In January 2024, Australian rodeo cowboy and country music artist Wade Forster became the 44th winner of Toyota Star Maker – Australia’s most prestigious country music competition.

Born in outback Queensland, Wade was raised on both a cowboy lifestyle and country music, often singing along to songs while travelling around the professional rodeo circuit. He was praised for having a good voice but didn’t pursue music until later in his life.

In 2017, he left his hometown of Winton to pursue a career opportunity in refrigeration in Mount Isa then bought his first guitar from Facebook for $50 and spent his free time learning how to play. By the end of his time in Mount Isa, he was playing for people at rodeos and Facebook viewers.

He’s been influenced by American artists like Dwight Yoakam, George Jones, Tom T Hall and Tyler Childers.

In 2021, he released a cover of a Tyler Childers’ song Oneida online and he realised music might be more than a hobby, after gaining a lot of attention, and listeners asking for original songs.

He invested his pay and recorded a country album, The Beginning, at Simon Johnson’s Hillbilly Hut Studio and began building a fanbase of national and international cowboys and cowgirls, using streaming services.

He played at gigs and rodeos in and around Western Queensland and at his local, Winton’s Way-Out West festival, and at the 2023 Savannah In The Round in Mareeba, in Far North Queensland.

In January 2023, Wade attended the Tamworth Country Music Festival for the first time where he participated in and graduated from the CMAA Senior Academy of Country Music, and had a goal to return and make the top 10 of Toyota Star Maker.

In August 2023, US artist Cody Johnson, was set to tour with US superstar Luke Combs, when Johnson told the media he wanted to win a buckle at an Australian rodeo.

Wade reached out on social media and invited Cody to the Queensland rodeo circuit and a few days later they were riding alongside each other in the team roping and steer wrestling at a Townsville rodeo. Cody returned the invitation for Wade to perform with him at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and played in front of 25,000 Luke Combs’ fans.

The friendship has continued and In October 2024, and Wade travelled to Belton, Texas to participate in Cody’s The COJO Championship Event, taking part in The Open, the 12.5, the 10.5 Businessman’s Roping and the Celebrity ProAm. Wade will join Cody’s Leather Deluxe Tour with dates in Australia and New Zealand, in March 2025.

Wade joined US star Tyler Hubbard on his TEG Live’s promoted Strong Tour, and said; “Tyler Hubbard and his band, and the team, were very good to me and I was very grateful to be able to sing in front of his audiences across three states.”
The rodeo cowboy singer-songwriter has manifested a path to the US that is closer to being realised now with the support, acknowledgement and interest from artists like Tyler and Cody, as well as organisers of SXSW Texas, and early adopters at Chief Records, Fort Worth, Texas and his rapidly building international fanbase.

In addition to this, Wade will spend the New Year in the US where he will join one of his favourite bands The Lowdown Drifters for The Low Down Under Tour for a number of dates, with more to be announced.

The tours keep on coming and Wade’s seven-date The Drifter Tour, presented by the Wheelhouse Agency, will commence on November 29.

With the demand online and listeners eagerly wanting more, Wade has a lot more music yet to be released. His passion for music and rodeo inspires his writing process and will continue to influence his desire to succeed in both rodeo and the music industry.

Following his performance in Star Maker, his song Rodeo Romeo, which he performed at the grand final, was released to radio. He followed this up with Off The Drugs, and Chemistry, with his new single Honky Tonk Bulldoggin’ Man, to be released in November.

In January 2024, Wade was relatively new to the country music scene, and interest in him and his music continues to grow across all platforms with 217,517 monthly listeners on Spotify, and 7,200+ Facebook, 17,300+ Instagram and 40,100+ on Tik Tok.