Robert Forster will return to Australian stages in September 2026, bringing the musicians who played on his acclaimed Strawberries album for a five-date national tour.
by Paul Cashmere
Robert Forster has announced a September 2026 Australian tour that will see the former Go-Betweens songwriter perform with the Swedish musicians who featured on his latest solo album, Strawberries. The five-date run will take in Hobart, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, marking the first time the full band behind the 2025 record has toured Australia together.
The tour arrives more than a year after the release of Strawberries, Forster’s ninth solo studio album, which earned widespread critical recognition and was ranked No. 7 in MOJO’s Top 75 Albums of 2025. According to tour information, Forster was determined to bring the same musicians who recorded the album to Australia, believing their chemistry was central to the sound of the record and its live presentation.
The shows will extend beyond material from Strawberries, drawing on songs from throughout Forster’s solo catalogue as well as selections from the extensive repertoire of The Go-Betweens. The concerts are being promoted as two-hour performances spanning more than four decades of songwriting.
Forster’s backing group comprises three prominent figures from Stockholm’s contemporary music scene. Guitarist Peter Morén is best known as a member of Peter Bjorn and John, while bassist Jonas Thurell and drummer Magnus Olsson complete the line-up that appeared on Strawberries. The musicians have previously toured Europe with Forster and contributed to the album’s recording sessions.
The Australian tour announcement reflects a particularly productive period for Forster, who has continued to build on a solo career that began after the original dissolution of The Go-Betweens in 1989. While many artists from Australia’s post-punk and independent music generation have largely become heritage acts, Forster has maintained a steady output of new material. Strawberries followed The Candle And The Flame in 2023 and continued a creative resurgence that has included acclaimed releases such as Inferno in 2019 and Songs To Play in 2015.
Born in Brisbane in 1957, Forster co-founded The Go-Betweens with Grant McLennan in 1977. The group became one of Australia’s most influential independent bands, earning international recognition through albums including Before Hollywood, Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express and 16 Lovers Lane. Songs such as Streets Of Your Town and Cattle And Cane have become part of the Australian songwriting canon, with APRA naming Cattle And Cane among the nation’s greatest songs.
Following the band’s breakup, Forster launched a solo career with Danger In The Past in 1990. His catalogue has since expanded to include Calling From A Country Phone, Warm Nights, The Evangelist and several later albums that reinforced his reputation as one of Australia’s most distinctive songwriters. Alongside music, Forster established a parallel career as a respected music critic, writing for The Monthly and later The Saturday Paper. In 2006 he received the Pascall Prize for Critical Writing.
The announcement also highlights the enduring appeal of artists whose careers span both influential catalogue work and contemporary recording projects. While many audiences first encountered Forster through The Go-Betweens, recent albums have introduced his songwriting to a new generation of listeners. Critical response to Strawberries suggested that Forster remains creatively active well into his sixth decade as a recording artist, with reviewers noting the vitality and confidence of the new material.
As the Strawberries cycle continues, the tour will provide Australian audiences with a chance to experience the songs in the setting for which they were conceived. Forster’s long history of balancing literary songwriting, independent music credibility and ongoing artistic evolution remains a significant part of his appeal, and the September shows will place that legacy alongside his newest work.
Dates:
September 9, 2026, Hobart, Odeon Theatre
September 10, 2026, Sydney, City Recital Hall
September 12, 2026, Melbourne, The Thornbury Theatre
September 15, 2026, Adelaide, The Gov
September 17, 2026, Brisbane, The Princess Theatre
Tickets on sale Monday 15 June 2026 at 12pm local time. Frontier Touring members presale begins Friday 12 June 2026 at 12pm local time.
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