In 2006, Jim resigned from the Backsliders to focus on his own band, Jim Conway's Big Wheel, which had already achieved a high level of success within the Australian music scene since it's inception 2002.
In 2003 he produced Big Wheel's first CD "Little Story" which was nominated in the Blues & Roots category for the 2004 ARIA awards. Since that time, Big Wheel has toured extensively, playing at the Port Fairy, Wangaratta, Bellingen and the Narooma Music Festivals.
The much anticipated second Big Wheel CD “We’ll Get There” will be released in October 2008. It promises to equal or even surpass their ARIA nominated CD “Little Story”. Don Hopkins has written more of his instant classics for the new CD while Jim Conway and Arne Hanna have been liaising in cyberspace with American songwriter Sam Leopold to create some more of the moody masterpieces that helped characterise “Little Story”.
2008 has been a big year for Jim. On Saturday July 12, 2008, at the Harp Hotel, ABC Music celebrated Jim Conway’s long and memorable career spanning 40 years, by releasing a compilation CD of his work recorded by ABC Radio National’s Music Deli during the last 2 decades. Over the next few years Music Deli will be releasing a series of compilations of Australian musicians of particular significance but this CD is the first of these releases that focuses exclusively on the work of one artist.
Jim has also launched into the organisational side of music festivals as musical director of the inaugural Balmain Acoustica festival in 2005 and following festivals in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He’s currently working on developing an exciting program of National and international performers for the 2009 Balmain Acoustica Festival scheduled for April next year.
Jim is an extremely versatile musician which has also made him a sought after session musician. He has recorded with numerous artists including Shane Howard (Goanna Band), Colin Hay (Men at Work), Jon Lord (Deep Purple), Bob Brozman, Slim Dusty, Jan Preston, Tim Gaze, Dutch Tilders, Anne Kirkpatrick and Pat Drummond.
Jim has composed, produced and recorded music for a broad range of film and radio projects, including the Kennedy Miller telemovie "The Riddle of the Stinson" and the comedy feature "The Honourable Wally Norman" which was chosen to open the 2003 Sydney Film Festival. Apart from producing Big Wheel's "Little Story", he also co-produced two of the Backsliders eight albums; "Sitting On a Million" and "Hellhound".
A documentary film celebrating Jim's contribution to Australian music was screened on S.B.S. Television in July 2000 In 2003 Jim was also awarded the prestigious Centenary Medal in recognition of his contribution to the Arts. At the 2000 Sydney Paralympics Opening Ceremony Jim performed a piece of music specially written to feature his harmonica playing.
Jim is becoming a popular portrait subject among Sydney's artistic community with the photographic portrait of Jim by renowned photographer, Greg Weight winning the inaugural Prize for Photographic Portraiture in 2003 and, a portrait of Jim by Greg Warburton was a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Prize in 2006.
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