WAYNE HORSBURGH

THE SHORT VERSION:

Australia’s International Country Entertainer, WAYNE HORSBURGH is back in Australia after dividing his time between home and the USA for 25 years.  At the 41st Annual Australian Entertainment ‘MO’ Awards on March 20th 2018, Wayne was named ‘ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR’ and presented with a ‘Gold Statue’ as well as a second ‘MO’ Award for ‘Country Performer Of The Year’.

Born and raised in Benalla, Victoria, Wayne started singing and playing guitar at just 8 years old. Some of his early musical influences were Frank Ifield, Wilf Carter and Slim Whitman – hence the love for yodelling, always a crowd pleasing feature of his own shows. Having become a full time performer in 1976, he toured Australia with the legendary Buddy Williams in 1978 and then moved to Sydney in 1979 with a dream of becoming a successful entertainer and the ambition to travel the world with his music. He has certainly achieved that and more.  Wayne has now moved back to his home town of Benalla, Victoria and planning on retiring from his successful music career.

Wayne’s career has taken him to places that include New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. His big break came when he was invited to perform in the USA at Wisconsin’s Hodag Country Festival in 1989. Recognizing his talent and popularity, he was booked back eight more times over the following years where he shared the bill with the biggest stars in American Country Music. Wayne based himself in Nashville, Tennessee for many years, before moving to Branson, Missouri to continue entertaining audiences through until 2009.
At the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2013, Wayne was inducted into the ‘Roll Of Renown’, the highest honour to be awarded in Australian Country Music. Performing for many years in the Sydney Clubs, Wayne has also won two ‘ACE’ Awards and now seven Australian Entertainment ‘MO’ Awards for excellence in live entertainment in the ‘Best Male Country Performer’ category, plus the Gold MO for ‘Entertainer Of The Year’.

Wayne records on Rotation Records (Aust.) with 34 album releases throughout the years. His latest CD’s include ‘Reminiscing’, ‘Country Songs & Western Swing’, ’22 Yodel Greats’, ‘Sentimental Favourites’ (with Howie Bros.), ‘Celebrating 40 Years’, ‘Songs Of The Islands – Vol. 2’, ’Roll Of Renown – Tamworth 2013’, ‘22 Gospel Greats’, ‘Yodels and Love Songs’, ‘A Salute To Marty Robbins’,  ‘Songs of the Islands – Vol.1’. 

WAYNE HORSBURGH has become a trailblazer for other Australian performers in international markets. With his elevation to the ‘Roll Of Renown’, his name now has a permanent place in the history of Australian Country Music.  Wayne has been a recording artist for over 48 years, his first single was in 1976 and now it’s 2025.

THE LONGER VERSION:

WAYNE HORSBURGH:  ‘ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR’  announced at the 41st annual Australian Entertainment ‘MO’ Awards, plus ‘Country Performer’ ‘MO’ Award.

Australia’s International Country Entertainer, Wayne Horsburgh is now based home in Australia after going back and forth to the USA over a period of 25 years.

Born and raised near Benalla, Victoria, Wayne Horsburgh started singing and playing guitar at just 8 years old, had his own dance band at age 11 and was a regular performer on GMV-6 Shepparton television shows. Some of his early musical influences were Frank Ifield, Wilf Carter and Slim Whitman, hence the love for yodelling – a crowd pleaser at his shows.

He toured Australia with the Legendary Buddy Williams in 1978 and then moved to Sydney in 1979 with a dream of becoming a successful entertainer and the ambition to travel the world with his music. He has certainly achieved that and more.

At the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2013, Wayne became the 42^nd inductee to the ‘Roll Of Renown’, the highest honour to be awarded in Australian Country Music.  Wayne has performed at Tamworth each year for the past 40 years.

Performing for many years in the Sydney Clubs, Wayne has also won two ‘ACE’ ( Australian Club Entertainment) Awards and now seven Australian Entertainment ‘MO’ Awards for excellence in live entertainment in the ‘Best Male Country Performer‘ category. In 2004, Wayne was also nominated for the ‘MO’ Award in the prestigious ‘Australian Showbusiness Ambassador Of The Year‘ category, alongside Barry Humphries (Dame Edna), Hugh Jackman, Kylie Minogue, James Morrison and Keith Urban.

The latest ‘GOLD MO AWARD’ for ‘ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR’ was announced on March 20th 2018.

1999 – Wayne wins Country Male Performer at the A.C.E (Australian Club Entertainment) Awards, sharing the title with Troy Cassar-Daley.
In 2004, Wayne again won the A.C.E. Award in this category

Wayne’s career has taken him all over the world, developing a huge fan following not just in Australia, but also in New Zealand, Britain and the United States. His first visit to the USA was in 1984, however his big break came when he was invited to perform at Wisconsin’s Hodag Country Festival in 1989, sharing the stage with country music stars Emmylou Harris, The Oak Ridge Boys, Freddy Fender and Ricky Van Shelton. The Festival attracts an estimated crowd of 40,000 people. Critics applauded him with “…it would be a mild understatement to say that Wayne Horsburgh was the hit of the show… in fact he should have been arrested for the brazen way in which he stole the show”. Recognizing his talent and popularity, the organizers booked him back eight more times over the following years and in 2007 Wayne performed at the 30th anniversary Hodag Country Festival, being his 9th appearance on this huge festival. Billed so many times with the biggest names in American Country Music, Wayne became well known especially in Wisconsin and surrounding states as he continued to perform at Country Music Festivals, County Fairs, Polka Festivals and Theatres.

Back in 1991, Wayne represented Australia at Nashville’s ‘International Fan Fair‘, where he performed on the grandstand stage. He then had his own booth at ‘Fan Fair‘ each year until 2003, signing autographs for the fans alongside many of the legends of American Country Music. It was during those years that Wayne started spending six months of each year in the USA. Based in Nashville for many years, Wayne then moved to Branson, Missouri in 1997 (Branson attracts 8 million visitors annually) making it his USA home until Oct. 2009.

In 1998, Wayne first represented Australia at the International World-Fest at Silver Dollar City, Branson, along with 500 other International entertainers. He has performed at this huge festival nearly every year since then up until 2009. Over a period of 12 years Wayne was also a regular performer at the ‘Great American Music Festival’ at Silver Dollar City, backed by the famous Horse Creek Band.

With 34 album releases throughout the years, Wayne records on Rotation Records (Aust.) the latest CD’s being ‘Reminiscing’, ‘Country Songs & Western Swing’, ’22 Yodel Greats’, ‘Sentimental Favourites’ (with Howie Bros.), ‘Celebrating 40 Years’, ‘Songs O The Islands – Vol.2′, ‘Roll Of Renown – Tamworth 2013’, ’40 Cowboy Songs'(with Howie Bros’), ‘Yodels and Love Songs’, ‘A Salute To Marty Robbins’, ‘22 Gospel Greats’ and ‘Born Free. 

He also had two CD’s released from London on the UK Jasmine Records label, being ‘Songs of the Islands-Vol.1’ and ‘Can You Hear Those Pioneers?’

After many years of performing in the USA Wayne has become a trailblazer for other Australian performers in international markets. Returning to Australia in 2010 he continued to perform in the Sydney Clubs until moving back to Benalla, Vic., in 2021 and plans to retire from a successful career.  With his elevation to ‘Roll Of Renown’ at Tamworth in 2013, his name now has a permanent place in the history of Australian Country Music.   Wayne has been a recording artist for 48 years, his first single was in 1976 and now it’s 2025.