When Aminah Hughes steps on stage she does more than fill the room with her honeyed voice. She draws her audience into nostalgia, calling us to remember the beauty and rebelliousness of an analogue world. “Inspiring” and “strong” are words that are often passed around at her performances as she embodies the empowerment we are all aching to feel. Unafraid to touch the rawness, she gives voice to pain, laying it bare, and finding the light in its grace.
An Australian roots artist playing somewhere in between the worlds of folk, alt. country, blues, jazz and spoken word, Aminah is a seasoned performer in Australia and Europe. She performed in the Sydney Opera House at the age of sixteen and has shared stages with Tommy Emmanuel, Declan O’Rourke, KILA, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Waterboys fiddler Steve Wickham. She has been featured in US magazines, appeared on Irish TV, RTÉ and BBC Radio and performed with orchestras as a vocalist and flautist. She appeared on 11 albums in Australia and Europe before producing her debut solo album, Blue Wooden Boat.
Recorded in Ireland, USA, Australia and Germany, the album features special guests Emmanuel, Wickham and Nashville gospel singers, The McCrary Sisters. Mixed in Nashville and mastered in Memphis by GRAMMY® award winning engineers, it launched her independent label, Blue Wolf Records, securing her a worldwide distribution deal with MGM. The album has earned Aminah a growing list of accolades, including two wins and a nomination at the Independent Music Awards in New York. It has received airplay in Australia, UK and Ireland, and on over 80 stations in 26 states across the US and Canada, charting on thirteen US core and college radio charts, from #30 to #6.
Aminah’s vocals appear on a variety of productions, including Australia’s Who Do You Think You Are? and highly anticipated game, Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock, based on the popular NBCUniversal Television Series.
A writer and filmmaker, Aminah has directed music videos for herself and others, which has resulted in screenings at international festivals and premieres with American Songwriter Magazine (Nashville) and Musical Notes Global (New York).
Aminah is the founder of SongCraft Songwriting Workshops, which focus on utilising poetic techniques for strong lyric writing. She has facilitated workshops and song circles at festivals, writers centres, high schools, after school programmes, church groups, prisons, private spaces and via video chat.
Praise for Blue Wooden Boat:
“A gorgeous emotional journey…Hughes demonstrates powerful vulnerability…enhanced by stunning, soulful vocals…not only does Blue Wooden Boat have something for everyone but it will open and heal those parts of your heart that need it most.” – Musical Notes Global (New York)
“Where heartbreak and struggle blur into uplifting gospel – a perfect song for healing.” – American Songwriter Magazine (Nashville)
“Nothing short of spectacular…a song cycle that will have enduring appeal” – Around the Sound magazine
“A hint of Eva Cassidy’s vocal versatility and interpretive powers…(Aminah’s) own songs of nature and self-examination enchant…” – The Weekend Australian
“A wonderful ability to invoke realms of magic and beauty.” – Scenestr
Praise for Aminah:
“A strong, soulful singer” – All About Jazz
“An intelligent and vocal woman of extraordinary musical talent – a powerful musical force” – Robert James (GANGgajang/Yothu Yindi)
“Trying to pin down what this singer can do with her voice is hard because she can do some amazing things. She can belt out a roof-raising blues tune just as readily as she can deliver a folk tune sweet enough to make you cry.” – ABC Radio
“There’s something about this woman’s commitment to music; she puts her heart and soul into everything she does, and she always makes it her own…she absolutely nailed it. Spectacular.” – Kate Winter (Irish Journalist & Reviewer)
“A true Renaissance woman” – Musical Notes Global (New York)
“A gorgeous emotional journey…Hughes demonstrates powerful vulnerability…enhanced by stunning, soulful vocals…not only does Blue Wooden Boat have something for everyone but it will open and heal those parts of your heart that need it most.”
– Musical Notes Global (New York)
Music Videos
“Trying to pin down what this singer can do with her voice is hard because she can do some amazing things – she can belt out a roof-raising blues tune just as readily as she can deliver a folk tune sweet enough to make you cry”
– Nadia Mitsopoulos, ABC Radio Perth
Gallery
“A hint of Eva Cassidy’s vocal versatility and interpretive powers”
– The Weekend Australian
“There’s something about this woman’s commitment to music; she puts her heart and soul into everything she does, and she always makes it her own…she absolutely nailed it. Spectacular. “
– Kate Winter (Irish Journalist & Reviewer)
Blue Wooden Boat Album Design
Grab a sneak peek behind the scenes of the album cover art for BLUE WOODEN BOAT.
