Archie Roach

Archie Roach AM is one of Australia’s iconic storytellers and cultural figures. As a proud Gunditjmara and Bundjalung man, as a singer, songwriter and author, as a vocal survivor of the Stolen Generations and as the life partner and collaborator of the late Ruby Hunter, Archie has carved a unique path through four decades of Australian culture and left an impression that will be felt for generations.

Archie’s career as a recording artist spans ten albums, numerous soundtracks and a number of compilations of his work.  He was inducted into the ARIA hall of fame in 2020 and made a Member of The Order Of Australia in 2015 for his lifetime contributions to music and activism. Beyond these honours, Archie's music has won countless awards including eight ARIAs. The Songs of Charcoal Lane, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of his 1990 debut album, Charcoal Lane, and was recorded at his kitchen table during COVID last year won this year’s ARIA for Best Blues and Roots album.

His breakthrough debut album Charcoal Lane maintains a lasting resonance today. The album’s iconic song “Took The Children Away” was the first song to win an Australian Human Rights Award and has been added to the National Film & Sound Archive.

Archie’s autobiography Tell Me Why (2019) introduced him as an author. The award winning memoir details Archie’s extraordinary odyssey as a stolen child, removed from his family at the age of two, whose journey to reconnect with his people and understand his identity shaped the artist, activist and leader we know today. Archie’s activism, always a companion to his creative career, continues through The Archie Roach Foundation, dedicated to nurturing meaningful opportunities for First Nation artists.

In prose and song, Archie has made telling the stories of his people, of this land and of the human condition his life’s work. His voice, uniquely Australian yet unquestionably universal, resonates with audiences everywhere. Archie now lives in southwest Victoria on Gunditjmara country, his mother’s ancestral homelands, close to the Framlingham Aboriginal mission where he was taken from his family all those years ago.