Karl S. Williams and Sally Wiggins make music that is steeped in delta blues, gospel and old-time folk, with poetic sensibilities that call to mind the classic singer-songwriters of yesteryear. With a voice that sounds about a thousand years old, Karl moves between guitar, piano and banjo while Sally holds it down on the kit with mesmerising rhythms drawn from her wealth of jazz and Afro influences.

Karl proudly traces his bloodlines to the Butchulla and Darug people of Australia's First Nations. This deep connection to the landscape of his homeland pervades his work and infuses it with a spirituality that is older than time.

Together they are liberated to lean into the music, playing with space and silence as much as notes veering effortlessly from acoustic intimacy to fuzzed out garage blues. With a mandate to improvise, eschew convention and give voice to the human spint, they take audiences on an emotional ride which is frequently described as mesmerising.

Just a year into their journey the pair have already clocked up appearances at festivals such as Kiama Jazz & Blues, Wintermoon, Tamworth Country Music and Echuca Winter Blues and opened for The Whitlams, The Cruel Sea and Ash Grunwald.

Karl has toured extensively in Australia including festivals such as Bluesfest, Woodford Folk Festival, Dark Mofo, Panama, Queenscliff and Festival of The Sun. He has shared the stage with artists such as Donavon Frankenreiter, Mia Dyson, Tex Perkins, Don Walker and Busby Marou.

Karl is a  singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and poet – an artist that you never saw coming. A genre defying and multifaceted musician for whom music is an urgent calling and the solution is, to love more.

What makes Karl truly remarkable, is that he is unafraid - he wears his heart on his sleeve, he speaks universal truths and he crosses boundaries. This is blues, roots, folk and Americana, if you will… but not as you know it. 

Karl will be Joined by Sally Wiggins in duo mode at Shiraz Republic showcasing a new take on his previous solo and full band endevours. With 2 releases since his last Heathcote show including 2023's Rainbows In The Gasoline & 2024's 10th anniversary re-interpretaiton of Heartwood. 

Delivered with powerful conviction that takes your breath away, a Karl S. Williams performance is frequently referred to as a visceral and ‘spiritual experience’, leaving an audience slightly altered in the best way possible.


“So good, it might save your life!”

— Noel Mengel, Courier Mail: Review of Heartwood