Chelsea Wilson

Chelsea Wilson is a Melbourne based vocalist, songwriter, broadcaster and producer. Her debut soul inspired album “I Hope You’ll Be Very Unhappy Without Me” was lauded #2 Album of the Year on ABC Radio National and nominated for Best Soul Album at The Age Music Victoria Awards. An internationally acclaimed live performer she headlined the Arts Centre Melbourne stage at the Australasian World Music Expo; supported Macy Gray on her Australian tour; and made her UK debut at Glastonbury Festival 2015, subsequently selling out the famous London Jazz Café. Her highly anticipated second album “Chasing Gold” sees Chelsea move into rare-groove territory, fusing her love of early disco, epic pop and jazz. Produced by ARIA nominated composer/ bassist Ross McHenry (The Shaolin Afronauts), the album features lush string orchestration arranged by Ross Irwin (The Bamboos) and backing vocals by Jason Heerah and Thando. The debut single “Real Love” has garnered international airplay including spins on BBC6, Delite Radio, Starpoint, Mi-Soul and Jazz FM in the UK, hitting #12 on the UK Soul Chart. Behind the scenes Chelsea is the Artistic Director of the Stonnington Jazz Festival and recently appeared as a panel expert on Australian Music at The Lincoln Centre New York City for Jazz Congress 2019. A champion for diversity in the music industry she has produced the ‘Women of Soul’ series featuring artists such as Kylie Auldist, Mojo Juju and Stella Angelico alongside emerging artists since 2010. She is currently Deputy Chair of Music Victoria, the state peak body for contemporary music and was a formative member of the MV Women in Music Advisory Panel. As a DJ Chelsea has supported artists including Booker T, Neneh Cherry, Tina Arena, Hiatus Kaiyote and Craig Charles. As a broadcaster she appears regularly on PBS 106.7FM Melbourne and Mi-Soul London. Chelsea grew up listening to rhythm and blues courtesy of her Dad’s record collection; pop, disco and rock through her Mum’s catalogue and big band and swing via her grandfather’s 78’s. But it was falling in love with jazz as a young teenager and in particular with the great voices of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn that inspired Chelsea to become a vocalist and led her to studying at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. After completing her music degree, Chelsea earned her performance stripes overseas, completing seven 6-month international residency contracts across Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, The UAE, The USA and The Caribbean performing over 280 shows per year. After relocating to Melbourne Chelsea collated her experiences into her debut EP Bitterness and took up the post as Music and Interviews Manager at iconic Melbourne station PBS FM before releasing her debut full length ‘I Hope You’ll Be Very Unhappy Without Me’. MEDIA QUOTES “Prepare to have your mind blown.. Chelsea Wilson, equipped with a smoking jazz-pop vocal weapon, is unquestionably one of the hottest acts on the Aussie circuit at the moment” – Tone Deaf Australia “Wilson’s a goddamn soul/jazz power house” – Beat Magazine “sophisticated soul, that has all the elements to really weave some magic” – BBC UK “brilliant and alluring” – RTR-FM 92.1 “she understands the importance of going beyond a musical performance.. She understands what it takes to put on a show. We’d be very unhappy without her.” – Skylashes