About Gabi Forman Music

Gabi Forman is an award-winning singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist hailing from the NSW snowy mountains. As a genuine, small town girl, she loves the community that comes with regional life and loves bringing that feel to her audience. She performs not only as a soloist, but with her bluegrass band the Wayward Pilgrims.  

Mandolins, modern and traditional/gospel bluegrass, folk and country music are the true loves of award winning Snowy Mountains singer/ songwriter /multi instrumentalist  Gabi Forman, the 2025 -2026 NSW Folk Federation (u25) Youth Artist of the Year & Australia’s second best busker 2024.

That’s what she plays with her five -piece acoustic band Gabi Forman & the Wayward Pilgrims at festivals, shows and venues all around NSW, the ACT and even into Queensland and the genre that underlies much of her songwriting telling untold stories of people and places in her Mountains home.  

Forman also offers herself as a soloist on guitar and as a duo with either her fiddle player or double bass player for light well known covers suitable for events, weddings, parties, bars etc. 

She is also a National Anthem specialist with her emotive soprano voice bringing people to their knees for Advance Australia Fair and the New Zealand National Anthem which she sings in Maori. 

Gabi Forman is the full package - she gives and volunteers generously. She also founded and runs the Snowy Mountains’ only folk and bluegrass club Snowy Mountains Folk & Bluegrass, encouraging new musicians and promoting country folk and bluegrass music. She has volunteered as an emcee for various festivals. 

Shes a member of the NSW Folk Federation, Folk Alliance Australia, ABOTMA and a board member of the Australian National Busking Championships Inc, featured artist for Nimmitabel School of Arts and Monaro Community Radio. 

A fourth generation musician with strong Irish and Scottish heritage, Gabi graduated from the CMAA  Academy of Country Music in Tamworth as an instrumental student (mandolin) , in January 2026. 

She released her fifth original single, the Australiana bluegrass ballad Kiandra, at the Bundanoon Folk Festival  late in 2025. It was recorded and mastered by Roger Corbett.  Her EP I Feel You containing  four original songs was released in 2024. It spawned the single release of her haunting anti bullying single The Girl on May 9  2025 for Do It For Dolly Day. That song was a finalist in the Listen Up Songwriting Award 2025 while title track I Feel You was a finalist in the Tamworth Songwriters Association Best New Talent Award 2025. 

With her family-like fun band - mum Karen on banjo, David Williams /Sherri Olding on guitar, Arch Brown on double bass/backing vocals, Sherri Olding on vocals/harmonies and Gus Olding on fiddle - Gabi sings  lead vocals and leads solos on mandolin on originals and covers  influenced by Molly Tuttle, Old Crow Medicine Show, Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe. She is known to “bluegrass” a few modern songs as well. 

Fresh from playing five stages and busking at Tamworth Country Music Festival 2026 after appearances at folk festivals in Yass, Dorrigo, Tamworth, Bundanoon and Kiama in 2025, and Cobargo 2026 ,  Gabi Forman & The Wayward Pilgrims are refreshing, a little different and with a lot of family like banter, a whole lot of fun. 

Gabi was runner up  in the Open division of the Australian National Busking Championships 2025  and is now the ANBC Ambassador, has also played at Gympie Music Muster, Cobargo Folk Festival, National Folk Festival and with the CMAA Academy band on the Toyota Stage in Tamworth. She supported Amber Lawrence at Nimmitabel Show and Wicker Suite at Michelago. 

Two more original Australiana bluegrass ballads are set to be 

released along with a new live recording of Kiandra  - all recorded live at the Federal Hotel  in Nimmitabel - a trilogy telling untold stories of the Snowy Mountains.

• Runner up Open 2026 Beats on the Beach battle of the bands Merimbulah 
• New South Wales Folk Federation youth artist of the year (u25) 2025-26.
• Finalist Listen Up Music the songwriters prize 2025.
• Semi finalist Tamworth Songwriters Association best new talent 2025 
• 2 x graduate CMAA Academy of Country Music (Junior singer songwriter and senior instrumentalist - mandolin)
• Two times winner Grandiosa Music award
• Runner-up Australian National busking championships 2025 open division
• Ambassador Australian National busking championships
• Ambassador Baxter Boots
• Top 20 Tamworth Country Music festival busking competition 2025.
• Recipient Sound New South Wales emerging artist scholarship 2026
• Recipient Maton Guitar‘s scholarship to Academy of Country Music 2026
• Recipient Tamworth regional Council accommodation assistance grant 2026
• Recipient Snowy Mountains regional Council Australia Day award for Services to Music.
• Highly commended Jindabyne Idol
• Second place - open Braddon Busking championships 2025.