From choir boy to cancer survivor, the road to musical success has been far from straight for Minnamurra singer-songwriter Timothy James Bowen. But after a stellar appearance on Channel 9’s The Voice – making it through to the final eight contestants – his heartfelt songs have found a brand new audience.

Words Kate O’Mealley

We spoke to Timothy in 2018 about his early gigs, songwriting success and an international tour supporting his sister, Clare Bowen, singer and actress on the hit US television series ‘Nashville’.

It’s been a busy few months for local singer-songwriter Timothy James Bowen, returning home to Wollongong after two months on the road as the support act for sister Clare Bowen’s tour across the United Kingdom and Australia including a hometown performance at Wollongong’s Town Hall. Performing to some of his largest crowds, it’s been an exciting time finding a new following from audiences as far-flung as Glasgow and Brighton, “In the UK alone I was playing to fifteen or twenty thousand people. Within a two-week timespan, it’s seeded an audience there. There were already a few people that were listening to my music [in the UK], but these last shows have just blown that out of the water. It’s opened up new horizons and new opportunities, which is really exciting.”

Not to be outshone of his famous older sister, Bowen has some serious musical credentials. Performing with St Mary’s Cathedral Choir as a schoolboy established his love of singing and set a solid foundation for a future career in music. “At the end of primary school, I had an opportunity to join St Mary’s Cathedral Choir in Sydney. I became one of the head choir students who leads the boys section of that choir. That’s where everything started, in a professional sense. It was a professional choir and you couldn’t go to the school unless you were in the choir. It was really special and helped me form a base of knowledge for music,” he says.

After high school, Bowen studied Jazz at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, whilst performing around Wollongong – although his first few gigs didn’t quite reveal the international venues that were ahead of him. “The first gig I ever did was an Italian restaurant on Wentworth Street in Port Kembla. It was a brothel upstairs [but had] amazing food!” says Bowen. “The second gig was at Mount Kembla Pub – I used to play music there on a Sunday. It’s definitely one of my favourites – that was where I had one of my first beers.” Despite a low-key start performing in pubs, Bowen continued to play and record music. National tours with The Milk Carton Kids, multiple EP’s and cameos at the iconic country music stage, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, a song he co-wrote ‘From Here On Out’ was then chosen for season four of TV series ‘Nashville’ and its follow-up soundtrack.

But as his career was taking off, life took a dramatic turn. In late 2015, just before Christmas, Bowen was unexpectedly diagnosed with end-stage Lymphoma and was given only two weeks to live. As his partner, family and friends rallied around him, an intense regime of chemotherapy began. “The care that I got at Wollongong Hospital was better than anything that I could have ever imagined,” says Bowen. “I’m so glad that I got treated in Wollongong – I could not have hoped for a better place to be treated. They’ve got great facilities and staff and a beautiful knowledge base. They’re a special breed of people – the Cancer Care Centre there is world-class.”

While still completing his last round of treatment, he returned triumphantly to the stage in May 2016, to open for and play alongside Clare for her inaugural Australian tour. Since his health scare, Bowen has gone from strength to strength, but the experience is never far from his mind. Now a Daffodil Day Ambassador, Bowen helps to raise awareness of cancer research and penned the song ‘Someone I Know’. Dedicated to staff that cared for him during his treatment, all proceeds from the song are donated to the Cancer Council: “They approached me to be an ambassador for them last year and I jumped at it. It’s an amazing opportunity, it’s just a great thing to do.”

A second song ‘Anchor’ was also written following his experiences of the last three years – this time about his wife Christina and the challenges they’ve faced together. On a whim, Bowen submitted the track to the Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition – a prestigious competition open to songwriters around the world. Up against thousands of entries, Bowen was announced as one of this year’s 40 finalists. “It’s a huge competition and there’s so many amazing artists that are involved. It’s the cream of the crop,” he says. “I entered it and almost forgot that I’d actually put the entry in. I remember I was sitting in a carwash and I saw an Instagram notification saying ‘we’re announcing the top 40 finalists’ and I was just blown away. It is such a phenomenal thing to be included in that echelon of artists, like Gang of Youths.”

With a new lease on life, Bowen is not resting any time soon. Plans for a new album, a national tour and another trip to Nashville, there’s a lot for Bowen to look forward to, “I guess getting sick makes you see everything that you want to do in life and you want to go after it. So, you just knock things off the list one at a time, you know?”.

Fast Five:

1. Favourite cafe?
Two Sisters Garage at Bulli.

2. Favourite restaurant?
Thai Patong at Woonona / Toro Sushi at Thirroul.

3. Favourite local pub?
Mount Kembla Pub.

4. Favourite live local music experience?
Watching Passenger at Yours & Owls (later Rad Bar).

5. Favourite local activity?
Walking Sublime Point Track.