States President Joe Biden in New York City, Johnny continues to build an international fan base from his new home in Australia. A fan favourite of Queensland’s Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols for the past several years, 

Realizing his creative vision across multiple projects with creative collaborators ARIA-winning artist/producer Nick Littlemore (PNAU and Empire of the Sun) and rising artist/producer Aidan Laprete he has released two EP’s independently; “Younger Skin” and “Blue”. Johnny’s new sound finally allows him to be his authentic self.