​Josh Meader is a 29-year-old Australian jazz/fusion guitarist, composer, and bandleader who has established a distinctive voice in contemporary guitar performance, and highly regarded in the international guitar community. Leading the Josh Meader Trio, featuring Australian National Jazz Award winners Matthew Thomson (keys) and Alex Hirlian (drums), he released his debut album 'Tides of Time' in February 2025. The record showcases 12 original compositions blending influences from jazz, fusion, and progressive rock.

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Josh’s earliest training came from his father, Paul Meader, a jazz double bassist and guitarist, who was his teacher from the age of 7. Together, they later performed weekly for over a decade at Sydney’s historic Rocks Markets, an experience that shaped Josh’s deep improvisational sensibility and connection to live performance.

 

Josh graduated with First Class Honours in Jazz Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2019 after completing a 4-year Bachelor of Jazz Guitar Degree, and in 2022 was named runner-up at the Australian National Jazz Awards.

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Josh has become a leading voice in contemporary Australian jazz, and has appeared at major Australian festivals including the Perth International Jazz Festival (2023), Sydney Festival (2024), and Adelaide Guitar Festival (2024), and Sydney Con Jazz Fest (2026).  

International highlights include a showcase at JazzAhead (Germany, 2023), performing alongside Antoine Boyer, performing at Montreux Jazz Festival with Brekky Boy (2022), and a 2025 UK/European tour featuring seven headline shows across the UK, Italy, Finland, and Germany, including a sold-out night at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. Josh has also served as faculty at the MFA Guitar Camp in Italy in both 2024 and 2025.

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His artistic standing on the international stage was further solidified with a recent high-profile collaboration with the great Virgil Donati, of Allan Holdsworth's 'City Nights' (Gary Husband). 

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