Holly Sarah Throsby is an Australian musician and novelist.
Her work as a solo artist has produced six albums. She was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Female Artist in 2006 for Under the Town; and in the same category in 2008 for A Loud Call. In 2011, she was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Children's Album for See!, her album of alternative children's songs. Throsby has toured extensively both internationally and in Australia, with artists including Joanna Newsom, Paul Kelly, Sun Kil Moon, Devendra Banhart, and The Tallest Man on Earth.
Throsby is a member of Seeker Lover Keeper, with fellow singer-songwriters, Sally Seltmann and Sarah Blasko. They released an album of the same name in June 2011, which peaked at No. 3 and was nominated for an ARIA Music Awards of 2011 for Best Alternative Album in that year. The band's second album, Wild Seeds (2019) and was nominated for an ARIA Music Awards of 2019 for Best Adult Contemporary Album. The album was accompanied by three music videos starring Australian actors Magda Szubanski, Madeleine Madden, and Yael Stone.
Throsby's debut novel, Goodwood, was published by Allen & Unwin on 28 September 2016. Goodwood came in at number 7 on the ABC's Book Club's Top Ten and was number 3 on Dymocks’ list of the Best Books of 2016. Goodwood has been since been shortlisted for an Indie Book Award, two Australian Book Industry Awards, two Davitt Awards (from Sisters in Crime), a Ned Kelly Award, and the Barbara Jeffris Award. Her second novel, Cedar Valley, was published in September 2018. It was longlisted for an Indie Book Award and a Davitt Award. Throsby's third novel, Clarke, was published in 2022.
Early life and family
Holly Sarah Throsby is the daughter of Margaret Throsby, a radio presenter on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Classic FM; and John Buttsworth, a psychiatrist and art and furniture dealer. Her uncle, David Throsby is a cultural economist, and her maternal grandmother was a cellist in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Throsby grew up in Sydney and began studying guitar at the age of 8. She studied classical guitar techniques and began composing from the age of 11. She attended Hunters Hill High School for her secondary education.
Her older half-brother, Timothy Marc, died in a motorcycle accident in Thailand in 1996. Throsby later recalled the death of her brother "I was 17 when [he] died and I had one exam left in my HSC. I went to the exam and did all that stuff because I thought you had to keep on doing that stuff and I didn't stop... Those things affect you. I think it has made me scared. It made me scared to travel because he died when he was in Bangkok. It made me scared to get on a motorcycle, which I've never done. It made me scared when other people travel away from me". After earning a B.A. degree (major in English) from the University of Sydney, Throsby worked at an art house video store for several years and travelled overseas, including living in Austin, Texas for six months.
Solo musical career
2003: Debut album
During 2003 Throsby recorded her debut album, On Night (11 November 2004), with experimental producer, Tony Dupé, at his cottage on Saddleback Mountain, near Kiama. Throsby provided lead vocals and guitar, additional musicians were Dupé on piano and pump organ, Davey Cotsios on guitar and backing vocals, Abel Cross on bass guitar and double bass, and Joseph Fuse on drums. In Australia it appeared on the indie label, Spunk Records. AllMusic's Mark Deming described her album of "uncluttered but emotionally resonant songs made a major impact with critics." Chloe Persing of Woroni felt it was "a collection of quaint and delicate acoustic songs that have a lyrical focus on themes such as loneliness and distance, and have the ability to resonate quite powerfully."
Throsby toured Australia supporting various musical acts: Bonnie "Prince" Billy (a.k.a. Will Oldham), Joanna Newsom, Bill Callahan/ Smog, M. Ward, Devendra Banhart, Jose Gonzales, Low and The Eels. She toured in the United States, attending SXSW in 2005 and returning for a support tour with David Pajo (Slint, Interpol, Papa M). Throsby also toured Europe, including the United Kingdom, with Micah P. Hinson. In September 2005 Throsby's cover version of "Not the Girl You Think You Are" was compiled on the various artist's album, She Will Have Her Way – a tribute to singer-songwriters, and brothers, Tim and Neil Finn. Fellow female singers on the album include Sarah Blasko and Sally Seltmann (as New Buffalo).