Tim Hulsman

Tim Hulsman learnt from an early age how to perform for an audience. He had 18 years personal experience with which to observe how to both captivate and hold people. But he’s spent the last 23 years estranged from the man who taught him, his father.

One of six children raised in a rigidly devout Jehovah’s Witness family, Tim’s father was a respected elder in the JW community, responsible for counselling and advising ‘the flock’ and for ex-communicating members who were deemed to be straying, or worse – to be ‘unrepentant sinners’. Any music other than hymns and religious music was heavily regulated in the Hulsman home. Tim’s paternal uncle was a well-regarded Jazz musician, but with him ‘outside the flock’ it only confirmed Tim’s parents’ belief that music would lead you astray.

At the age of 18, after years of argument and with compromise out of reach, Tim was ex-communicated from his family and JW community over his desire to no longer follow religion, and instead seek a career in music.

Fast forward over 2 decades and Tim Hulsman is still whole-heartedly embraced in his relationship with music, having moved from rock ‘n’ roll to his more recent passion for acoustic based music and story-telling, into the folk/blues scene.

July 18 sees the release of Tim’s third solo album, Dead Man’s Garden (out on Only Blues Music). The album blurs most of the blues, folk, alt-country borders and the narrative comprises stories and snapshots of pivotal moments that have helped form Tim Hulsman’s life to this point. We hope you agree that he’s well worth getting to know.