In Partnership with Cancer Council Victoria
When you’re an artist as prolific and hard-working as Tori Forsyth, summer doesn’t exactly spell relaxation. The singer-songwriter – who makes music that calls to mind everyone from Lucinda Williams to her friend and mentor Kasey Chambers – dropped her new album, All We Have Is Who We Are, in May.
A rhythmic and anthemic collection of country bangers, it was Forsyth’s third, and came hot on the heels of a major success when she was nominated for the Q Music Award in the early part of the year. In a way, All We Have Is Who We Are marked something of a return to form for the musician – country-western in both style and spirit, it saw the musician dipping back into the style that made her famous.
Forsyth has only one word to describe the album: she calls it an “exhale,” a cathartic collection of songs about emerging back into the sun after hardship.
Forsyth herself is yet to take an “exhale,” mind you. She’s barely slowed her output since its release – a creative polymath, she describes herself as someone who draws energy from dabbling in a multitude of different formats. “At the moment I’m working on a music/creative podcast,” Forsyth says of her busy post-release period. “And I’m still doing touring stints to celebrate the release of All We Have Is Who We Are.”
But you’ve got to take a pause eventually, and Forsyth is looking to settle into the sunnier days with “lots of family time,” and a little time off the touring track. “I want to try to go to the beach a little more this year and just have a general re-grouping after a huge year with the record release,” Forsyth says.
Not that it’s necessarily all play, no work. “Of course, it’s Tamworth Country Music Festival in January – I’ll be heading there for my show,” she says.
Indeed, Tamworth is Forsyth’s spiritual home. She’s performed at the outdoor festival countless times, amassing a legion of fans with her powerful and rousing voice – the festival was even the first outdoor gig she ever attended. “Tamworth festival is such a big one and I have probably played it more than any other festival,” Forsyth explains. “It’s hot and everyone is sweaty but it’s great to see everyone and start the year off like that.”
Forsyth loves playing outdoor festivals due to their “fresh air, atmosphere and sunshine.” But she understands that the heat and the exposure to the sun come with its own risks. There is, after all, very little shelter from the glare when you’re up onstage, and Forsyth has sensible – and stylish – protective measures in place to keep herself sun-safe.
Indeed, Forsyth’s tried and true method of looking after her body is a novel adaptation of the “slap” element of slip, slop, slap, seek and slide. “For the past year I have played nearly every show with a giant cowboy hat – highly recommended for sun safety. Wearing sunscreen is handy in Australia all year round, particularly living in QLD.”
So, next time you hit the outdoors, remember to take Forsyth’s advice, and invest yourself in one fine ten-gallon. Sun safety can be country appropriate after all.
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