Ziggy Alberts

An Australian singer/songwriter whose sound pairs lyrical introspection with a relaxed delivery, Ziggy Alberts fuses acoustic guitar textures and emotionally direct songwriting—frequently drawing on natural imagery—with melodic hooks and contemporary rhythmic drive. Street performance marked his entry into music, and that unpolished immediacy lingers in his recordings, above all on his earliest release, the 2013 album Made of Water. Refining his approach brought wider attention, culminating in the 2018 album Laps Around the Sun, which reached the Top Ten on the Australian Albums Chart and earned double-platinum certification at home. Environmental advocacy also shapes his work, a focus audible across multiple tracks on the 2021 album Searching for Freedom.

Born in July 1994 and raised on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Alberts received homeschooling from his parents until age 13. Dentistry or engineering initially attracted him, yet after finishing high school at 16 he received a guitar; his parents urged him to channel his feelings through songwriting. By 2011 he felt ready to leave his job, drive along the eastern seaboard, and perform spontaneous sets as often as nine times weekly. Listeners responded, prompting him in 2012 to establish Commonfolk Records and issue his debut digital EP, Feels Like Home. October 2013 brought his first full-length album, Made of Water, after which he toured extensively in Australia and Europe. The 2014 follow-up, Land & Sea, expanded to sixteen tracks, mixing fresh material with re-recorded selections from the earlier EP and album.

Further roadwork and the 2016 five-song EP Four Feet in the Forest preceded his first appearance on the Australian singles chart: the September 2017 release “Heaven” peaked at number 85. That track previewed Laps Around the Sun, whose commercial impact included seven platinum singles by 2021 and a growing international following alongside his domestic popularity. In 2020 he collaborated with Australian hip-hop group Horrorshow on the EP I Won’t Give You Up. Commonfolk released his fourth album, Searching for Freedom, in 2021; one of its songs, “Together,” addressed the Australian Bushfire Crisis, with a share of streaming proceeds directed to relief organizations. November 2021 saw Ingrooves Music enter an international distribution agreement with Commonfolk, and his fifth studio album, Dancing in the Dark, appeared in November 2022.