Wade Forster is everything I love about Australian country music. Since the release of his debut single Oneida in 2021, the 27-year-old Queenslander has been turning heads and winning hearts, but he’s so much more than his music alone.
Forster oozes that True Blue spirit in a way that makes him so relatable, likeable, and just genuinely a nice person. Ahead of the release of his third studio album, The Aftermath, The Music sat down with Forster to have an honest conversation about life, music, love and heartbreak.
Forster chats to me the day after a rodeo, talking in hushed tones because he’s got ‘a heap of cowboys’ crashing at his place. He’s also getting ready to head overseas for a month of songwriting, and if those two sentences don’t sum up the duality of Forster’s life, I don’t know what will.
The Aftermath kicks off with How Alive, a beautiful spoken word poem that introduces us to the dreary, morning-after feeling that the album leans into. “This is the aftermath of Gooseneck Party – that’s the point of the title,” he explains.
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“It’s your Sunday album, that’s the best way I’ve described it. It’s your Sunday scaries driving home, when you just need some nice, easy, soft listening music with some good flavour in it.”
And while it definitely falls into those categories, The Aftermath is far more than easy listening music. It’s got a tremendous amount of heart poured into it, that can only come from lived experience.
Working on a cattle station and being a professional rodeo cowboy, Forster absolutely lives the life he sings about. “For a long time, I didn’t think I had what it took musically,” he explains.
“I write good songs for people who want good music. But to call myself a musician, I think it’s a bit of a stretch. I think I’m just the guy who has a few wild jobs.”
Those ‘few wild jobs’ are Forster’s heart and soul, and lie at the root of his music. When asked if he would ever consider leaving the cattle station or give up rodeo, he simply says, “It’s in my blood.”
“It doesn’t matter if I did music 24/7, touring all year round, I’d still find a way,” he notes. “It’s in my blood, and real cowboys can’t shake that stuff.”
Once Forster started to break into the country music scene, Australian audiences were proving tough to crack. “I would get messages from people who would say, ‘you’re not an Australian country singer. You sing about rodeo and that’s a very American thing.’”
Forster opens up, saying, “I grew up rodeoing and I live in Outback Australia – who are they to tell me I’m not Australian?” And he’s even got the Australian flag tattoo to prove it.
This is a trend that happens far too often; Australians are quick to embrace overseas artists while being far too critical of our own local talent. “I remember seeing signs as a kid, ‘Shop Local’. I don’t think you can shop more local than Australian music,” Forster muses passionately.
That said, Forster has found himself musing about a move to the US, explaining a few months ago that he was in the process of sorting visas for a potential relocation to Texas.
“It’s hard to market me in Australia.,” he explained. I'm the only rodeo country boy that sings, so they're just like, ‘Cody [Johnson] was just here, we don't need to see you.’ It’s not a bad thing, I'm sort of trying my hardest to push all my music and it's just not what they're wanting right now – which is know, fair; they've got their own choice to make, and there’s nothing I can do about that.
“But America's been begging for me since I released The Beginning, which was about two or three years ago.”
Songwriting has become a vital part of Forster’s daily routine, aiming for at least five songs a week. “Every morning I go through my emails, I’ll write a song and then I’ll go out and do a bit,” he explains, as if writing a song every morning is a normal part of everyone’s day.
When it came to The Aftermath, Forster found that the biggest challenge was picking which songs made the cut – which is no surprise given the large number of tracks he had written at that point.
The deciding factor was based on feeling alone, and whether or not the songs seemed like something he would listen to on a Sunday after a big weekend. “Gooseneck Party’s a lot of rock… it’s a real mixed bag. This one, though, is like, you’re hurting, you’re hungover, you’re lovesick, you’re broken up with.”
With most of his work leaning either towards rock or traditional country, The Aftermath is Forster’s first ‘in-between’ record. Though he admits he found this balance tricky to find, he absolutely nails it.
The track October, featuring Ellis Undercover, was written at the Academy, where the two got paired up during a writing session. If you’re unfamiliar, Ellis Undercover has an extremely powerful voice, but combined with Forster’s natural raspy tones it’s a match made in heaven.
“I felt a bit in the dirt there, but it all worked out,” Forster says of the experience. “There’s a bit of flavour in every song, which is what I love.”
There’s moments on this record that get really vulnerable, Love Crimes being the perfect example of this. An unapologetically open song, it’s hard to imagine this thick-skinned cowboy writing these words. As it happens, though, Forster is an open book. “I’m very open with my emotions and Love Crimes is no exception.
“Years ago, I had a crush on one of my best friends and I couldn’t tell her because it would have broke her heart because I felt like she would have lost me as a friend. But that’s life – it’s that nitty gritty feeling ‘cause it’s hard for men to open up to people they’ve known for a long time.”
Wade Forster’s The Aftermath tour kicks off in November and is his biggest Australian headline tour to date, playing some incredibly iconic venues such as the Astor Theatre in WA, Melbourne’s Forum, and Sydney’s Metro Theatre. Shows were quick to sell out, with a second show in Sydney being added.
Reflecting on the response to the tour so far, Forster feels incredulous. “We’re so close to selling out the whole thing.
“It’s just crazy that three years ago I was playing at pubs for a couple hundred bucks and I was pouring my heart and soul out here in the west where people weren’t worried about live music,” he notes.
“And now I get to do it in the city to all these people that genuinely care about good old fashioned soul.”
Wade Forster’s The Aftermath is out now, with tickets to his upcoming Australian tour on sale now.
Wade Forster – The Aftermath Tour 2026
With The Wet Whistles and Piper Butcher
Thursday, October 22nd – Astor Theatre, Perth, WA
Thursday, October 29th – Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Friday, October 30th – Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW (Sold Out)
Friday, November 13th – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD
Friday, November 20th – Hindley St. Music Hall, Adelaide, SA
Saturday, November 21st – Forum, Melbourne, VIC (Sold Out)
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
