Fred Leone

Fred Leone is a cultural leader, a true-born artist and one of the Butchulla Songmen with Aboriginal, Tongan and South-Sea Islander roots. Fred’s role as a Songman sees him as one of the custodians of traditional songs and one of a handful of keepers and custodians of their language. Fred is active in his role as a Songman, ensuring that contemporary Butchulla stories are embedded into the collective memory of the tribes oral histories and ceremonies going forward. He has been a touring artist for over a decade, throwing rhymes and traveling with Public Enemy, Dead Prez and People Under The Stairs as well as receiving invites to collaborate and play with contemporary artists such as John Butler, Xavier Rudd, Amanda Palmer, best-selling author, Neil Gaiman and many, many more. Recently, his guest appearance singing in Butchulla on his cousin Birdz’s track 'Bagi-la-m Bargan' helped see the song become a hit, with close to two million streams, a cavalcade of synch placements and a placement at #30 on triple j’s hottest 100.