Nathan May

aSSOCIATE aRTIST (hE/HIM)

Adelaide-based singer-songwriter, Nathan May, has been developing his talent since the age of three, when he began playing music in church in Darwin. A graduate of the prestigious Clontarf Academy of Darwin, Nathan was inspired to make music his fulltime career after he met President Barack Obama in 2011, and was personally urged by him to follow his dreams. 

However, Nathan has learned that following his dreams requires not only inspiration and talent, but hard work and determination. Moving to Adelaide in 2012 to study music at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music, Nathan completed an Advanced Diploma of Aboriginal Music at the same time as writing, recording and releasing his debut EP, Reflections. In 2017, he was selected by country music legend Glenn Skuthorpe to support him on his See My World national tour.

Nathan is one of Adelaide’s hardest working live performers. In 2019, Nathan performed 80 live performances locally, including a showcase at the Adelaide Fringe “Garden Sessions” that has led his own solo show, Lost in The Dream, at the 2020 Adelaide Fringe.

A descendant of the Arabana, Yawuru, and Marridjabin family groups of South Australia and the Northern Territory, Nathan is inspired to regularly give back to his community. In recognition of the support he has received from mentors his own life and career, he designs and delivers mentorship programs to young Aboriginal children through the Culture is Life suicide prevention program, Generation Change program through Relationships SA, and school holiday music programs in Marree, Coober Pedy and Oodnadatta. He brings his own experiences and his story of hope through music to Aboriginal children who have experienced trauma and violence. 

Nathan’s personal experiences of loss, family, friendship and culture inspires his work. He writes in memory of his friends and family, and as a reminder that there’s always hope.