Kym Campbell

With a surfboard under one arm and a guitar under the other, Kym Campbell is making waves in Australian surf music culture and is about to break into the international community with her second release, Preview, produced by the renowned Michael Stangel. (Veronicas/Shannon Noll) Often described as the female Jack Johnson, Kym writes and performs earthy, stripped back music incorporating roots, folk and reggae and peppered with acoustic guitar, ukulele, harmonica and a tight rhythm section. Campbell was inspired to learn to play music at age 20, after hearing Ben Harper play at her university in California. Shortly after picking up the guitar, Campbell moved from Seattle to Australia, where she discovered and embraced the coastal culture of surf, sun and music. Campbell may have been a late starter as an Australian, a surfer and a musician, but this combination was such a natural fit that she progressed rapidly in all three pursuits. By 2008, Kym was beginning to turn heads, including becoming a finalist in the Top 10 Music Oz Awards for Best Singer/Songwriter and being Highly Commended by judges for three songs from her debut EP, So Alive. This was quickly followed with the selection of So Alive as the soundtrack for a number of surfing DVDs and events, including the Quicksilver Pro France in 2009. Since then, Campbell has signed with an independent record label, secured a release deal in Japan for her new EP Preview and her forthcoming full album, and has received generous radio play throughout Australia. Kym’s busy schedule that has seen her performing alongside such notables as The Beautiful Girls and Ash Grunwald, and being chosen by Sounds Australia to showcase her music in Japan in late-2010. Recent festival appearances include The Noosa Surfing Festival and Blues on Broadbeach. Kym is touring to promote Preview nationally in 2010, and she is taking full advantage of her appearances to highlight environmental, political and social issues close to her heart. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.