He started a career of his own at the age of 11 when he formed his own dance band in rural Victoria.[citation needed] In 1978, he was asked by Buddy Williams (an Australian pioneer of country music)[citation needed] to tour Australia. By 1979, Horsburgh had moved to Sydney to pursue his musical career.[citation needed]
Horsburgh is noted by fans and critics alike for his smooth voice, excellent falsetto notes, impressive vocal range, yodelling abilities, and his willingness to popularize and maintain a broad range of traditional country music art forms.[citation needed]
Setting his sights even higher, Horsburgh performed for a season in the United Kingdom in 1982 and investigated the US music and entertainment scene in 1984.[citation needed]
In 1989, Horsburgh was introduced to United States' country music audiences when he performed at the Hodag Festival in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.[citation needed] A groundswell of audience appreciation and the establishment of a US-based fan club were among the reasons Horsburgh based himself in Nashville by the mid-'90s for each American summer season.[citation needed]
The year 1997 saw yet another move for Horsburgh - this time a relocation to the live entertainment capital of the USA: Branson, Missouri.[citation needed] In addition to a full tour schedule - predominantly in the Midwest[citation needed]- Horsburgh has represented his home nation at the international music and cultural festival - Silver Dollar City's WorldFest - each spring since 1998.[citation needed]
He continues to entertain on the Australian club circuit during the summer months of the southern hemisphere.[citation needed]
The Australian Roll of Renown honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the Country Music Awards of Australia in Tamworth in January.[3]
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result
2013
Wayne Horsburgh
Australian Roll of Renown
inductee
Mo Awards
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Wayne Horsburgh won eight awards in that time.[4]
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 22. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
^"Roll of Renown". Tamworth Country Music Festival. Retrieved 29 October 2020.