Wade Forster on impressive new album The Aftermath and tour plans

‘Saturday night’s the gooseneck party – this is the Sunday after.’ That’s how award-winning country music artist Wade Forster described his new album, The Aftermath, to me in this interview. The album comes fairly hot on the heels of his last, Gooseneck Party, hence his explanation, and he wrote them close together too, recording The Aftermath earlier this year, straight after his 2026 Golden Guitar wins for Male Artist of the Year and New Talent of the Year.Gooseneck Party certainly wasn’t entirely a party album, but of the two The Aftermath is the heartbreaker. There is no wallowing on it, though – it’s a clear-eyed look at mistakes made and an even clearer view of what’s ahead.‘When you’re hungover, you don’t need to tell everyone “I’ve been an idiot”,’ says Forster in this chat. ‘They already know.’ This is, he says, how the self-pity that might have been in some of these songs was taken away and they became about feeling other things. It’s a remarkable collection of songs and, as when I last spoke to Forster, I loved hearing about his songwriting process. He’s mainly a solo songwriter; only two of the tracks on The Aftermath are co-writes (‘Heaven ’57’ with Piper Butcher and ‘October’ with Ellis Undercover), and storytelling is at his core. The effectiveness of his music is not only in the lyrics, though – it’s in the way they’re delivered, and the way he uses his voice to do that. Then there is his live performance, which is quite something – Forster is very much alert to the fact that people spend their hard-earned money to come to a show, and he wants to make it worth their while. This is no doubt part of why he’s already developed a large following overseas – he was about to take off to the USA when we spoke, and he has shows there this month – and also why he picks up more fans all the time in Australia.The Aftermath is out now through Community Music and if you’d like to see Forster live, the dates are: WADE FORSTERTHE AFTERMATH TOUR 2026With The Wet Whistles and Piper ButcherFor tickets and further information head to livenation.com.au Astor Theatre, PerthThursday 22 October Metro Theatre, SydneyThursday 29 October – NEW DATEFriday 30 October – SOLD OUT Fortitude Music Hall, BrisbaneFriday 13 November Hindley St. Music Hall, AdelaideFriday 20 November Forum, MelbourneSaturday 21 NovemberListen to The Aftermath on Apple MusicListen to The Aftermath on SpotifyListen to The Aftermath on YouTubeFor more Sunburnt Country Music:InstagramFacebook YouTubewebsite Substack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.