The Embers were formed by friends late in 2005 and aimed to compete in the
National Campus Band Competition (NCBC). Duncan Ewington of
Sauce Magazine caught their performance at the Art School Ball of the
University of Tasmania in Hobart in December; he described how, "The Embers were tight and original – I loved the panpipes and the charango guitar, violin and stand-up-bass – what a combo." They supported artists,
the Violent Femmes,
the Whitlams,
Marcia Hines, the Red Eyes,
True Live and the Exploders. The Embers played the
MS Fest and
Falls Festival during 2006. In October of that year they travelled to Sydney for the NCBC. They won the national title against fellow state winners: Regicide (New South Wales), the Strange Little Girls (Queensland), Cellar Door (Victoria), Kingswood Country (Australian Capital Territory), Avedis (South Australia) and the
Dee Dee Dums (Western Australia). The prize provided "$8,000 worth of band equipment... plus 3 days studio time and 3,000 mastered and duplicated CDs." Previous entrants include
the Vines,
Eskimo Joe,
george and
the Vasco Era. In January 2007 they played at the
Cygnet Folk Festival. They also performed at the inaugural International
Southern Roots Festival in
Hobart in that April. Also in April, the Embers used their prize from the NCBC to finish recording their debut self-titled extended play at
Woodstock Studios in Melbourne, which was issued in August. By May 2007 the line-up was Michael Attard on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Joel Delphin on drums, Katy Humphries on saxophone and violin, Leonardo Martinez on
Pan flute,
Andean flute,
charango, Stu van Riel on bass guitar and double bass, and Mark Vincent on electric guitar. Attard and Humphries continued their music careers, working with the Launceston musicians. The group successfully applied for a grant from Arts Tasmania. It was recorded with
Nicky Bomba producing at his Freeburgh Station studios, near the Victoria rural town of
Bright; he also provided steel drum on a track. In August 2015 they started an east coast tour in support of the album's release. In August 2018 they performed at WilderFeast on
Flinders Island, Tasmania.
2018- Now The Embers continued to play various shows across the state including many at its 'Home Base' of the Royal Oak Hotel in Launceston, Junction Arts Festival, Festivale, The Taste Hobart, Beerfest Launceston, Fresh Hops St John, RAM in Bicheno, EchoFest, Party in the Paddock and other Flinders Island shows. From 2019 they embarked on a recording of established material with producer Lawrence Maddy for an EP release. Due to the confounding elements of 'the lost Covid years' and a nasty accident sustained by Katy to her bowing arm, release has only just come to fruition. The Embers are excited to launch the 5 track 'Eats Itself' EP at Altar in Hobart on 25th March. == Band members ==