2004–2005: Foundation and early years A precursor to the Audreys started in Melbourne as a duo consisting of lead singer Taasha Coates and guitarist Tristan Goodall. Goodall had been a member of a band, the Milk, in Adelaide, from the early to mid-1990s. The duo moved back to Adelaide, where they formed the Audreys in 2004 and first performed in June of that year. The original line-up had Coates on lead vocals,
melodica,
harmonica and
ukulele, Cameron Goodall on guitar, bass guitar and backing vocals, his brother Tristan Goodall on guitar and
banjo and Michael Green (a.k.a. Mikey G) on
violin,
lap steel guitar and backing vocals. Australian musicologist,
Ian McFarlane, described their sound, "a tuneful blend of alt-country and folk rock that had parallels with other roots rock acts" specifying fellow Australians,
the Waifs,
Claire Bowditch,
Angus & Julia Stone and
Mama Kin. and its songs were used as the soundtrack for the 2007
ABC TV series,
Rain Shadow. Their second album,
When the Flood Comes, was released in April 2008, and at the
ARIA Music Awards of 2008 it won the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album. The album featured the single "Paradise City". Tracks "Small Things" and "Lay Me Down" have been included on movie and television program soundtracks both in Australia and the USA. "Small Things" was used as soundtrack music in the November 2010 episode of
Neighbours, when
Steph Scully was sentenced to 6 years in jail for the death of
Ringo Brown. "Small Things" was also featured in an episode of the US series
One Tree Hill (TV series). The band have appeared at Australian festivals such as Bluesfest, WOMADelaide, Groovin' the Moo, Tamworth, Queenscliff Music Festival, Bass in the Grass, A Day on the Green,
Woodford Folk Festival, Red Hill Harvest Festival,
Port Fairy Folk Festival,
The Great Escape, The
East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival,
Southbound, Mossvale Music Festival, Great Southern Blues & Rockabilly Festival, The
Falls Festival and the
Adelaide leg of the
Big Day Out in 2007. They have also toured overseas, including shows in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Russia.
2010–2015: Sometimes the Stars & Til My Tears Roll Away Following the departure of Cameron Goodall and Michael Green, Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall continued as a duo and recorded their third album. The album included work from
Tim Rogers, jazz pianist
Paul Grabowsky, members of
Tripod, and
Michael Barker of the
John Butler Trio. The duo once again worked under the guidance of producer, engineer and friend
Shane O'Mara. In March 2012, a 3-CD box set called
Collected was released, featuring the first three studio albums. The digital version included seven bonus tracks, including the song "Train Wreck Blues", which was released as a single. In March 2014, the group released their fourth album ''
'Til My Tears Roll Away'', which peaked at number 32 on the ARIA Charts. The album was preceded by the lead single "My Darlin' Girl" in January 2014. At the
ARIA Music Awards of 2014, the band were again nominated for Best Blues and Roots Album.
2016–2023: solo work In 2016, Taasha Coates released her first solo record
Taasha Coates and her Melancholy Sweethearts through
ABC Music and produced by fellow Australian producer
Shane Nicholson. The first single and video for the album was "This House Is Gonna Burn", a song about domestic violence. Overall the record has a harder edge than most of the material Taasha penned in the Audreys, though the artistic and thematic through lines are quite clear. Songs from the album are featured prominently in the ABC miniseries
Pulse. Taasha lives in the Adelaide Hills with her two children. Tristan resided in Brisbane, and the Audreys still play often around Australia. On 16 September 2021, the band announced via their
Facebook page that Tristan Goodall had "retired permanently from playing and touring" but that Coates had "created a new line-up to continue what we started" with his blessing, with more details to be announced subsequently. In July 2022, the Audreys announced via their Facebook page that Tristan Goodall had died on 2 July 2022, aged 48. He had been too ill to tour for the previous two years. Coates declared: "I have to say goodbye to my dearest friend, my musical soulmate, and my grief is almost unbearable." In January 2025 the group announced the release of
Ruin & Repair for March 2025. ==Members==