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The Waifs

The Arena Theater is proud to present The Waifs, the internationally acclaimed folk rock band from Australia.

Their honest songwriting, rollicking bluesiness, and the soaring vocals of Vikki Thorn (harmonica, guitar, vocals), Donna Simpson (guitar, vocals), and Josh Cunningham (guitar, vocals) have made them a hit with folk and roots audiences worldwide. Their current tour band also includes Ben Franz (bass) and David Ross MacDonald (drums).

The Waifs inspirational tale of self-determined international success began some 16 years ago. When sisters Donna and Vicki met guitarist Josh in a remote corner of the Western Australian desert, they began their journey from Australian grass-roots road warriors to international festival favorites. Their mobile cottage industry of campfire-crafted songs and independently recorded, gold-selling CDs slowly reached critical mass in Australia between 1996 and 2000.

The band released its third album Sink or Swim in 2000 and started to play at folk festivals in Canada and the US. In 2001, the band made its first appearance at the Newport Folk Festival and was acclaimed "the darlings of [that] year's festival" by the Newport Daily News. Tireless touring and their captivating on-stage chemistry led to a contagious festival following throughout Europe and North America. The growing international reputation of the band led to the release of Sink or Swim in the United States in 2002. Their watershed album, Up All Night (2003), stormed mainstream and alternative charts back home, and picked up ARIA Awards including Best Independent, and Best Blues & Roots Release.
The band so impressed Bob Dylan when they supported him on his 2003 Australian tour that he offered them the support slot on his tour of North America in 2003. This was a great thrill for the group as the band started off playing Bob Dylan tunes before they started writing their own songs.
Their latest album is Sundirtwater (2007). Its title track Sundirtwater is a worldly, seductive groove that meanders between styles, as does the whole albumslinky jazz, elegant country, smoky bluesand effortlessly nails what Josh calls "our finest recorded moment to date."