ABOUT
Born in the UK, to a pair of rock-and-roll loving immigrants from failed states, Luke Escombe has always had an outsider perspective on the world.
Moving to Australia at the age of 21 (to escape the misery and cold), he initially followed his father’s footsteps into the music industry, but found only closed doors and genre boxes he couldn’t fit into.
There was also the issue of his health. Since being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a teenager, Luke struggled with mental and physical health problems throughout his 20s, including long periods of incapacity and hospitalisation, culminating in a complete mental and physical breakdown at the age of 30, shortly after the launch of his debut album.
That was when things started to get interesting.
From musical comedian...
To KIDS ENTERTAINER
& teaching artist
Since regaining his health and becoming a Dad in 2013, Luke's principal creative focus
has been The Vegetable Plot, an award-winning children’s band on a mission of
“Love and Peas”.
Combining Luke’s talent for music, storytelling and live performance with his passion for health, creativity and collaboration, The Vegetable Plot has grown into a much-loved cultural institution, performing shows all over Australia, generating millions of streams on Spotify, winning international awards for songwriting, animation and education and joining the ABC Kids music family.
The success of The Vegetable Plot has led to Luke becoming a teaching artist with the Sydney Opera House, where he runs workshops on songwriting and digital music making, and creates original music and theatre works with children in schools in western Sydney.
These collaborations have led to health organisations like Sydney Children's Hospital and Canteen reaching out to Luke to design and deliver music video projects with young people living with their own serious health issues, drawing on his individual talents, creative networks and deep lived experience to help these young people share their stories and amplify their voices.
Luke recently achieved two long-held dreams when he was asked to narrate Peter and the Wolf with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House Concert Hall, and perform the words of Leonard Cohen as part of a sold-out tribute concert at the State Theatre.
It may have taken him a while (many of his musical heroes were already dead by 27), but Luke has now reached a place in his career where the closed doors and small boxes he encountered in his early days are no longer an issue for him. He left that building a long time ago, and is happily walking his own path.
From Musician...
Since the debut of his one-man musical comedy show “Chronic" at the 2011 Melbourne Comedy Festival, Luke's unique and refreshing perspective on health and creativity has seen him become a sought after keynote speaker and MC at events around the world.
He has spoken three times at Parliament House in Canberra, at the New Zealand National Museum in Wellington, a long list of state and national conferences, and a succession of glamorous corporate events in New York, London, Vienna, Bangkok and Miami, earning him standing ovations on four continents.
Luke is a proud ambassador for Crohn's and Colitis Australia
a member of the NSW Arts Advisory Panel, and allegedly the owner of “Sydney’s sexiest man voice”, a title he won in a competition on a popular FM radio station (though he doesn't like to mention this unless absolutely necessary). He currently hosts a podcast series about living with IBD called The Bottom End.
to Comedian
to KEYNOTE SPEAKER
THE VEGETABLE PLOT
"Beautifully together, experienced and artfully aware of what excites children...The parents will love the show, because the music is top notch and the overarching philosophy right on point" - Lisa Thatcher
"Every element contributed to the wonderful sound. What really kept me engaged was the sheer level of lyrical intellect and complexity, something that promises to keep the parents entertained while the kids are having a blast..Excellent morals delivered in a wonderful way by passionate people" - What's On Sydney
"There are few joys in this world coupled with the sheer delight of hearing a Vegetable Plot song for the first time. Their music is nothing short of an absolute marvel and the pinnacle of what it means to write respectful music for children" - Major Minor Music Australia
VISIT thevegetableplot.com.au
PETER & THE WOLF
In 2022, Luke joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for a special performance of Peter and the Wolf, recorded live at the Sydney Opera House. This program included Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Wolf Tracks by composer Jean-Pascal Beintus.
Luke not only narrated the show, he also performed each of the characters with puppets and costume changes.
