Tori Forsyth Is Finding Her Groove

Victoria-born, Central Coast-raised country singer Tori Forsyth discusses finding where you belong ahead of the release of her third studio album, 'All We Have Is Who We Are'.

Given she's been penning and performing songs for the best part of a decade – in which time she's released the EP 'Black Bird' (2015), and albums 'Dawn Of The Dark' (2018) and 'Provlépseis' (2021) – it's hard to believe that a career in music wasn't always on the cards for the flame-haired chanteuse.

However, Tori insists: "I didn't know I was creative. It wasn't until after school I found out what I was actually good at."

She enjoyed "a pretty eclectic musical upbringing, listening to Fleetwood Mac, Melanie Safka, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, and Faith Hill," and started singing lessons aged 12. "That was my outlet. I was told, 'You've got a good voice,' but I was also told it was a weird voice."



An aversion to the spotlight didn't help either. "I had epic stage fright. I was not performing at all and terrified of playing my guitar. I had a lot of fear around doing music at high school. I only threw myself into it completely after I left."

Post-Year 12, she was offered a place on a crash course to produce an EP guided by "extremely great local musicians". There, Tori discovered her talent.

"I found out I had a knack for songwriting and thought I'm actually pretty good at this. I sang an original song that was well received at an open-mic night, which gave me a bit more confidence, and I guess, as they say, the rest is history."

Now based in rural Queensland, she describes her latest album as an exhale. "All of these songs are super personal. It takes the journey, the progression of the last few years for me. Every track was intentional."

Friend and mentor Kasey Chambers features on standout track 'Good Enough'. "I sent Kasey a text, saying that I have this song that I would absolutely love her to be part of. She sent me a message straight back and said, 'Yep'. That was it. It was so easy.

"I am really proud of the lyrics on that song. It sums up the to and fro we go through when we're trying to achieve something, but we don't feel like we're getting where we want to be.

"She sent the track back, saying she's telling the story of the song from her perspective too. That's why she sings over the entire thing. It's two women telling essentially the same story, which I thought was really beautiful."



According to Tori, the album's closing track 'Happy' sums up the record as a whole. "It's about getting to a place where you're happy with what you're doing. You don't need the glitz and glam. You're just doing things because you want to, not because you think you have to."

Fans can look forward to hearing the album live. "We'll be touring in Australia. I love performing these songs. We want to play this record for as many people as possible.

"If I can get it heard, that's really what it's about, and if people can take from it and feel something and understand themselves a little bit better as a result, that's kind of my goal now. I hope, if anything, my record can positively affect people."

Tori Forsyth 2024 Tour Dates