Monique lives and works on Yuggara & Turrbul country, in a place traditionally known as Tuwong (a Turrbul word for the Pacific koel). This land, and all of Australia, was never ceded by the First Nations owners.

BIO

Wielding a cello, powerhouse vocals and arresting onstage energy, Monique Clare is a multi award-winning songwriter who’s deeply personal storytelling has elicited cathartic tears and laughter from audiences around the world. Her songwriting mirrors her classical training, immersion in the folk scene, and art-pop influences like Björk and Joanna Newsom. Insatiably adventurous, her career has spanned teaching music in war-torn Afghanistan to playing cello with Eminem to a crowd of 80,000 people, touring her acclaimed album ‘Sight’ across Europe and leading hikers up mountainsides for sunrise concerts. With an innovative style that shatters preconceptions of the cello, a disarmingly candid stage presence and a smile as wide as the Cheshire cat's, her live show is mesmerising, offbeat and impactful.

Featured on ABC’s Radio National Music Show, her 2022 debut album ‘Sight’ took out album and song of the year awards at the Australian Folk Music Awards and Queensland Music Awards respectively. Her trailblazing style has earned a growing list of accolades: she received a Danny award for her 2024 performance at Celtic Connections in Scotland, was nominated for the 2023 National Live Music Awards, and was named the 2017 Young Artist of the Year by Folk Alliance Australia. Her 2024 tour of the UK and Europe included appearances at Cambridge Folk Festival (England), Kaustinen Folk Festival (Finland), Seto Folk (Estonia) and Magpie’s Nest Festival (England).

"A stellar performer with unbounding energy...she has a powerful presence that draws you in and makes you want to hear more.”
- Christine White, New Orleans Jazz Festival

“She is a must see”
– Heidi Pritchard, National Folk Festival

“A force to be reckoned with”
- Playlist Play

Raised by a singer and a pipe organist who shared a mutual love of Bach, Gregorian chant and French Impressionist harmony, Monique grew up in a habitat of choirs, surrounded by layers of individual voices forming an immersive wall of sound. While she grew up in a musical family, it took her 13 years to discover Björk, 16 to form a Radiohead obsession, 21 to catch on to The Beatles and 26 to fall in love with Joni Mitchell.

On top of this musical baptism of fire has been an array of experiences as a multi-genre session musician, absorbing diverse genres and approaches to music. She’s toured the US, UK, Ireland and Canada with Melbourne band The Maes, gracing stages from Orkney Folk Festival to Telluride Bluegrass Festival. She’s worked as a hired gun for world-class artists such as Kate Miller-Heidke, The Whitlams, Katie Noonan and Eminem, and accompanied legendary fiddle players Darol Anger and Hanneke Cassel. Playing on stages like the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Woodford Amphitheatre with these artists has given her an unshakable stage presence that she carries into her own shows.

2021 saw Monique represent Australia at the World Expo in Dubai, record and release an international co-write with Amanda Rheaume in a project supported by Folk Music Canada, and produce collaborations with musicians from around the world as part of Global Music Match. Her debut album ‘Sight’ was released in 2022, debuting at #11 on the AIR independent charts and featured on ABC’s The Music Show.

Awards

• 2024 Danny award recipient, Celtic Connections (SCO)

• 2023 Contemporary Album of the Year, Australian Folk Music Awards

• 2023 Contemporary Classical Song of the Year, Queensland Music Awards

• 2021 Best Music Video, West End Film Festival

• 2017 Young Artist of the Year, Folk Alliance Australia

• 2017 Ros Hales Award for Women in Music

PRAISE FOR SINGLE, ‘BETTER NOW’

“(Better Now) lends itself to deep textures that shimmer with celebration…there's a depth of not just sonic interest, but personality”
- Scenestr Magazine

“…A wonderfully organic take on pop - you can feel the thumbprint of her work all over this track”
- Dave Ruby Howe, Triple J Unearthed

“The song rises and falls, builds intensity and gives way to pensive delicacy in such a satisfying way.”
- Jerry Ijale Agbinya, Triple J Unearthed

“Wow, what a sound”
- ABC Saturday Night Country

“A rare talent”
- Inner FM

PRAISE FOR SINGLE, ‘IT WORKS’

“Beautiful, dark, and alluring”

- Nkechi, Triple J

“Bold, clever and vivid… Icicle sharp vocals…reminiscent of the incredible voice of Kate Miller-Heidke”

- BMA Magazine 

“Powerful”

- The Music

“An impressive and magnificent single”

- Music Is My Muse

QUOTES

“Touching…incredibly beautiful”

- Andrew Ford, The Music Show ABC

“Monique is most obviously a virtuoso, and can tease musical sounds from her instrument and combine them in a way that is truly fascinating…when joined together with that overarching clear vocal, we have a synergy of sound”

– John Lamp, The Pulse

“The most incredible musician…a must see this festival”

- The National Folk Festival (AUS)

“A force to be reckoned with”

- Playlist Play

"Monique brings courage and a zeal for life together in her music - she’s a joy to hear".

- Punch Brothers bassist, Paul Kowert

"Her raw and honest lyrics (spoke) to each person in the audience".

- CutCommon Magazine

“There's a depth of not just sonic interest, but personality, that by using her cello accentuates both Monique's musical style and her persona.”

- Scenestr Magazine

“Monique takes her years of music training and her brilliantly quick and creative mind and delivers a performance that is stunning to fans of any music genre. Her songs are intimate and soaring - both sonically and lyrically, and her stage presence is pure joy".

- Matt Smith, Folk Alliance International president 

“Monique Clare captivated her audience at The Black Malabar with her raw talent and inescapably honest songwriting”

-Zac Perrington, The Black Malabar 

"Absolutely delicious"

-Wendy Harmer, ABC Sydney

“Personable cello-slashing Aussie charm”

-Klof Magazine, UK