If all that we keep is the journey, then singer/songwriter 25 year old Simon Bruce already has his hands full. With a world of experience under his belt, he is currently working on his second full-length album, a follow up to his debut album released on EMI/ Capitol, which he recorded when he was 19 years old. Simon began writing original songs at age 12, listening to The Beatles. Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan. During high school, Simon moved to Sydney and was soon lugging his guitar and repertoire of mostly cover songs, busking up and down the local weekend markets. At 15, he spent a few months in the UK, busking through Bath, York and London. "That was a real experience, I loved it. I was playing a lot of folk songs, Dylan tunes and that was the real start for me."
Returning to Australia, he played at the Tamworth festival and then made musical history as the youngest musician invited to play the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. He was granted an Outstanding Talent Visa, giving him the right to work in the US and soon moved to USA.
By age 23, Simon had toured the world playing for thousands of audiences and had created a following of diehard fans of all ages and recorded with a variety of artists in Australia and the USA. In 1998 he took a working musical vacation to the UK and appeared in clubs and busked on street corners in Britain. Simon landed a high-profile support slot touring the US with John Hiatt, playing among other venues, such as the Bitter End in New York and Threadgill's in Texas (Janis Joplin's favorite gig.) He toured Australia and New Zealand with Dido, playing to more than 200 different audiences and appeared on various TV shows. Simon has also opened for artists such as Tommy Emmanuel, Richard Clapton, Kasey Chambers, Vanessa Carlton, Josh Pyke, Bond, and Grace Knight, amongst others.
In 2004, "Restless Thoughts", Simon's debut albmum was released in Australia on Essence/EMI Records followed his successful independently-released EP "The Champagne Sessions", (featuring Keith Urban on backing vocals), recorded live in just three days, with producer Nash Chambers. The album received rave reviews and Bruce says: "Dylan to me is definitely what got me into words, made me want to think and write from different angles".
