MORGAN EVANS – FORUM THEATRE – MELBOURNE – 23.05.2026
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: David Harris
Nashville-based, Australian Country music singer-songwriter Morgan Evans is currently on his Steel Town Australian Tour 2026 with Special Guest Laci Kaye Booth. Australian Musician’s Craig Eriksson was at Morgan’s Forum Melbourne gig to report for us.
Morgan Evans got his big break back in 2007 winning the Road to Tamworth competition, which paved the way to Nashville where he recorded his debut single ‘Big Skies’. The radio support led to him supporting Brooks & Dunn, Adam Harvey and had him open for Taylor Swift’s first Australian tour in 2009. Evans eventually relocated to Nashville, making his mark in country music with hits such as Like A Tornado, Best I Never Had, Kiss Somebody and Day Drunk.
Livingston, Texas-based country singer-songwriter Laci Kaye Booth is the support on this tour and impressed from the start. Laci sat on a bar stool, sang and played acoustic guitar accompanied by a keyboardist and electric guitarist. They performed an intimate acoustic set and the crowd seemed to really soak up and resonate with her music. It was such a pleasure listening to her rich southern, smoky vocals and storytelling. Laci performed a couple of songs from The Loneliest Girl In The World album (2024) including the title track, as well as BILL, SOMETIMES, SINCE 1995 and DAMN GOOD IN A DIVE BAR. They also played ETHEREAL REDNECK SHIT, DADDY’S MUGSHOT, LUCK OF THE DRAW and ended her set with a beautiful cover of The Cranberries’ LINGER.
Morgan Evans and his band opened the show with a couple of tunes from Steel Town (2026) and the high-energy BEER BACK HOME enticed the crowd to sing along from the get-go. This country rock anthem is about Evans being back home in Newcastle and reflecting on his life. It’s an uplifting song about the good, the bad, the heartbreak, the growing up, and the mistakes he made along the way and ultimately, the joyful feeling of being back home around family and friends. STEEL TOWN kept up this theme with a warm sonic vibe featuring an earthy, stripped back band approach with fiddle and piano accordion. The song tells the story of Evans being back in Newcastle where he returned to take stock after a heavily publicised divorce with American Country singer Kelsea Ballerini. The song describes how returning to his roots grounded him when the walls were caving in. The mood then lifted with the upbeat, pop-tinged KISS SOMEBODY from Things That We Drink To (2018).
There’s a long tradition of drinking songs and relationship break-ups in country music. Evans signature organic, country-pop tune ANOTHER DRINK COMING from Steel Town is one of those stripped-back heartbreak anthems, which included a shoey, pouring a can of Melbourne Bitter into an old work boot. He talked about how he drank too much while going through his marriage breakup and as he sang this song, it offered a vivid image of Evans sitting at a bar in Nashville being looked after by the bar tender. At Melbourne’s Forum Theatre, Evans clearly had a deep connection with the crowd and he kept the feel-good vibe going with the guitar-driven country-pop song LOVE IS REAL, egging the crowd on to sing the chorus “I am yours, you are mine, love is real.’
Evans was aided by a dynamic 6-piece touring band that created a stadium-sized wall of sound. Instrumentation included a fiddle/mandolin player, piano accordion/piano player, bass and electric guitarist and drummer with Evans on lead vocals, acoustic guitar, piano and harmonica. Evans played piano on the heartfelt ballad, OVER FOR YOU while the crowd held up their phones creating a sea of lights. The song is about him trying to come to terms following his divorce from Kelsea with the song title asking the question “How long has it been over for you?” LETTING YOU GO followed and is the bookend to his very public break-up with lyrics “I’m off my phone and laying off the booze” about Evans finally shedding the past pain, moving on and having a fresh outlook on life. Evans candidly spoke to the crowd about letting go of all the bullshit in life and asked for a show of hands of those who are also trying to let go of bullshit! Jess, a young fan down front of stage took the opportunity to tell everyone about the bullshit that she is trying to let go of!
One chapter closes and the next chapter begins as Evans is joined on stage by his current partner, Laci Kaye Booth. They performed a stripped-back duet of TWO BROKEN HEARTS and SHE TALKS ABOUT TEXAS and it was a delight to witness the genuine chemistry shared between them and their authentic sounding harmonies. The band took a break while Evans and Laci remained on stage and snuck a tequila shot together. Evans spoke about them living together and told us the first song they ever sang together was a Don Williams song, which led into LORD I HOPE SHE’S A COUNTRY GIRL. At the end of the song, Evans kissed Laci and praised her for her love and contribution on his new album. Evans asked the crowd if they were up for some Honky Tonk and then led the band into a medley of iconic country classics with THANK GOD SHE’S A COUNTRY GIRL (revised lyrics) and TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS (both John Denver covers), CHICKEN FRIED (The Zac Brown Band cover) and I WANT YOU. This celebration of country music continued with YOUNG AGAIN and the mass audience singalong created a unified wave of sound that sounded magical.
Evans went back to playing piano, poured himself another tequila shot and talked about all the best and worst times he has experienced in music and told us that he’s been through some tough days. This led into SETTLE IT DOWN. He also tells us that the viral reaction to a podcast performance of Garth Brooks AIN’T GOIN’ DOWN (‘TIL THE SUN COMES UP) recently, led to the inclusion of the song in his concert setlist. This was a brilliant cover and when you thought it couldn’t get much bigger, they launched into the infectious country rock hit DAY DRUNK to end the main set, leaving the crowd in a frenzy. The encore was a celebration anthem about Evans love of Australia with LAND I LOVE. The core message of this heartfelt song is “This land I love, she loves me back”. You could feel that deep sense of love and connection Evans has for Australia. The evening concluded with Evans complimenting the crowd saying “Melbourne you are amazing!” and said he will keep coming back and playing shows as long as people want to see him.
Remaining 2026 Australian Tour Dates:
- May 27, 2026: Newtown (Sydney), NSW – Enmore Theatre
- May 30, 2026: Fortitude Valley (Brisbane), QLD – The Fortitude Music Hall
- June 13, 2026: Townsville, QLD – Townsville Turf Club (Country Fest QLD 2026)
- June 20, 2026: Fannie Bay (Darwin), NT – Darwin Ski Club
frontiertouring.com/morganevans
SET LIST:
BEER BACK HOME
STEEL TOWN
KISS SOMEBODY
ANOTHER DRINK COMING
LOVE IS REAL
OVER FOR YOU
LETTING YOU GO
TWO BROKEN HEARTS (duet performed with Laci Kaye Booth)
SHE TALKS ABOUT TEXAS (duet performed with Laci Kaye Booth)
LORD I HOPE SHE’S A COUNTRY GIRL (Don Williams cover – performed with Laci)
THANK GOD SHE’S A COUNTRY GIRL
MEDLEY – TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS / CHICKEN FRIED / I WANT YOU
YOUNG AGAIN
SETTLE IT DOWN
AIN’T GOIN’ DOWN (‘TIL THE SUN COMES UP) – Garths Brooks Cover
DAY DRUNK
ENCORE –
LAND I LOVE
