Henry Wagons

Best known as the leader of Australia's raucous country-rockers Wagons, Henry Wagons' first group was a noise rock act called Dworzec, which was inspired by Krautrock and bands on Flying Nun. Realizing he needed to be part of a less pretentious scene, he formed Wagons, who released five critically acclaimed albums in Australia and made their U.S. debut with 2011's Rumble, Shake and Tumble. Almost accidentally, Wagons struck out on a solo career that year when the band completed its tour for that album. Upon returning to Melbourne, Wagons — who was named one of the city's 100 Most Influential People and has also been a correspondent on the ABC program Sunday Arts — fell ill, and instead of resting up, he wrote songs. After recording most of the music in his own studio, he recruited a who's who of guest vocalists, including the Kills' Alison Mosshart, Jenn Grant, and the Go-Betweens' Robert Forster, to sing with him. The results became the mini-album Expecting Company?, which was released in early 2013.