Born in Nairobi and hailing from the Nilotic peoples of East Africa, Adelaide-based singer, songwriter and producer Elsy Wameyo has established herself as a voice to be reckoned with in the contemporary music industry. Her debut Nilotic burst onto the scene in early 2022, garnering widespread attention from fans and critics alike with regular airplay via Triple J, Double J and community radio stations around the country. Leaning into a unique blend of soul, RNB, gospel and hip-hop, Wameyo has crafted a sound which stands out in a scene cluttered with artists and songwriters looking for attention. Her energetic, rapid-fire vocal delivery is a vessel for insightful lyrics which rail against social injustice and question prejudice in our community. An artist with a remarkable clarity of vision and determined work ethic, Wameyo is set to rise not only in Australia but internationally as one to watch in the global hip-hop community. 

A self-taught producer who wrote and recorded the majority of her debut while at home during the pandemic, Waameyo has since stretched her wings and collaborated with producers in Kenya, London and Australia including Karma Kid, Joe Brown, Detonate, Kojaque, LUCIENBLONKAMP and Polycarp Otieno, of the renowned Kenyan highlife band Sauti Sol. In 2023, Wameyo returned home to Kenya to write and record her debut full-length, and has since set about establishing her own in-house record label to self release the album as well as to support other young artists of the African diaspora in Australia. Her vision is to create a community of artists with stories to share that support each other in reclaiming their identity and speaking out after years of marginalisation and alienation in the Australian music industry. 

To date, Elsy has shared stages with Maségo, Sampa the Great, Genesis Owusu, Ruel, Adrian Eagle and more. She has performed at most major festivals including Groovin’ The Moo, Laneway, WOMADelaide, VIVID Sydney, Falls, Lost Paradise, and Dark Mofo, and has supported Hilltop Hoods at both their Australian stadium tour and recent European headline dates. In 2022, Wameyo was named Triple J’s Unearthed Artist of the Year and invited to perform at Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay. Next year she hopes to tour extensively in Europe and the UK, and will undertake collaborative songwriting sessions in London and Los Angeles. 

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Great Southern Nights 2024 will take place from 8-24 March 2024 featuring more than 300 gigs across 17 nights throughout Sydney’s inner city and Western Sydney, as well as shows in seven key music communities across NSW, including Tamworth, Wagga, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Northern Rivers.

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We acknowledge that this event is held on the stolen lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.