Ziggy Alberts

When Ziggy Alberts first picked up the guitar he could scarcely have realised the adventure he was about to embark on. The home-schooled kid from the Sunshine Coast of Australia was meant to be a dentist, but a little more than 10 years later his music has reached millions of fans worldwide, building a huge audience the only way he knows how - song by breath-taking song, and show by sweat-drenched show.

“It's been a bizarre, crazy journey,” he says. “I’ve got my personal goals, of trying to be as good as I can be in what I do, or how I conduct myself. You can’t really control numbers, I guess. It’s better to focus on what you can do, and just be grateful for it all.”

The numbers alone are staggering. Ziggy Alberts’ brand of impish, catchy, golden-hued songwriting is steeped in acoustic tones and folk renderings, but there’s something fresh, too. His initial tours were self-funded and self-promoted, but he’s grown to sell out some of the biggest venues at home and abroad. Ziggy Alberts has a unique ability to connect - breakout single ‘Runaway’ took his sound global with more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg across six, soon to be seven, mammoth studio albums that charts his growth both as an artist, and as a person.

“I try to write every day,” he says. “That kind of approach makes me feel like I’m in rhythm with it all, and you get stronger as a result. If you’re disciplined, it makes it easier. And I’m at peace with that. I’m a street performer, that’s where I’m from. I think I know what I can offer, which is storytelling and a smile. Hopefully I can make the crowd laugh… that's what I'm interested in doing.”

As one of six siblings, Ziggy Alberts grew up in a noisy household, taking part in martial arts and skating competitions, before discovering surfing as a kid. Music wasn’t even a dot on the horizon, until his parents gifted him a guitar as a kind of high school graduation present. “They probably thought: here you, it’ll get you out of the school books. Maybe they anticipated I’d take a gap year… but here we are: 12, 13 gap years later!”

Within weeks of touching the guitar, songs came pouring out. Playing anywhere that would have him – cafes, bars, on the pavement beside the beach – Ziggy built his fanbase show by show, his rise fuelled by raw talent and unbridled tenacity. “It’s been a busy life,” he jokes. “Everything has been so fresh, at the same time. When you’re 21 there’s no pressure – I could tour, live in my car, fly by the seat of my pants.”

Unsure how to navigate the industry, he carved out his own path. Taking a huge risk, he started his own label – Commonfolk Records – taking on-board all the risk and responsibility that comes with it. The DIY route might not always be glamorous, but it suits him down to the ground. “It’s all tenacity,” he points out. “We kept coming back, just growing and growing. I’m happy doing my thing, connecting with the people who are attending the shows. It’s the most direct form of communication that interests me.”

An outsider finding his own path through the music industry, Ziggy Alberts is re-writing the rules to suit himself. 2018’s ‘Laps Around The Sun’ became an incredible breakout moment, and since then, he’s scored numerous highs - multiple ARIA gold and platinum records, sold out tours that criss-cross the world, and even his own poetry books. Turning down major label deals to retain his independence, Ziggy is a bastion of free-thinking creativity. In the past decade he’s grown and grown, with the powerhouse label now employing 16 people. It’s a lot to deal with, but he remains resolutely grounded, relishing his role as the underdog. “I'm very, very lucky, but there is a pressure, when the stakes are higher… but it also makes me very happy. It's a worthwhile responsibility, and I think responsibility creates a lot of meaning in your life.”

Now he’s ready for his next step. Entering a new decade of life, there’s a palpable sense of maturity to Ziggy’s recent singles ‘New Love’ and ‘Outlaw’– the breezy, sun-kissed, surfer boy folk style is still there, but there’s a greater awareness of meaning in songs such as the lilting ‘Where Does The Love?’. Constructed alongside old friend and collaborator Garrett Kato, the songs are markers of what will follow – he’s digging into his bedrock, resulting in acoustic folk jewels that are stripped back, but also emphatically emotional. Built to be heard in concert, the songs speak to his mission of “choosing simplicity”. 

“I think there’s wisdom in returning to simplicity. In amongst all these possible choices, you’ve chosen to keep things as simple, but as nuanced, as possible. And to me, simplicity is the only option – it’s only then that you can go down different rabbit-holes. Returning to simplicity by choice is a wonderful sentiment.”

Ziggy Alberts is ready to wipe the slate clean and start once more. Incoming album ‘New Love’ is marked by maturity and reflection – it’s a coming-of-age, a moment for Ziggy to profile both his artistry and his humanity. In building his compass, he’s able to root himself firmly in his music; secure in his identity, his next step could well be his boldest. “My father once said to me: who are you at home when no one's looking? How do you treat the people in your life offstage? And how do you treat yourself? I think that my new work - the project and the songs – are going to reflect that.”

The very nature of the album's structure, split between a warm, folk-inspired Side A and a more expansive, rock-and-country-influenced Side B, mirrors the duality of life.  Side A represents the light, or North, with songs that feel familiar and intimate; while Side B ventures into darker tones and broader instrumentation, representing the South. It's this balance that makes ‘New Love’ feel cohesive, giving the album a sense of being made to be listened to in its entirety, much like the records that inspired Alberts early on in his career.

Alberts and Kato embraced an organic, minimalist production approach, finishing the album in just four weeks while resisting the urge to overproduce. This approach preserved the raw emotion of each track, allowing the magic of imperfections to shine through. With ‘New Love’, Ziggy continues to build on the foundation laid by ‘Laps Around The Sun’, offering a new chapter that invites listeners on a journey of honesty, simplicity, and self-discovery - both through the record and the live performances which bring it to life.

His brightest, and most ambitious album to date, ‘New Love’ arrives alongside another lung-bursting set of international shows. Packing out Eventim Apollo in London last year, Ziggy returned to the city to cap off his latest UK tour,  playing two epic nights at the O2 Kentish Town Forum. it's evident that word is out on this special talent. “I’ve still got big aspirations for myself personally, for what I want to achieve, and how I want to conduct myself… but I'm a lot closer than I was.”

Globally, his touring record is as impressive as it is diverse. This year, as part of his 70-date New Love World Tour things have been taken to another level, including massive headline sets in his homeland at Bluesfest Byron Bay, and a co-headline SummerSalt run across Australia’s east coast with Matt Corby and James Bay.  The tour has taken him across Australia, Europe, North America, and Indonesia, selling out venues across Germany (3500 capacity in Hamburg and Munich), Vienna and Amserdam, with debut shows in Mexico and Japan later in 2024 already either sold out or on their way to selling out with months to spare.

From a small town on the Sunshine Coast to touring Europe and North America, Ziggy Alberts is a true grassroots success - now, at last, he’s receiving the recognition he’s long deserved. Armed just with a guitar and burning desire to be heard, he’s taking on the world one gig at a time. “Everyone's got a different way of manifesting the events of their life. For me, it’s connecting with gratitude, and exploring the reality of your life. And that’s what happens when I play a show – we’re all a part of one another’s lives. It’s like the stars have aligned.”

“It's a nice pursuit,” he smiles. “It brings me a lot of fulfilment.”

Have a listen…